Nadal sidelined, team Djokovic wins to open ATP Cup defense
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Canada's Denis Shapovalov in their ATP Cup match in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE ā Rafael Nadal didn't make it for Spain's ATP Cup opener because of a sore back, deciding it wasn't worth the risk a week ahead of the Australian Open. Back at Melbourne Park, where he has won a record eight Australian Open titles, he had plenty of energy to feed off. Osaka, who won the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open in 2019, will next face No. Two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren also advanced, winning his first match since coming out of the hard lockdown.
'17 French Open champ Ostapenko wants more; Shapovalov upset
2 seed Karolina Pliskova at the French Open on Thursday, the conversation quickly turned to 2017. And just, like, the world doesnāt stop with winning only one Grand Slam. Thatās not very different from where she was three years ago in Paris, ranked 47th and just two days past her 20th birthday when she became an impossible-to-predict Grand Slam champion. Pliskova, who came into the French Open dealing with a leg injury, was not the most gracious foe after Thursdayās loss. The first time Iām in the third round in a Grand Slam.
Does Djokovic's next foe have hope? 'I was wondering that'
Serbia's Novak Djokovic serves against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis in the second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS ā At the mere mention of Novak Djokovicās name, at the mere thought of sharing a court with a 17-time Grand Slam champion and the French Openās No. He used these phrases: āreally, really excitedā and āreally, really happyā and āreally, really special.āGalan is, after all, ranked 153rd and never had won so much as one main-draw match at any major tournament until this week. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champ, plays 87th-ranked Paula Badosa, who arrived in Paris with a 1-5 Grand Slam record. āWell,ā came Galanās reply, āI was wondering that, to be honest.āAnd then he launched into a story about how he was āreally, really nervousā before playing former top 10-member David Goffin in the Davis Cup Finals last November.
The Latest: Earliest French Open exit for Stephens since '11
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)PARIS ā The Latest from the French Open (all times local):____6:10 p.m.Former runner-up Sloane Stephens lost in the second round for her earliest exit at Roland Garros since a first-round defeat on her debut in 2011. ___4:15 p.m.Novak Djokovic's biggest concern seemed to be dealing with a rare bit of sunshine during his second-round victory at Roland Garros. ___2:30 p.m.Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin reached the third round at Roland Garros by beating Ana Bogdan 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. ____1:10 p.m.Danish teen Clara Tauson's surprise run is over after losing to American player Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. Pliskova's twin sister, Kristyna, was also playing a former French Open champion when she faced 2016 winner GarbiƱe Muguruza.