Roger Federer announced on social media Sunday that this clay-court season he will compete in the Gonet Geneva Open and Roland Garros.
"Hi everyone! Happy to let you know that I will play Geneva and Paris," Federer tweeted. "Until then, I will use the time to train. Can't wait to play in Switzerland again."
In March, 39-year-old Federer competed at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, marking his first tournament since the 2020 Australian Open. Last year, he underwent two arthroscopic right knee surgeries. Federer last played on clay at 2019 Roland Garros.
Federer last played in his home country in Basel in 2019, when he claimed his 10th title at that tournament. The Laver Cup was in held in Geneva in 2019, when Federer defeated Nick Kyrgios and John Isner to help lead Team Europe to victory.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Monday, April 05, 2021
Bianca Andreescu forced to retire with ankle injury in Miami final
Bianca Andreescu has another injury, ending her best tournament since capturing the U.S. Open title in September 2019.
The Canadian retired with a right ankle injury after falling behind 6-3, 4-0 against top-ranked Ash Barty of Australia in the final of the Miami Open on Saturday.
The eighth-seeded Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., tumbled to the court in the third game of the second set and struggled with her movement after the fall. She was wearing tape on the right ankle for the entire final of the WTA 1000 event — one level below a Grand Slam.
Andreescu called a medical timeout to receive treatment from the trainer after Barty finished the game with a break to go up 3-0.
She returned for one more game, but wasn’t moving well. Afterward, she put her hand to her face as she tried to hold back tears before going to the net to greet Barty and end the match.
The 20-year-old Andreescu returned from a 16-month layoff in February at the Australian Open, losing in the second round of the Grand Slam. She suffered a knee injury late in 2019 and opted not to try to make a comeback earlier in the pandemic in 2020.
The 20-year-old Canadian followed up her first tournament back by reaching the semifinals of an event in Melbourne for players eliminated early from the Australian Open, but a leg injury suffered there kept her out until Miami.
Andreescu will rise three spots to No. 6 in the world rankings next week.
After winning four three-set matches in a row to reach the final, Andreescu struggled to find any rhythm against Barty in their first career meeting.
Andreescu has exited early in both appearances in Miami with injuries — her only two losses in North America since the start of 2015.
Barty, the 2019 French Open champ, won her 10th career title and earned US$300,110 of the $3.26-million total purse. Andreescu pocketed $165,000.
Barty overpowered Andreescu early to jump in front 3-0 before the Canadian found some rhythm and broke back to cut the deficit to 3-2.
But on Andreescu’s next service game, the Australian responded. Two winners after Andreescu fought off two break points put Barty up 4-2 for the decisive break. The world No. 1 then won every point on the ensuing serve game to take charge of the first set.
Andreescu is scheduled to take most of April off. Before the match, her agent, Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy, said Andreescu is scheduled to return for WTA 1000 clay-court events in Madrid (April 29-May 8) and Rome (May 10-16) before playing in the French Open (May 23-June 5).
The tennis gods just will not give Bianca Andreescu a break when it comes to injury will they?.
I will admit I did not know what to expect from her this tournament, in fact didn't expect much at all. Even though she did well in Australia she did have a leg issue in the semi final.
But in the end she surprised everyone except herself. Her amazing self belief is just one of the reasons she draws you in as a fan of the sport.
The more difficult the opponent the better she plays. It's honestly quite something to witness even on tv.
There were so many fantastic matches this tournament, the WTA for once not being overshadowed by the ATP became the real highlight throughout.
But Andreescu's matches were the ones everyone seemed to be talking about the next day. She made Miami even more enjoyable than it promised to be with the packed top field.
You tuned in just to see how she would do each round. And she just kept on delivering.
In some grueling physical contests, so I suppose the fact that her body give out a bit at the vey end wasn't as big of a shock.
Anyone would after over 12 hours on court. But my heart still broke for her. What she did this week was nothing short of extraordinary and she should be extremely proud.
It looks like the injury is not too serious since she was able to move. But I'm glad she stopped when she did.
Rest up and get well Bianca.
And keep your head up, Tennis is a better sport with you in it.
I cannot wait to see your drive, passion and grit shine on court again.
Congrats on an amazing week. See on on the clay at the end of April.
The Canadian retired with a right ankle injury after falling behind 6-3, 4-0 against top-ranked Ash Barty of Australia in the final of the Miami Open on Saturday.
The eighth-seeded Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., tumbled to the court in the third game of the second set and struggled with her movement after the fall. She was wearing tape on the right ankle for the entire final of the WTA 1000 event — one level below a Grand Slam.
Andreescu called a medical timeout to receive treatment from the trainer after Barty finished the game with a break to go up 3-0.
She returned for one more game, but wasn’t moving well. Afterward, she put her hand to her face as she tried to hold back tears before going to the net to greet Barty and end the match.
The 20-year-old Andreescu returned from a 16-month layoff in February at the Australian Open, losing in the second round of the Grand Slam. She suffered a knee injury late in 2019 and opted not to try to make a comeback earlier in the pandemic in 2020.
The 20-year-old Canadian followed up her first tournament back by reaching the semifinals of an event in Melbourne for players eliminated early from the Australian Open, but a leg injury suffered there kept her out until Miami.
Andreescu will rise three spots to No. 6 in the world rankings next week.
After winning four three-set matches in a row to reach the final, Andreescu struggled to find any rhythm against Barty in their first career meeting.
Andreescu has exited early in both appearances in Miami with injuries — her only two losses in North America since the start of 2015.
Barty, the 2019 French Open champ, won her 10th career title and earned US$300,110 of the $3.26-million total purse. Andreescu pocketed $165,000.
Barty overpowered Andreescu early to jump in front 3-0 before the Canadian found some rhythm and broke back to cut the deficit to 3-2.
But on Andreescu’s next service game, the Australian responded. Two winners after Andreescu fought off two break points put Barty up 4-2 for the decisive break. The world No. 1 then won every point on the ensuing serve game to take charge of the first set.
Andreescu is scheduled to take most of April off. Before the match, her agent, Jonathan Dasnieres de Veigy, said Andreescu is scheduled to return for WTA 1000 clay-court events in Madrid (April 29-May 8) and Rome (May 10-16) before playing in the French Open (May 23-June 5).
The tennis gods just will not give Bianca Andreescu a break when it comes to injury will they?.
I will admit I did not know what to expect from her this tournament, in fact didn't expect much at all. Even though she did well in Australia she did have a leg issue in the semi final.
But in the end she surprised everyone except herself. Her amazing self belief is just one of the reasons she draws you in as a fan of the sport.
The more difficult the opponent the better she plays. It's honestly quite something to witness even on tv.
There were so many fantastic matches this tournament, the WTA for once not being overshadowed by the ATP became the real highlight throughout.
But Andreescu's matches were the ones everyone seemed to be talking about the next day. She made Miami even more enjoyable than it promised to be with the packed top field.
You tuned in just to see how she would do each round. And she just kept on delivering.
In some grueling physical contests, so I suppose the fact that her body give out a bit at the vey end wasn't as big of a shock.
Anyone would after over 12 hours on court. But my heart still broke for her. What she did this week was nothing short of extraordinary and she should be extremely proud.
It looks like the injury is not too serious since she was able to move. But I'm glad she stopped when she did.
Rest up and get well Bianca.
And keep your head up, Tennis is a better sport with you in it.
I cannot wait to see your drive, passion and grit shine on court again.
Congrats on an amazing week. See on on the clay at the end of April.
Friday, April 02, 2021
Bianca Andreescu fights past Sakkari to set up 1st meeting with Ash Barty in Miami Open final
More than 18 months after she won the title at the 2019 US Open, Bianca Andreescu will again play for a trophy.
In a semifinal match that began on Thursday night, finished in the wee hours of Friday morning and was packed with drama throughout, the No.8 seed came out victorious against No.23 seed Maria Sakkari, 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(4) in two hours and 42 minutes to advance to Saturday's Miami Open final.
"Against her, I had no choice but to run for everything that I could and just fight until the end because that's what she was doing. She was really taking control of the points a lot of the times. It was really tough, I'm not going to lie," Andreescu said on-court after the match.
"My whole game plan was to try and do that because I knew she was going to do that, and it could've been either of us winning. I'm just super happy that I pulled through."
Already a winner at Indian Wells, Toronto and New York in her career to date, Andreescu will look to add another big title on North American soil to her resume when she takes on World No.1 Ashleigh Barty, the winner of the last Miami event played in 2019, for the first time.
Momentum shifts abounded for the two players over the course of their first career meeting, as each was in position to win the sets that she lost.
Having saved two set points in the first-set tiebreak, winning a set where she led 4-1 early the long way, Andreescu built a set and a break lead — but later found herself four points from defeat late in the match's third hour.
Buoyed by the momentum from edging the opener, Andreescu opened up a 3-1 lead in the second set, breaking serve at 1-1 as Sakkari served up a double fault. Undaunted, the Greek flipped the script by playing relentless, physical tennis from the baseline, and secured five straight games and send the match to a final set.
Sakkari was the first to break serve in the decider, but her 4-2 lead soon became a 5-4 deficit as Andreescu refused to give in. Nonetheless, a love hold and a break from 30-0 earned the Greek an opportunity to serve for the match, and a place in her biggest career final.
She'd never get to match point, however, as Andreescu broke serve to love, and built a 6-2 lead in the tiebreak to secure a fourth three-set victory in five matches this week.
"I have a lot of experience in these tough three-setters and digging through and finding a way," Andreescu told reporters at her 3 am press conference. "Sometimes I literally feel like I'm an octopus out there running side to side, I feel like I have eight legs. It's insane. Sometimes I don't even know how I get to some shots. But it's that fighting spirit I have always had in me, never giving up.
"Through experience you learn to find ways to deal with circumstances like this. It's really showing. Me playing with my back against the wall really brings out my best tennis."
In addition to the fact that Andreescu and Barty have never played, Saturday's match will also be the Canadian's first career meeting with a reigning World No.1.
"It's everything," Andreescu said, when asked why she was looking forward to playing Barty. "Her being No.1 and her doing really, really well. Her game style, as well. It's something I have never really experienced. I love a challenge, and I know she's going to challenge me on Saturday, so it's a mixture of everything.
"I know it's going to be really tough. She's playing great tennis, and I hope I can be on my A-game."
In a semifinal match that began on Thursday night, finished in the wee hours of Friday morning and was packed with drama throughout, the No.8 seed came out victorious against No.23 seed Maria Sakkari, 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-6(4) in two hours and 42 minutes to advance to Saturday's Miami Open final.
"Against her, I had no choice but to run for everything that I could and just fight until the end because that's what she was doing. She was really taking control of the points a lot of the times. It was really tough, I'm not going to lie," Andreescu said on-court after the match.
"My whole game plan was to try and do that because I knew she was going to do that, and it could've been either of us winning. I'm just super happy that I pulled through."
Already a winner at Indian Wells, Toronto and New York in her career to date, Andreescu will look to add another big title on North American soil to her resume when she takes on World No.1 Ashleigh Barty, the winner of the last Miami event played in 2019, for the first time.
Momentum shifts abounded for the two players over the course of their first career meeting, as each was in position to win the sets that she lost.
Having saved two set points in the first-set tiebreak, winning a set where she led 4-1 early the long way, Andreescu built a set and a break lead — but later found herself four points from defeat late in the match's third hour.
Buoyed by the momentum from edging the opener, Andreescu opened up a 3-1 lead in the second set, breaking serve at 1-1 as Sakkari served up a double fault. Undaunted, the Greek flipped the script by playing relentless, physical tennis from the baseline, and secured five straight games and send the match to a final set.
Sakkari was the first to break serve in the decider, but her 4-2 lead soon became a 5-4 deficit as Andreescu refused to give in. Nonetheless, a love hold and a break from 30-0 earned the Greek an opportunity to serve for the match, and a place in her biggest career final.
She'd never get to match point, however, as Andreescu broke serve to love, and built a 6-2 lead in the tiebreak to secure a fourth three-set victory in five matches this week.
"I have a lot of experience in these tough three-setters and digging through and finding a way," Andreescu told reporters at her 3 am press conference. "Sometimes I literally feel like I'm an octopus out there running side to side, I feel like I have eight legs. It's insane. Sometimes I don't even know how I get to some shots. But it's that fighting spirit I have always had in me, never giving up.
"Through experience you learn to find ways to deal with circumstances like this. It's really showing. Me playing with my back against the wall really brings out my best tennis."
In addition to the fact that Andreescu and Barty have never played, Saturday's match will also be the Canadian's first career meeting with a reigning World No.1.
"It's everything," Andreescu said, when asked why she was looking forward to playing Barty. "Her being No.1 and her doing really, really well. Her game style, as well. It's something I have never really experienced. I love a challenge, and I know she's going to challenge me on Saturday, so it's a mixture of everything.
"I know it's going to be really tough. She's playing great tennis, and I hope I can be on my A-game."
Bianca Andreescu really is the 3 set queen. Four 3 setters in one tournament is just outrageous I still have no idea how she won this one.
But this is why I love watching her play. The grit she shows when her back is against the wall is unmatched.
To say I'm looking forward to her playing in a final against defending champ & world #1 Ash Barty would be the under statement of the year thus far.
I'm honestly ecstatic just thinking about it.
Yes please.
Welcome back Bianca Andreescu, the world of tennis is richer with you on the tour.
Is it Saturday yet?.
Thursday, April 01, 2021
Bianca Andreescu outlasts her opponent to reach Miami Open semis, faces Sakkari
Pushed to the limit once again at the Miami Open, Bianca Andreescu passed another test with flying colors.
In two hours and 36 minutes, the No.8 seed beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the last of the tournament's four quarterfinal matches, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 — becoming just the third player to beat the in-form Spaniard in a third set this year to round out the semifinalists.
“After the first set, I was honestly so tired, but we both fought really hard," Andreescu said on-court after the match.
"She’s an incredible fighter. I have no idea how I pushed through, but I fought as hard as I could and I’m super happy.”
Andreescu battled back from a 3-0, double-break deficit to seal the opening set, but a string of seven straight breaks in the middle set saw her taken the distance for the third time in four matches this week.
In set two, Sorribes Tormo's decisive service hold came by winning two straight points at 30-30, as a 23-shot rally, ended when an Andreescu forehand found the net, sealed the game in her favor.
The Spaniard was the only player to hold in the middle set, breaking for a fourth and final time to push the match to a decider, but lost serve three times from 2-2 to ultimately be beaten.
Andreescu's effusive praise for the Spaniard, who'll crack the Top 50 as a result of her best-ever performance at a WTA 1000 event, continued in her post-match press conference.
She plays very different than most of the players on tour. She's difficult to play because of that. You don't always get the same rhythm. She gets to a lot of balls. That's what I told her at the net. I was, like, 'Girl, you can run. You're crazy.' I told her that she played amazing and that we're gonna be seeing a lot of you. She just said, 'Thank you and good luck.'"- Bianca Andreescu on Sara Sorribes Tormo
In all, the Canadian struck 42 winners, more than double Sorribes Tormo's total of 17, but also totaled 42 unforced errors to the Spaniard's 21. The two players combined to break serve 17 times in the match overall.
"She doesn't give you pace at all. Those high, heavy balls, you really have to generate your own. That consists of a lot of leg power, arm power, you're putting your all into it. Because if you just give, like, a ball with nothing on it, she's going to take advantage of that," Andreescu said.
"So it's always you having to generate your own pace. That was for sure tiring towards like the end of the second set. Like I'm sure many people could see that. Trying my best not to show it, but sometimes it's really hard, especially in these conditions.
"I never played her before. It's hard to really tell how a player plays online rather than you actually playing them. So I think I got caught off-guard just a little bit. I thought her ball would be a bit more heavy and deep... I feel like I was going for too much at the start, but then I figured it out and I changed my game plan basically.
"I adjusted. And then the match was just super up and down, like at one point she was on fire, and then I was on fire, and it just kept going like that. It could have been either one of our matches. For me, the main thing today was fighting harder than her. I say that a lot, but I know that she is an incredible fighter, so that was the main goal and I did that."
With the victory, Andreescu advances to her second semifinal of the season, and third at WTA 1000 level in her career.
She'll next face Greece's Maria Sakkari for the first time for a place in the final.
"I watched a little bit of that match. She played really well. Like, she was just dominating right from the start. Naomi wasn't quite there," Andreescu said.
"But she's coming off a great win. I mean, I'm coming off a pretty great win too. I'm sure she's very confident, and I have watched her play many, many times so I kind of know what to expect, but obviously it's different once I step out there.
"I'm just gonna have to adjust with what I know now and what I am going to see on the court. But I know it's going to be a battle, and I'm really looking forward to it."
In two hours and 36 minutes, the No.8 seed beat Sara Sorribes Tormo in the last of the tournament's four quarterfinal matches, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 — becoming just the third player to beat the in-form Spaniard in a third set this year to round out the semifinalists.
“After the first set, I was honestly so tired, but we both fought really hard," Andreescu said on-court after the match.
"She’s an incredible fighter. I have no idea how I pushed through, but I fought as hard as I could and I’m super happy.”
Andreescu battled back from a 3-0, double-break deficit to seal the opening set, but a string of seven straight breaks in the middle set saw her taken the distance for the third time in four matches this week.
In set two, Sorribes Tormo's decisive service hold came by winning two straight points at 30-30, as a 23-shot rally, ended when an Andreescu forehand found the net, sealed the game in her favor.
The Spaniard was the only player to hold in the middle set, breaking for a fourth and final time to push the match to a decider, but lost serve three times from 2-2 to ultimately be beaten.
Andreescu's effusive praise for the Spaniard, who'll crack the Top 50 as a result of her best-ever performance at a WTA 1000 event, continued in her post-match press conference.
She plays very different than most of the players on tour. She's difficult to play because of that. You don't always get the same rhythm. She gets to a lot of balls. That's what I told her at the net. I was, like, 'Girl, you can run. You're crazy.' I told her that she played amazing and that we're gonna be seeing a lot of you. She just said, 'Thank you and good luck.'"- Bianca Andreescu on Sara Sorribes Tormo
In all, the Canadian struck 42 winners, more than double Sorribes Tormo's total of 17, but also totaled 42 unforced errors to the Spaniard's 21. The two players combined to break serve 17 times in the match overall.
"She doesn't give you pace at all. Those high, heavy balls, you really have to generate your own. That consists of a lot of leg power, arm power, you're putting your all into it. Because if you just give, like, a ball with nothing on it, she's going to take advantage of that," Andreescu said.
"So it's always you having to generate your own pace. That was for sure tiring towards like the end of the second set. Like I'm sure many people could see that. Trying my best not to show it, but sometimes it's really hard, especially in these conditions.
"I never played her before. It's hard to really tell how a player plays online rather than you actually playing them. So I think I got caught off-guard just a little bit. I thought her ball would be a bit more heavy and deep... I feel like I was going for too much at the start, but then I figured it out and I changed my game plan basically.
"I adjusted. And then the match was just super up and down, like at one point she was on fire, and then I was on fire, and it just kept going like that. It could have been either one of our matches. For me, the main thing today was fighting harder than her. I say that a lot, but I know that she is an incredible fighter, so that was the main goal and I did that."
With the victory, Andreescu advances to her second semifinal of the season, and third at WTA 1000 level in her career.
She'll next face Greece's Maria Sakkari for the first time for a place in the final.
"I watched a little bit of that match. She played really well. Like, she was just dominating right from the start. Naomi wasn't quite there," Andreescu said.
"But she's coming off a great win. I mean, I'm coming off a pretty great win too. I'm sure she's very confident, and I have watched her play many, many times so I kind of know what to expect, but obviously it's different once I step out there.
"I'm just gonna have to adjust with what I know now and what I am going to see on the court. But I know it's going to be a battle, and I'm really looking forward to it."
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