Camille Naredo

Poland's Iga Swiatek serves to Italy's Jasmine Paolini during their women's singles final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fourteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 8, 2024. Alain Jocard, AFP/File

Poland's Iga Swiatek serves to Italy's Jasmine Paolini during their women's singles final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fourteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 8, 2024. (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD / AFP)

Article (news)

French Open 

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1735548887214AFP__20240608__34VY6XF__v1__HighRes__TennisFraOpen2024.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Poland&#x27;s Iga Swiatek serves to Italy&#x27;s Jasmine Paolini during their women&#x27;s singles final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fourteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 8, 2024. Alain Jocard, AFP/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Poland&#x27;s Iga Swiatek serves to Italy&#x27;s Jasmine Paolini during their women&#x27;s singles final match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day fourteen of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on June 8, 2024. <em>Alain Jocard, AFP/File</em></span></span></span>PERTH, Australia -- Iga Swiatek romped to an emphatic victory in her season-opening match at the United Cup Monday, but Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed as Kazakhstan upset Greece to make the knockout round of the mixed-team tournament.</div><p>Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek was on court for the first time since news broke in late November that she served a one-month ban for a doping violation.</p><p>But the Pole quickly shook off any nerves in Sydney with a 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Norway&#x27;s Malene Helgo, needing just 62 minutes for the demolition job.</p><p>&quot;Pleased with everything, honestly. I&#x27;m happy for sure with the performance,&quot; said the world number two.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s not always easy to play for your country, sometimes the pressure is a bit bigger.</p><p>&quot;I feel good, I feel happy, happy I can play tennis overall,&quot; she added. &quot;I&#x27;m just going step by step and we&#x27;ll see what&#x27;s next.&quot;</p><p>The 23-year-old tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August when she was ranked number one.</p><p>However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the violation was not intentional and she escaped with a one-month sanction.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2024/11/29/tennis-iga-swiatek-accepts-one-month-doping-suspension-1443">READ: Iga Swiatek accepts one-month doping suspension</a></div><p>While she was in electric form, Greek star Tsitsipas had a day to forget.</p><p>He is coming off a mediocre 2024 in which his ranking dropped to its current 11 from a career-high three and was hoping for a confidence-boosting fresh start in Perth.</p><p>But he was stunned 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) by 78th-ranked Alexander Shevchenko.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2024/12/28/kyrgios-says-tennis-integrity-awful-after-doping-scandals-0250">READ: Kyrgios says tennis integrity &#x27;awful&#x27; after doping scandals</a></div><div><strong>- Tried hard -</strong></div><p>Kazakh world number six and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina then survived a late wobble before burying Greek hopes with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Maria Sakkari.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m really happy for the team,&quot; said Rybakina, now working with Novak Djokovic&#x27;s former coach Goran Ivanisevic. &quot;We all tried hard.</p><p>&quot;It was a tough match for me today and I&#x27;m so happy to be in the quarter-finals.&quot;</p><p>Rybakina took the first set and led 5-0 in the second, but the former world number three Sakkari won three games in a row to threaten a comeback.</p><p>Rybakina came through on her third match point as Sakkari mis-hit an overhead shot after 85 minutes.</p><p>&quot;At 5-0 you have nothing to lose, she played more aggressively and hit some good shots,&quot; said Rybakina.</p><p>Shevchenko called his defeat of a sluggish Tsitsipas &quot;one of the best&quot; of his career.</p><p>&quot;He was not at his best today. But I played really well and found the moment to win that match,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;It will definitely go in my record as one of my best wins.&quot;</p><p>Defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, face China in the Perth evening session.</p><p>In Sydney, Katie Boulter led Britain to victory over Argentina with all three teams in the group, which also includes hosts Australia, still in contention for the knockout rounds.</p><p>World number 24 Boulter took 86 minutes to take down 100th-ranked Nadia Podoroska 6-2, 6-3.</p><p>Underdog Billy Harris looked on track to seal the tie for Britain when he went a set up against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.</p><p>But the Argentine, who lost heavily to Australia&#x27;s Alex de Minaur at the weekend, rallied for a gutsy 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win to send the tie to a deciding mixed doubles.</p><p>Etcheverry fronted up again with Maria Carle to take on Boulter and Charles Broom, with the British pair coming out on top 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/95BTuVRl-n8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Iga Swiatek romped to an emphatic victory in her season-opening match at the United Cup Monday, but Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed as Kazakhstan upset Greece to make the knockout round of the mixed-team tournament.</p>

Iga Swiatek romped to an emphatic victory in her season-opening match at the United Cup Monday, but Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed as Kazakhstan upset Greece to make the knockout round of the mixed-team tournament.

Tennis: Clinical Swiatek romps as Tsitsipas crashes at United Cup

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Tennis: Clinical Swiatek romps as Tsitsipas crashes at United Cup

Agence France-Presse

Published December 30, 2024 04:55 PM PHT

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