Madrid Open

Japanese tennis star is keen to win matches and reach the semifinals but will 'set little goals first'

“I would say that filtering the negativity from a minority is something that I’m getting better doing. I was talking to my therapist about that, being more open to all the possibilities. The four-times Grand Slam champion was broken in the first game at the tournament in California when a fan shouted “Naomi, you suck” and Osaka could later be seen wiping away tears.

Following a dominant display in the opening round against Zhang Shuai, Romanian star Simona Halep felt rejuvenated on his debut with coach Patrick ...

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Aryna Sabalenka looked to be a strong shot at defending her Madrid Open crown but couldn't make the most of the absence of nemesis Iga Swiatek.

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Two-time Madrid Open champion Simona Halep and second-ranked Paula Badosa will meet in the tournament's second round after opening with victories.

Badosa, a semifinalist in Madrid last year, made it to No. 2 in the world for the first time this week. ... I will try to give my best, because for sure she will push me to the limits.'' "I think it's going to be an interesting match, because it's going to be quite a clay-court match very tactically, and I'm really looking forward to that," said Badosa, who is from Spain. "Of course she's a great champion.

American Amanda Anisimova kept her perfect record against Aryna Sabalenka in tact with a first-round victory at the Mutua Madrid Open.

In victory, Gauff won the first eight games of the match and was never broken. No. 11 seed Bencic dropped just five games against Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu, and won nine of the last 11 games in a 6-4, 6-1 victory. In total, three Top 10 seeds were beaten late in the day on Thursday, as Ekaterina Alexandrova knocked out No.10 seed Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. "She's a tough player as well," Anisimova added. Anisimova's 1 hour, 55-minute victory extended her all-time record against Sabalenka to 4-0, now with three of those wins coming on clay. "I enjoy these matches, even though they're very tough ... especially when you get to win them."

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the big names as world number four and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus exited the Women's Tennis ...

It took one hour and 55 minutes for Anisimova to beat Sabalenka to extend her head-to-head record against the Bealrusian to 4-0, with three of them coming on clay. Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, is allowed to play on the WTA Tour as a neutral player but will be banned from Wimbledon over the invasion of Ukraine. It was a day of mixed fortunes for the big names as world number four and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka exited the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Madrid Open after going down to Amanda Anisimova of United States 2-6, 6-3, 4-6.

No. 8 seed Ons Jabeur was the first winner of the 2022 Madrid Open, advancing past Jasmine Paolini 7-6(9), 6-1 in 1 hour and 22 minutes on Thursday.

Two-time Madrid finalist Azarenka, who was runner-up to Petra Kvitova in 2011 and Serena Williams in 2012, will next face Tamara Zidansek or lucky loser Beatriz Haddad Maia. Paolini was bidding for her second career top-10 win, having gained her first in Indian Wells over Aryna Sabalenka. The Madrid Open already has a marquee second-round tussle lined up, with two-time champion Simona Halep and World No.2 Paula Badosa advancing to face each other after speedy openers.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion has a stunning 20-1 win-loss record heading into his Madrid opener. Elsewhere, Simona Halep was in reflective mood and Paula ...

“I just try to stay calm and to enjoy where I am. “She has to retire from a few more events. “The thing is that in my case, my personality is a little bit like that. “But even being in this position is already a privilege. “If you compare to other players, then no, but I have to focus on myself. With the pandemic I was super scared at the start, now the war I was super scared at the start. “Tennis means nothing if you think of the problems that the world has now. I feel like the world is struggling and many people are suffering for one reason or another and I don’t feel that everybody is stable now.” “The world is not stable, I have that feeling. For at least one week?’” the Spaniard said with a chuckle. “I learn a lot from Melanie obviously. “Yes, I thought at one point that tennis is not that important anymore because of everything that is happening.

MADRID (AP) — Two-time Madrid Open champion Simona Halep and second-ranked Paula Badosa will meet in the tournament's second round after opening with ...

Being in Madrid, I have great memories. So maybe I’m the favorite or no, I will try to give my best, because for sure she will push me to the limits.” “It means a lot.

The ATP tour heads to Spain this week with main-draw action from the Madrid Open set to begin on 1 May.

Alcaraz made his debut at the Madrid Open last year and lost to Rafael Nadal in the second round. The King of Clay is all set to make his comeback at the Madrid Open. Rafael Nadal started the year with a bang. Tsitsipas then competed at the Barcelona Open, where he was the runner-up in 2021. Ruud has already won a title on the red dirt this year, at the Argentina Open in February. His European clay season has been decent at best. He has already notched up some good results on the surface this season and will aim to continue his momentum in the Spanish capital. Up against Andrey Rublev in the final, he lost the first set yet again but won the next in a tie-break. Novak Djokovic returned to action at the Monte-Carlo Masters, but couldn't get past the first hurdle as he lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in three sets. He lost to Novak Djokovic on that occasion in straight sets. Having won six titles on the surface already, he's always a threat to in clay tournaments. Andy Murray, who had earlier decided to skip the clay season, reversed his decision and will participate in Madrid as well. Arch-rival Novak Djokovic is also participating, making it the first time this season that the duo are competing in the same tournament. He'll have his work cut out for him if he wants to win consecutive titles in Madrid, a feat achieved by only one player so far, Rafael Nadal.

The WTA Madrid Open is currently underway in Le Caja Majica and there are some fascinating players to follow including Badosa, Osaka, ...

Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is the only player to feature in the Madrid Open every year since it began in 2009. So far, in the history of the tournament, Dominika Cibulkova is the only woman ranked outside the top 30 to reach the Madrid final. With Swiatek pulling out, Badosa, playing her first tournament as the new world No 2, is the highest seed in the draw.

Simona Halep and Paula Badosa have lined up a round-of-32 clash.

In her first-round clash, Halep came through against Shuai Zhang, 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and eight minutes. The Spaniard defeated Sorana Cirstea, 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 36 minutes. Bouzkova won 6-4, 7-5 in an hour and 34 minutes.

Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins has advanced to the second round of the Madrid Open with a straight-set victory over Monica Puig.

“I just needed to be patient and try to get myself back into it.” I think she played at a super-high level, especially in the first set, and gave me a lot of challenges, so I really needed to just find my rhythm on the court.” “You don’t know what type of game style that they’re going to play, so it was a little bit tricky trying to anticipate what she was going to do.

Danielle Collins, who was on an eight-match winning streak, defeated Monica Puig in straight sets 7-5, 6-0 to progress in Madrid Open.

“I just needed to be patient and try to get myself back into it.” I think she played at a super-high level, especially in the first set, and gave me a lot of challenges, so I really needed to just find my rhythm on the court.” Puig, the Olympic gold medalist in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, is returning to action following shoulder and bicep surgeries.

Andy Murray has been drawn against Dominic Thiem in the first round of the Madrid Open while Carlos Alcaraz could face Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.

Aslan Karatsev v Qualifier The trio have received first-round byes. The Austrian former world No. 3 has won 17 titles on the ATP tour and !0 of them on clay.