Category: Tennis

Serena Williams was unable to summon the old magic as her Wimbledon return ended in a first-round defeat to little-known Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.

Stepping out on court to play singles for the first time since leaving Centre Court prematurely and in tears after suffering a hamstring injury in the opening round 12 months ago, Williams was rusty and error-prone.

The will remained and, cheered on by a supportive crowd, she looked like she might stumble over the finish line after coming from a set down and then saving a match point in the 12th game of the decider.

But instead Williams suffered just her third first-round loss at a grand slam, going down 7-5 1-6 7-6 (7) in a deciding tie-break at 10.35pm after three hours and 10 minutes in what could well be her Wimbledon farewell.

Tan, a 24-year-old debutante ranked 115, is the type of player Williams used to beat before even stepping on court but no one, including probably the 40-year-old herself, knew what to expect here.

Williams was rusty in the extreme in the first two games, her footwork leaden and her ball-striking wayward, but she gradually began to find some rhythm.

The American was particularly vocal, shrieking at every winner and error, and it worked as she moved into a 4-2 lead.

But the main question mark was always going to be around Williams’ fitness and she was puffing hard as Tan eventually broke back after a long service game.

The Frenchwoman could not hope to match her opponent for power but had considerable success with deft drop shots and lobs and looked to be enjoying herself as she moved into a 6-5 lead.

Williams had a chance to draw level and force a tie-break but looked anxious and was unable to convert as Tan moved ahead.

With darkness closing in, a brief pause for the roof to be closed worked in Williams’ favour. She cut out some of the errors, and the shrieking, and set about retrieving the deficit, breaking Tan in the second game of the set after a remarkable run of 12 deuces.

When Williams, who won the last of her seven singles titles here in 2016, moved 3-1 ahead in the deciding set, it appeared the hard part was behind her.

But two doubles matches in Eastbourne last week were scant preparation for a return to grand slam singles and things became complicated once again.

Williams began to show her emotions once more, leaping to celebrate the good moments and waving her arms in despair at the bad.

She slid deeper into trouble after failing to serve out the match at 5-4 but put away a drive volley to save a match point at 5-6 and force a deciding first-to-10-points tie-break.

Williams moved into a 4-0 lead but, on the stage where she has triumphed on so many occasions, this time there was not to be a happy ending.

Alexander Zverev has undergone surgery on torn ankle ligaments following his fall in the French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal.

Zverev fell and twisted his ankle at the end of the second set at Roland Garros on Friday, yelling in pain as Nadal rushed around the net to help.

The German was helped to his feet but taken off the court in a wheelchair for treatment.

After five minutes the 25-year-old re-emerged on crutches to inform the umpire that he could not continue.

Zverev has now confirmed he has had surgery on the injury but has not placed a time frame on his return.

Writing on Instagram, Zverev said: “We all have our own journey in life. This is part of mine. Next week I’ll reach a career high ranking of number 2 in the world, but this morning I had to undergo surgery.

“After further examination in Germany, we received confirmation that all three of the lateral ligaments in my right ankle were torn.

“To return to competition as quickly as possible, to ensure all the ligaments heal properly, and to reclaim full stability in my ankle, surgery was the best choice.

“My rehab starts now and I’ll do everything to come back stronger than ever!

“I am continuing to receive so many messages and would like to thank everyone once again for supporting me during such a difficult time.”

Rafael Nadal reclaimed his crown as the king of clay with a dominant victory over Casper Ruud at the French Open.

Roland Garros royalty returned to the throne as Nadal roared to a 14th title courtesy of a 6-3 6-3 6-0 win over first-time finalist Ruud.

Nadal is two days past his 36th birthday and suffering with a chronic foot problem, which has prompted rumours of retirement.

But he brushed aside Norwegian eighth seed Ruud to claim a 22nd grand slam victory to take him two ahead of great rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at the top of the all-time male rankings.

As expected the quarter-final win over Djokovic, the outgoing champion, proved Nadal’s biggest hurdle on his way to the ‘decimocuarto’.

By contrast, it was a walk in the Paris sunshine against Ruud, 17 years to the day since the Spaniard won his first title here.

Such is Nadal’s longevity he is now frequently coming up against players who idolised him as children.

Ruud, 23, is one of those, having been in the crowd when Nadal won his eighth title, against David Ferrer in 2013.

The Norwegian also trained at Nadal’s academy in Majorca, regularly playing practice sets with his hero.

This was their first competitive meeting, although the first set had all the intensity of a knock-about in the Spanish sun.

It was a rude awakening for the underdog when he was broken straight away, and although Nadal let him off the hook with a loose service game, the opening set was soon in the bag.

A double fault gave Ruud a break to love for a 3-1 lead in the second, but he was unable to press home the advantage as Nadal dipped into the energy reserves to hit straight back.

When a forehand winner zipped down the line to bring up set point, Ruud shook his head in despair, and promptly double-faulted to give Nadal a 2-0 lead.

Little went right for Norway’s first male singles grand slam finalist, and when he feathered a simple volley into the net Nadal was two breaks up in the third.

In the end it was a procession, with ‘Viva Espana’ blaring out from a band in the stands as Nadal added the Roland Garros trophy to the Australian Open he won earlier this year.

Whether his ageing, ailing body allows him to collect any more remains to be seen.

In his acceptance speech Nadal did, at least, scotch any thoughts of imminently hanging up his racket.

“For me personally, it is very difficult to describe the feelings that I have,” he said.

“It’s something that I never believed, that I would be here at 36, being competitive again, playing on the most important court of my career one more time in a final.

“It means everything to me. It means a lot of energy to try to keep going. I just want to say ‘merci, merci beaucoup’.”

“I don’t know what can happen in the future but I am going to keep fighting to try to keep going.”

Ruud’s name was added to a list of victims also including Djokovic, Federer, Ferrer, Mariano Puerta, Robin Soderling, Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka.

Gracious in defeat, he said: “This is a first time for me so let’s see how I do. The first and most important thing is to congratulate Rafa.

“It’s your 14th time, 22nd all round in Grand Slams. We all know what a champion you are.

“Today I got to feel how it is to play against you in a final. It’s not easy and I’m not the first victim. I know there have been many before.”