Serena Williams was sent spinning out of the Western and Southern Open by Maria Sakkari on Tuesday after the Greek rallied from a set down to beat the 23-times Grand Slam champion 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals.
Top seed Novak Djokovic made quick work of Tennys Sandgren at the Western and Southern Open on Tuesday, never dropping serve en route to a 6-2, 6-4 win over the American, while big-serving Milos Raonic enjoyed a straight sets win over Andy Murray.
Andy Murray claimed the biggest win of his comeback and a place in the last 16 of the Western and Southern Open on Monday by taking out self-destructing fifth seed Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic fired 19 aces to topple Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-4 and set up a second-round clash with either Dan Evans or Russian 10th seed Andrey Rublev.
Dowse said that the women's competition will see 10 former Grand Slam champions, including 23-time major winner Serena Williams, along with 81 of the top 100. In the men's event, seven of the world top ten are competing.
The hard court, outdoor competition in Lexington, Kentucky, marked the WTA's first tournament in the United States since the coronavirus outbreak forced almost all sport into a long break earlier this year.
American Jennifer Brady defeated compatriot Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4 at the Top Seed Open on Saturday, earning a spot in her first WTA final.
Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has joined a growing list of players who have decided not to play in this year's tournament due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament will take place in a quarantined setting from Aug. 31-Sept. 13 in New York. The Western & Southern Open, which was relocated from Cincinnati this year, will be held from Aug. 20-28 as a warm-up event for the Grand Slam.
Murray seeks assurance on quarantine issues before US Open.
Sofia Kenin lifted her first Grand Slam trophy in Melbourne at the start of the year and then added a WTA title in Lyon, days before the circuit came to a halt due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Britain's Andy Murray expects some of the top male players to follow women's world number one Ash Barty in skipping next month's US Open in New York due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Australian Barty said on Thursday she is not comfortable travelling to the United States amid the pandemic for the hardcourt Grand Slam, which begins on August 31.
Naomi Osaka's management team told Reuters via email that she would be participating at Flushing Meadows.
The US Open kicks off on August 31 and will be held in its usual home in Flushing Meadows, Queens, but will be played without fans in attendance to limit the spread of the virus.
Former champions Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams have all entered next month's Western & Southern Open in New York, which will serve as a tune-up for the US Open, tournament organisers said on Wednesday. Organisers of the August 20-28 event, which was relocated from Cincinnati this year because of COVID-19, said defending champions Daniil Medvedev and Madison Keys are also among the initial entries.
Serena Williams will return to the court for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic when she competes at the inaugural edition of the Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky beginning August 10, the WTA said on Thursday.
Men's governing body ATP on Monday unveiled a revised system for calculating world rankings when the season resumes in August following a five-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditionally the ATP rankings operates on a formula of 18 best results over 52 weeks but will now cover a 22-month period from March 2019 through December 2020.
The ATP tour, which was suspended in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, is set restart on Aug. 14 with the Citi Open, followed by the Cincinnati Masters, which will be held at Flushing Meadows before the US Open.
An FFT statement said it had consulted with the ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation (ITF) to allow the Roland-Garros showpiece the benefit of an extra week.
Fewer than half of Americans plan to go to sports events, concerts, movies and amusement parks when they reopen to the public until there is a proven coronavirus vaccine. That includes those who have attended such events in the past, an ominous sign for the sports and entertainment industries hoping to return to the spotlight after being shut down by the pandemic.
All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chief executive Richard Lewis said he hoped the situation will stabilise in the coming months to allow the hardcourt season to get underway before the US Open begins on Aug. 24.
'I don't want to rush anything or put a timeline on my recovery. I'm going to listen to my body and step back on the court to compete when the time is right'
Ruud, who did not take kindly to Kyrgios's tweet then about how he had celebrated the victory, said the hot-headed 24-year-old was "completely crazy" and had behaved like an "idiot" on the court.
Kyrgios earned a suspended six-month ban in September for those transgressions but it only applies to the ATP Tour and not the Davis Cup.
American teenage sensation Coco Gauff became the youngest player to win a WTA title in 15 years as she beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the Linz Open final on Sunday.
The three-time major winner would be given a protected ranking of number two, the Australian Open organisers said
World number one Novak Djokovic blasted past qualifier Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
Australia's Alex de Minaur fought back from a set down to beat former world number one Andy Murray
Former world number one Andy Murray won his first ATP tour singles match in nearly nine months with a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-1 victory over American Tennys Sandgren in the opening round of the Zhuhai Championships.
The 90-minute music, dance, and multimedia show featured close to 400 artists and community members from Texas and across the United States.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Naomi Osaka has sacked her second coach in seven months, splitting with Jermaine Jenkins
French Open champion Barty exited the tournament in the last 16 but regained the number one spot after last year's champion Naomi Osaka was also knocked out at the same stage.
'I know earlier in the tournament I said something in kind of a bad way and now I'm saying it in a good way: That it's because of your energy that I'm in the final'
Four times now, twice at Wimbledon (2018, 2019) and at the US Open (2018, 2019) Serena Williams has come agonizingly close to that 24th Grand Slam only to fall at the final hurdle.
Serena's coach said it had been a winding road following the birth of her daughter in 2017 to the kind of peak performance that brought her US Open success in the past.
Man of many faces, Medvedev now a Grand Slam finalist
Medvedev whips Dimitrov to enter US Open final
Big serving Berrettini is having a breakout year, with two titles under his belt, one on grass and one on clay, and is now on the brink of becoming the first Italian male grand slam finalist in more than 40 years.
Overpowers Svitolina to reach second straight US Open final
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