MASON, Ohio: Top-ranked Iga Swiatek survived in her return to hard courts Wednesday night in the Cincinnati Open, outlasting Varvara Gracheva 6-0, 6-7 (8), 6-2.
Playing for the first time since finishing third for Poland in the Paris Olympics, Swiatek set up a third-round match against Marta Kostyuk — a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Lulu Sun.
Swiatek won her third straight French Open title in May and has six WTA Tour victories this season.
On the men’s side in the US Open tune-up event, top-ranked Jannik Sinner got past American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5 in his first match.
In the late match, Jiri Lehecka upset fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Earlier in women’s play, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat 11th seeded Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-2. Andreeva was playing her first match since taking a silver medal in doubles in Paris.
“I just went out there, tried to show my best level, and tried to win a match, and I think I did it,” Andreeva said.
Andreeva will face 2016 Cincinnati champion Karolina Pliskova.
Toronto semifinalist Diana Shnaider of Russia, Andreeva’s doubles partner in Paris, beat Zhang Shuai 6-1, 6-4.
Sinner improved to 25-2 on hard courts this season and advanced to a third-round meeting with Australia’s Jordan Thompson. Sinner is trying to reach the quarterfinals in Cincinnati for the first time.
“I’m very happy to be in the next round,” the Italian star said. “For me this is a place where I used to struggle a lot in the past years, so let’s see what I can do this time.”
Thompson beat Sebastian Baez 6-2, 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, in his first tournament since announcing he would no longer be coached by his father, rallied to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Tsitsipas, the No. 9 seed, revealed that Apostolos Tsitsipas would no longer coach him after losing to Kei Nishikori in his first match last week in Montreal.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner advance in Cincinnati Open
https://arab.news/pvxw6
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner advance in Cincinnati Open
- Iga Swiatek won her third straight French Open title in May and has six WTA Tour victories this season
- On the men’s side, top-ranked Jannik Sinner gets past American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5 in his first match
Morocco part company with coach Regragui as World Cup looms
RABAT: Morocco parted company with coach Walid Regragui on Thursday, three months before the World Cup, with the country’s football federation naming Mohamed Ouahbi as his replacement.
Regragui leaves despite having led the Atlas Lions to the World Cup semifinals in 2022 and to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations at the beginning of this year.
“I leave my post with loyalty, gratitude, and the certainty that I have served my country,” he declared during a ceremony broadcast live on television, confirming weeks of persistent rumors that he was on his way out.
Ouahbi, 49, is promoted to the role having overseen Morocco’s triumph at the Under-20 World Cup in October, with the federation describing the move as “a strategic transition” in the run-up to the World Cup in North America in June and July.
“It’s a desire not to waste time and to take a different direction,” a source close to the Moroccan Federation told AFP.
“By appointing Mohamed Ouahbi and welcoming top-tier reinforcements, we are raising our standards and our demands,” the source said.
Morocco will be in Group C at the World Cup along with five-time winners Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.
They begin their campaign against Brazil at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City on June 13 and will be hoping to make a big impression at the tournament before co-hosting the 2030 edition with Spain and Portugal.
“Our ambition is to consolidate our place among the best nations in a sustainable way and to perform well from this summer, as well as in 2030,” the leader of the Moroccan federation, Fouzi Lekjaa, said recently.
Regragui was hailed in 2022 after Morocco became the first African nation in World Cup history to reach the semifinals, beating Spain and Portugal along the way.
However, Regragui likely paid the ultimate price for the manner in which Morocco lost the recent AFCON final to Senegal.
His team were beaten 1-0 after extra-time at the end of a match marred by the Senegal team’s decision to walk off the pitch in protest at the award of a controversial late penalty to the hosts.
The penalty award with the game goalless sparked trouble in the crowd involving Senegal fans, 18 of whom were jailed following the disruption.
Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz eventually took the penalty after a long delay but his kick was saved and Senegal went on to win the game.
