Page 15 - aruba-today-20201008

A15
SPORTS Thursday 8 OcTOber 2020
After slow start at French Open, Tsitsipas into semifinals

By HOWARD FENDRICH and No. 1 Novak Djokovic or
JOHN LEICESTER No. 17 seed Pablo Car-
PARIS (AP) — There were reño Busta. Their quarter-
plenty of recent reasons for final — a rematch of the
Stefanos Tsitsipas to doubt U.S. Open match in which
himself, to wonder how Djokovic was disqualified
things could keep going so — was scheduled for later
awry. Wednesday.
And yet here he is, a French The other semifinal Friday is
Open semifinalist for the first No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. No.
time. 12 Diego Schwartzman.
The fifth-seeded Tsitsi- Nadal is seeking a record-
pas completely changed extending 13th champi-
the match's complex- onship at Roland Garros,
ion Wednesday with a which would raise his Grand
little help from his oppo- Slam trophy total to 20,
nent, 13th-seeded Andrey equaling Roger Federer's
Rublev, using a run of five record for men. Schwartz-
consecutive games, and man never has played in a
11 of 13, to take control on major semifinal.
the way to a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 In the women's semifinals
victory in the quarterfinals Thursday, it'll be No. 4 Sofia
at Roland Garros. Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas plays a shot against Russia's Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal match Kenin vs. No. 7 Petra Kvi-
Tsitsipas trailed by a break of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Wednesday, tova, and 54th-ranked Iga
early but got that back Oct. 7, 2020. Swiatek vs. 131st-ranked
when Rublev made four Associated Press Nadia Podoroska, the first
unforced errors while serv- female qualifier to get to
ing for the first set. And to convert a half-dozen could not close it out, ab- three sets that day to beat the final four at the French
Tsitsipas was on his way, match points and allowed sorbing another disheart- Munar, but Tsitsipas has not Open.
accumulating more than a massive lead — two sets ening loss. lost a single set since. Kenin, who won the Aus-
twice as many winners, 35, to one, 5-1 in the fourth — And then, two days after "I know the past few weeks tralian Open in February,
as unforced errors, 17, and to disappear against Borna that, in Paris, Tsitsipas ced- have been a little bit diffi- advanced Wednesday by
taking the point on 16 of his Coric in the third round last ed the initial two sets of his cult with certain losses that defeating Danielle Collins
17 trips to the net. month. first-round match against I had, and a bit unusual, to 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in an all-Amer-
After serving out the win at Then, against Rublev in 109th-ranked Jaume Mu- be honest," Tsitsipas said ican quarterfinal, after two-
love, ending it with a volley the final of the clay-court nar. after that first-round win, time Wimbledon champion
winner, Tsitsipas stood at Hamburg Open on Sept. Tsitsipas did not let that def- "but I'm trying to learn from Kvitova eliminated Laura
the net with a wide smile. 27, which also was Day 1 of icit daunt him. Nor, clearly, them, grow from them, and Siegemund 6-3, 6-3.
To think: At the last Grand the French Open, Tsitsipas was he too burdened by his trying to put them behind For Kenin, it's her first semifi-
Slam tournament, the served for the victory at 5-4 recent foibles, because not and continue stronger." nal in Paris; for Kvitova, her
U.S. Open, Tsitsipas failed in the third set and again only did he take the next On Friday, Tsitsipas will face first since 2012. q

Ganna solos to 2nd Giro stage win, Almeida retains lead

CAMIGLIATELLO SILANO, rides for Ineos Grenadiers, said. "I respect what my
Italy (AP) — World cham- had been part of the eight- captain tells me, even from
pion Filippo Ganna earned man breakaway and he his house."
his second stage victory at attacked 16 kilometers (10 The route didn't have a
this year's Giro d'Italia on miles) from the finish on the single patch of flat road.
Wednesday, and Portu- first-category climb of the It had two third-category
guese rider João Almeida Valico Montescuro. climbs before the Valico
added more than 40 sec- "I shouldn't even have Montescuro.
onds to his overall lead. gone in the break today, I Spanish rider Pello Bilbao
Ganna — the time trial was supposed to just help moved into second place
world champion and win- Salvatore Puccio," Ganna overall, 43 seconds behind
ner of the time trial in Stage said. "But after 40 kilometers Almeida. Jonathan Ca-
1 — sat up on his bicycle of attacks, I told him to get icedo had been just two
and punched the air be- on my wheel and we got seconds behind Almeida
fore burying his face in his away with the others." heading into the fifth stage
hands as he crossed the It gave Ineos Grenadiers but lost more than 16 min-
line at the end of the hilly reason to celebrate after utes on Wednesday. Filippo Ganna crosses the finish line to win the fifth stage of the
225-kilometer (139.8-mile) team leader and overall "It was a very cold stage, Giro D'Italia, tour of Italy cycling race, from Mileto to Camigli-
leg from Mileto to Camigli- favorite Geraint Thomas with some rain. I am happy atello Silano, Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020.
atello in Calabria in Stage withdrew from the Giro be- with how I rode," Almeida Associated Press
5. Patrick Konrad beat Al- fore Tuesday's fourth stage said. "After Caicedo was
meida in the sprint for sec- after breaking his pelvis in a dropped I managed to 188-kilometer (116.8-mile) from its usual May slot be-
ond place as they led the fall a day earlier. stay with the main favorites leg from Castrovillari to cause of the coronavirus
peloton over the line, 34 "Last night Geraint told me and gave everything until Matera featuring one third- pandemic. The race ends
seconds behind Ganna. to go for it and go in the the finish line." category climb. on Oct. 25 with an individu-
Ganna, an Italian who break, and so I did," Ganna Thursday's sixth stage is a The Giro was rescheduled al time trial in Milan.q