Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Tuesday 11 June 2019
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

strikes 13 aces on

Stuttgart Open debut

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty poses with the trophy during a photo call at the Roland Garros stadium
in Paris, Sunday, June 9, 2019.
Associated Press
French Open champ Barty up

to career-best No. 2 in rankings Jo-Wilfried Tsonga serves the ball to Mischa Zverev during
their first round match at the ATP tennis tournament in Stuttgart,
Germany, Monday, June 10, 2019. (Sila
Associated Press
By HOWARD FENDRICH keta Vondrousova of the set in the quarterfinals, de-
AP Tennis Writer Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 in fending champion Simona STUTTGART, Germany (AP) missing the clay-court sea-
PARIS (AP) — French Open Saturday’s final at Roland Halep, dropped from No. — Jo-Wilfried Tsonga pow- son with a right knee injury.
champion Ash Barty’s first Garros. 3 to No. 8. She used to be ered past 2017 semifinalist Shapovalov was due to play
Grand Slam title allowed Barty took about a 1½-year ranked No. 1. Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-0 be- Germany’s Jan-Lennard
her to rise to a career-best break from tennis after the Another former top-ranked fore rain brought an early Struff but their match was
No. 2 on Monday, almost 2014 U.S. Open, saying she player and past French end to play at the Stuttgart put back to Tuesday due
three years to the day needed time away from Open champion, Garbine Open on Monday. Tson- to the rain. Earlier, Miomir
after she re-entered the the pressures and rigors of Muguruza, fell six places to ga struck 13 aces as he Kecmanovic rallied to beat
WTA rankings following a life on the tour. No. 25. wrapped up his debut at German veteran Philipp
hiatus from tennis while she She returned to competi- The top eight spots in the the grass-court tournament Kohlschreiber 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
played professional cricket. tion in 2016, and on June ATP rankings stayed the in under an hour to set up The 19-year-old Serb will
Barty moved up six places 8 of that year, she moved same, with French Open a second-round meet- next play Shapovalov or
and now trails only reigning back into the rankings at champion Rafael Nadal ing with the sixth-seeded Struff. Among Tuesday’s
U.S. Open and Australian No. 623. at No. 2, behind Novak Milos Raonic or Australian other scheduled matches,
Open champion Naomi Look at her now, so close to Djokovic. Roger Federer qualifier Alexei Popyrin. Ra- it’s the fifth-seeded Gael
Osaka. No. 1. is still at No. 3, and Roland onic, who lost last year’s Monfils vs. American Steve
“New ground for me. New “That’s kind of the next Garros runner-up Dominic final to Roger Federer, is Johnson, Auger-Aliassime
experiences, new feelings. point, the next goal, the Thiem is No. 4. one of three seeded Ca- vs. Ernests Gulbis, and Mat-
A goal of mine this year was next situation I could see This was the first time since nadians, alongside Felix teo Berrettini vs. Nick Kyr-
to try and crack the top 10. myself in,” Barty said about the 2012 Australian Open Auger-Aliassime and De- gios. The Stuttgart Open
And we were able to do the idea of trying to over- that the top four men in the nis Shapovalov. Raonic is made the switch from clay
that,” said Barty, a 23-year- take Osaka for the top spot. rankings all reached the making his comeback after to grass in 2015.q
old Australian who ended “But being No. 2 in the semifinals at a tournament.
last season at No. 15. world’s incredible. It’s Karen Khachanov, a quar- Sharapova to return
“And then it was chipping something I never dreamed terfinalist in Paris, cracked
away, trying to get top five. of as a child and obviously the top 10 for the first time, at Mallorca Open
It’s all happened pretty we’ll keep chipping away rising two spots to No. 9,
quickly over the last two and try our best to get to with Fabio Fognini at No. after shoulder injury
weeks. But we’re trying to No. 1.” 10.
take it in our stride and ob- Runner-up Vondrousova’s Top U.S. man John Isner, MADRID (AP) — Maria what she called a “small
viously we’ll have a couple run to her first Grand Slam who missed the French Sharapova will return to procedure” in hopes of
of quiet days now to relax, final helped her get from Open with a foot injury, tennis at next week’s Mal- dealing with the issue that
to enjoy, to celebrate. And No. 38 to No. 16 on Mon- dropped out of the top 10 lorca Open after being had been causing her pain
then set new goals.” day. to No. 11. sidelined with a right shoul- since last year.
She never had been past Semifinalist Amanda Anisi- Three-time major champi- der injury since January. Sharapova will be joined
the fourth round at a major mova, a 17-year-old Ameri- on Stan Wawrinka’s run to The Mallorca Open says the by 17-year-old Amanda
tournament until getting to can, also made quite a his first Grand Slam quarter- former No. 1 has accepted Anisimova, who eliminated
the Australian Open quar- jump, going from No. 51 to final in two years after knee a wild-card invitation. defending champion Si-
terfinals in January. No. 26. surgery boosted him nine The 32-year-old Sharapova mona Halep at the French
She beat 19-year-old Mar- The player Anisimova up- places to No. 19.q hasn’t played since her ail- Open and reached the
ing shoulder forced her to semifinals. The Mallorca
withdraw from the St. Pe- Open is run by Toni Nadal,
linda.reijnders@cspnv.com tersburg Open in January. uncle and former coach of
In February, she underwent Rafael Nadal.q