8:47 PM ET Novak Djokovic once again stands at the brink of completing the most difficult single-match assignment on Sunday at Roland Garros: defeating Rafael Nadal, who has never lost a final in 12 championship matches in the French Open. Lest you take that for hyperbole, listen to Djokovic. “Well, isn’t it obvious?” he asked
Tennis
12:28 PM ET Associated Press PARIS — Defending champion Rafael Nadal is through to a 13th French Open final after beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (0). The 12th-seeded Argentine won their previous meeting last month in the Italian Open quarterfinals. But this was his 10th defeat in 11 career matches against Nadal. Schwartzman trailed
8:12 PM ET Only two individuals stand in the way of a historic French Open clash between top seed Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who is on a quest to equal Roger Federer‘s all-time Grand Slam singles title record for men at 20. While neither Stefanos Tsitsipas nor Diego Schwartzman has played a
5:23 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com After advancing to the 2020 French Open women’s semifinals on Wednesday, Sofia Kenin was asked if there was a word that summed up what she loved so much about tennis. The 21-year-old American didn’t hesitate. “Winning, definitely,” she said. “That’s my answer.” Kenin has never hidden her desire to win
10:58 AM ET Associated Press PARIS — Iga Swiatek is just 19. She’s ranked 54th. She’s never won a tour-level title. She’d never been past the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament. And she’s as dominant as can be so far at the French Open. Poland’s Swiatek became the lowest-ranked women’s finalist at Roland
1:38 PM ET Associated Press PARIS — There were plenty of recent reasons for Stefanos Tsitsipas to doubt himself, to wonder how things could keep going so awry. And yet here he is, a French Open semifinalist for the first time. The fifth-seeded Tsitsipas completely changed the match’s complexion Wednesday with a little help from
7:41 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com After months of uncertainty leading into the French Open, rescheduled from its traditional spring date due to the coronavirus pandemic, the semifinal round is finally here. It has been a chaotic week and a half at Roland Garros, filled with early exits of favorites and a never-ending stream of weather
3:32 PM ET Associated Press PARIS — French Open semifinalists Sofia Kenin and Stefanos Tsitsipas have both been fined $8,500 at the tournament so far for multiple infractions, including receiving coaching help. Both coincidentally were docked the same amounts for the same offenses: $3,000 for coaching in the first round, another $4,000 for coaching in
10:25 AM ET ESPN News Services PARIS — Sofia Kenin extended her run of success at Grand Slam tournaments this year by beating Danielle Collins 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 on Wednesday to reach the French Open semifinals. Kenin has now won a tour-leading 15 matches at majors this year. She started the year by winning the
3:00 PM ET ESPN News Services Diego Schwartzman came back to beat US Open champion Dominic Thiem in five sets across more than five hours at the French Open on Tuesday, reaching the first Grand Slam semifinal of his career. Schwartzman, of Argentina, was two points from defeat on three occasions in the fourth set
10:40 AM ET Associated Press PARIS — After becoming the first qualifier to reach the women’s semifinals at Roland Garros in the Open era, Nadia Podoroska threw her racket in the air, tilted her head back and pumped both fists. Podoroska had just knocked out Elina Svitolina, the French Open’s third seed who, on Tuesday,
10:18 AM ET Prosecutors in France have opened an investigation into match-fixing at the ongoing French Open, according to French news service AFP. The target is a doubles match featuring Romanian pair Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Tig, and Yana Sizikova of Russia and her American partner, Madison Brengle. No individual player has been named
1:47 AM ET Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The ATP and WTA tournaments set for Auckland in January have been canceled because of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. ASB Classic tournament director Karl Budge announced the decision Tuesday, saying work on hosting the tennis tournaments had been well advanced but logistical and safety
6:17 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com The 2020 French Open women’s quarterfinalists are an unlikely bunch. With the early exits of stars like Serena Williams and Simona Halep, and the absence of defending champion Ashleigh Barty and US Open winner Naomi Osaka, the draw is more wide open than ever. Seven women have already punched their
8:45 AM ET Associated Press Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova reached the French Open quarterfinals for the first time in eight years by beating Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-4. The seventh-seeded Czech player lost her only semifinal match at Roland Garros in 2012. Zhang had a medical timeout while trailing 5-2 in the first set. Kvitova
4:11 PM ET D’Arcy MaineESPN.com Simona Halep arrived at the French Open as the overwhelming favorite. The world No. 2 and top seed was virtually unbeatable on clay. She skipped the US Open to focus on the surface, winning both tournaments she played in Prague and Rome since the sport’s resumption in August and hadn’t
9:19 AM ET ESPN News Services Two-time French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem survived a spirited comeback by a French wild-card entry to win their fourth-round match in five sets. Thiem, coming off his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, barely got past 239th-ranked Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3 at Court Philippe
6:50 AM ET Associated Press Polish teenager Iga Swiatek ousted the 2018 champion and top-seeded Simona Halep from the French Open, winning 6-1, 6-2 to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Swiatek, the only teenager who reached the fourth round, avenged a crushing defeat by Halep at the same stage last year. The Romanian won