THIRD ROUND: DARIA KASATKINA VS. NAOMI OSAKA

 

RADUCANU VS. KASATKINA | STRASBOURG | ROUND 1

 

SAUDI ARABIA TO HOST NEXT GEN ATP FINALS FROM 2023 TO 2027

AP

The season-ending Next Gen Finals for men's under-21 tennis players will be held in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah from 2023 to 2027 as the ATP makes its first competitive foray into the Gulf state, the men's governing body said on Thursday.

The award of the tournament marks the latest move in world sport by Saudi Arabia which has pumped massive amounts of money into golf and soccer among others in recent years, drawing some scrutiny in the process.

The hardcourt tournament, which has been played in Milan since it began in 2017, will also have its prize money increased to a record $2 million, up from $1.4 million last year.

The ATP launched a bidding process in March to evaluate host cities in several regions before finalising on the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, with the King Abdullah Sports City indoor facility staging the event this year from Nov. 28-Dec. 2.

WTA ROUNDUP: COCO GAUFF CRUISES PAST JESSICA PEGULA INTO SEMIS

 

Reuters 

Fifth-seeded Coco Gauff breezed past No. 3 Jessica Pegula in an all-American quarterfinal match Thursday at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, England.

Gauff fired three aces en route to a 6-3, 6-3 wi in just 68 minutes. Gauff converted five of seve break points to advance to the semifinals, where she'll play another fellow American, Madison Keys.

The unseeded Keys scored a 6-4, 6-1 win over Petra Martic of Croatia.

Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Caroline Garcia of France was forced to retire in the second set, trailing No. 9 Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 2-1.

Italian Camila Giorgi also advanced when Jelena Ostapenko retired after the first set. Giorgi won the opener 7-6 (8) in one hour and 12 minutes.

Bad Homburg

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland continued her grass court tuneup with a dominating 6-3, 6-2 over No. 9 Anna Blinkova of Russia at Bad Homburg, Germany.

Swiatek draws Italy's Lucia Bronzetti in the semifinals. Bronzetti posted a 6-4, 6-3 upset of No. 8 seed Varvara Gracheva of France.

Also, Emma Navarro advanced when Rebeka Masarova of Spain retired in the second set with the players knotted at 1-1. Masarova took the first set 7-6 (2).

The other quarterfinal between Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Repuboic and second-seeded Liudmila Samsonova of Russia was suspended due to darkness. The match will pick up in the third set after Siniakova won the first set 7-5 and Samsonova the second, 6-4. The match is already eight minutes shy of two hours.

--Field Level Media

WTA ROUNDUP: COCO GAUFF CRUISES INTO QUARTERFINALS

Reuters 

Fifth-seeded Coco Gauff needed 59 minutes to advance while No. 4 Ons Jabeur was eliminated in the second round of the Rothesay International on Wednesday in Eastbourne, England.