By Associated Press - Tuesday, July 9, 2019

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - The Latest at Wimbledon (all times local):

8:45 p.m.

The first deciding-set tiebreaker was played at Wimbledon since the tournament changed its rules for this year.

In men’s doubles, Henri Kontinen and John Peers beat Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 13-12 in the fifth set of their third-round match after winning the tiebreaker 7-2. Wimbledon traditionally didn’t play tiebreakers in the final set of matches but introduced one for this year if the score reaches 12-12.

The longest match in Wimbledon history was in 2010, when John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set. Last year, Kevin Anderson beat Isner 26-24 in the fifth set in the semifinals.

Kontinen and Peers won 7-6 (2), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 13-12 (2).

___

8:25 p.m.

Andy Murray was asked and asked and asked, but he just wouldn’t - or just couldn’t - give the British media the answer they wanted to hear.

Murray, who reached the third round in mixed doubles at Wimbledon with partner Serena Williams, is skipping the singles tournament at the All England Club this year as he works his way back from hip replacement surgery.

His good play on the court has some in the country hoping Murray will be able to get back to playing singles imminently, perhaps as soon as the U.S. Open - where Murray won the first of his three major titles in 2012.

“I think it’s pretty unlikely just in terms of timing,” Murray said. “The amount of work I need to do on the court to get ready for singles, the amount of work I need to put in off the court to get myself strong enough to play best-of-five sets, it’s still quite a ways away, unfortunately.”

Murray and Williams won their second match in mixed doubles, beating Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo 7-5, 6-3. They will next face top-seeded Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar.

Murray also entered the men’s doubles tournament, but he and partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert lost in the second round.

___

7:35 p.m.

Serena Williams completed another two-win day at Wimbledon.

The mixed doubles team of Williams and Andy Murray beat Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round.

Earlier, Williams reached the semifinals in singles at the All England Club for the 12th time.

Williams also won two matches on Saturday, first in singles and then in mixed doubles.

___

5:30 p.m.

Barbora Strycova reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by beating Johanna Konta 7-6 (5), 6-1 on Centre Court.

Strycova trailed 4-1 in the first set but broke back for 4-3 and clinched the tiebreaker when Konta netted a forehand.

The unseeded Czech player, who will face Serena Williams in the semifinals, then raced to a 3-0 lead in the second and broke again for a 5-1 lead.

Strycova’s only other Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came in 2014 at Wimbledon, where her serve-and-volley style of play is effective on the grass courts.

Konta was the last British player remaining in the tournament. In 2017, Konta became the first British woman since Virginia Wade in 1978 to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, and she also made the last four at the French Open in June.

___

4:50 p.m.

Elina Svitolina came from a break down in both sets to beat Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-4 at Wimbledon and reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

Svitolina was down 4-1 in the opening set but broke back when Muchova served at 5-3 and won the next three games as well. In the second set, Muchova broke again for a 2-0 lead only for Svitolina to win the next five games. Svitolina failed to serve out the match on her first attempt at 5-2 but later converted her first match point when Muchova missed a backhand return.

Svitolina had lost her previous four Grand Slam quarterfinals, including at this year’s Australian Open, while her previous best result at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round in 2017. She will next play former No. 1 Simona Halep.

Muchova was trying to become the first woman since 1999 to reach the semifinals on her Wimbledon debut.

___

4 p.m.

Serena Williams says she sent an apology to Naomi Osaka for her behavior in last year’s U.S. Open final.

Williams, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals on Tuesday, says in a Harper’s Bazaar magazine article that she wrote to Osaka after not being able to “find peace.”

Williams says “I started seeing a therapist. I was searching for answers, and although I felt like I was making progress, I still wasn’t ready to pick up a racket. Finally I realized that there was only one way for me to move forward. It was time for me to apologize to the person who deserved it the most.”

Williams says she told the Japanese player she was a fan and that she was “truly sorry.”

Osaka answered the message, and Williams says “when Naomi’s response came through, tears rolled down my face.”

Williams was given three code violations by chair umpire Carlos Ramos in the U.S. Open final, resulting in the loss of a game. The first came as a result of what Ramos deemed coaching from her box. The second was for smashing her racket, costing her a point. And the third came after she called Ramos “a thief.”

___

3:15 p.m.

Serena Williams was pushed to three sets on Centre Court before beating fellow American Alison Riske 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to reach her 12th Wimbledon semifinal.

Williams broke for a 5-3 lead in the third set when Riske double-faulted on the fourth break point of the game, and then served out the win with an ace.

Williams was down a break twice in the opening set but came back both times and broke again in the final game. But in the second set, Riske broke for a 5-4 lead before holding serve to even the match.

Riske converted all five break points she created, while Williams needed 16 opportunities to break six times.

Williams is seeking an eighth Wimbledon title and 24th Grand Slam victory, while Riske was playing her first quarterfinal at a major tournament.

Williams was due back on Centre Court later Tuesday to play mixed doubles with Andy Murray.

___

2:40 p.m.

Simona Halep reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time, beating Zhang Shuai 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Halep was broken in her first service game as Zhang raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set, and the Romanian faced four more break points at 4-1. But she eventually held serve in a game that featured six deuces, and then broke back to make it 4-3. In the tiebreaker, she converted her first set point with a forehand winner.

In the second set, Halep broke twice for a 5-1 lead and converted her second match point with another forehand.

The 2018 French Open champion is looking for her second career Grand Slam title but had not reached the semifinals at the All England Club since 2014. She will next face either Elina Svitolina or Karolina Muchova.

___

10:40 a.m.

Garbiñe Muguruza, the 2017 Wimbledon champion, has split with her coach of about four years, Sam Sumyk.

The champion at the All England Club in 2017 and French Open in 2016 wrote on Twitter that it was “the end of an Extraordinary ride. … Beyond grateful for this last 4 years. Merci Sam.”

Besides winning two major titles, Muguruza also rose to the No. 1 ranking in 2017. She is currently ranked 27th and lost in the first round at this year’s Wimbledon tournament.

___

7:20 a.m.

Serena Williams will face fellow American Alison Riske in the quarterfinals at the All England Club as she chases an eighth Wimbledon title and a 24th major overall.

Riske upset top-ranked Ash Barty in the fourth round and will be playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal - in her 30th appearance at a Grand Slam tournament.

No. 7 Simona Halep is the highest seeded woman left in the draw. After beating teenage sensation Coco Gauff in straight sets, Halep will take on Zhang Shuai of China in the quarterfinals.

Also, Johanna Konta, the last British player in the tournament, will play Barbora Strycova, while No. 8 Elina Svitolina faces Karolina Muchova.

___

More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide