Madison Keys joked that she was tempted to confront protesters after many matches at the Italian Open were disrupted by climate crisis protest group Last Generation on Monday.
During Keys’ 6-2, 6-1 victory over Solana Cirstea, the match was halted for nearly an hour as protesters threw confetti onto the clay court and attempted to stake themselves in the stands. “Honestly, as soon as I saw them come over the fence, my first thought was, ‘Should I go for a tackle?'” Keyes said with a laugh.
“I stopped myself and then stopped the chair.” [umpire] He started yelling at me to sit down. Unfortunately, it’s starting to become a bit common. At that point, I realized I was probably going to be a little late, so I got off the court and tried to collect myself. ”
At about the same time, protesters also stopped play at the Pietrangeli court, where a doubles match was being held. In the grandstand of Rome’s second-largest courtroom, demonstrators were stopped before entering the courtroom. Asked about the increasing frequency of protests in the tennis world, Keys said, “I don’t feel the best when I’m on the court. The first thing I think about is my own safety. I probably don’t have cement or glue in my bag. I think the first step would be to ban them.”
key faces Iga SwiatekSwiatek became the top seed after an impressive 7-5, 6-3 victory over Angelique Kerber in a rematch of the Madrid Open semi-finals. Naomi Osaka’s promising run came to an end as she lost 2-6, 6-4 in the fourth round. Zheng Qinwen, 7th seed and Australian Open finalist.What will Zheng face next? coco gauffthe third seed, outpointed Paula Badosa 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
Arina Sabalenka She saved three match points en route to a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7) win in a thriller against Elina Svitolina. The second seed was treated for her back injury early in the final set, but she came from behind to win.She will next face the former French Open champion Elena Ostapenko She then came from behind to defeat Rebecca Slamkova 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Despite fighting hard in the second set against one of the most in-form players of the clay court season so far, Cameron Norrie Lost in the third round 6-2, 7-6 (1)Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 6 seed. “I’m feeling good, I’m feeling good,” Norrie said. “It’s really disappointing to lose a game like that because I feel like I have the level, I have the belief and I have everything to beat these players. But it’s not going to happen to me. .”
Norie has climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 8 after peaking in 2022 and early 2023, but is keen to take another step in his career. Currently ranked No. 30, he hasn’t lost to a lower-ranked opponent throughout the clay season, but he rarely wins against elite opponents, many of whom can outwit him.
“They’re doing better than me,” Nolley said. “They have more forehand accuracy and serve better than me. I think they have very good returns, but yeah, their forehand accuracy was just a little bit more accurate and they played the big points better than me.”
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Australian Alex de Minaur He defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 and will face Tsitsipas in the last 16. Andrei Rublev, who defeated Auger-Aliassime in the Madrid final, suffered a shocking 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to French qualifier Alexandre Muller.
current champion Daniil Medvedev He overcame his fear and defeated qualifier Hamad Medjedovic in three sets, winning 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5. tommy paul The American will face Medvedev in the last 16 after defeating Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-3.Holger Ruhn crashed after the Argentina game sebastian baez They fought back and won 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Andy Murray, on the other hand, surprisingly opted to make a major equipment change late in his career. Murray, who has played with a head racquet throughout his career, I plan to test the Yonex racket. It’s time to return to action this week at the ATP Challenger tournament in Bordeaux.
