Strasbourg, France, 25 May 2017 | Darren Walton, AAP
Sam Stosur has continued her promising French Open build-up by advancing to her first semifinal since reaching the last four in Paris for a fourth time last year.
Stosur hammered nine aces en route to a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over fourth seed Carla Suarez Navarro in Strasbourg on Thursday.
.@bambamsam30 is first through to @WTA_Strasbourg Semifinals!
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Sam Stosur has WTA officials scrambling through the record books trying to find if any other woman in history has matched her incredible feat of 450 straight weeks as a national No.1.
Strasbourg, France, 25 May 2017 | AAP
Sam Stosur is celebrating an extraordinary milestone that is fuelling the veteran’s hopes of embarking on another big French Open charge.
Stosur will enter the claycourt Grand Slam, starting on Sunday, as Australia’s top-ranked women’s player for a magical 450th straight week.
The stunning statistic had WTA officials scrambling through the record books on Wednesday, trying to determine if any other woman in professional tennis history had enjoyed such a lengthy unbroken stint as their nation’s No.1.
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Paris, France, 25 May 2017 | AAP
Nick Kyrgios’s untimely injury setback has cost the Australian No.1 an all-important top-16 seeding for the French Open starting on Sunday.
After a blinding hardcourt campaign in the United States, Kyrgios’s momentum stalled when the death of his grandfather limited claycourt exposure and then a hip flexor problem forced his withdrawal from last week’s Rome Masters.
As a result, Kyrgios has dropped to 19th in the rankings and has been seeded 18th for Roland Garros after rising one position due to Roger Federer’s scratching to focus on Wimbledon.
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Not since Rachel McQuillan, Anne Minter and Kristin Godridge in Moscow in 1990 have three Australians reached the quarterfinals at the same WTA event.
Strasbourg, France, 25 May 2017 | AAP
In a huge boost two days out from the French Open draw, three Australian women have surged into the quarterfinals of a WTA event for the first time in 27 years.
Rome quarterfinalist Daria Gavrilova claimed it felt like a Fed Cup camp in sunny Strasbourg after joining Sam Stosur and Ashleigh Barty in the last eight.
“It’s awesome,” Gavrilova told AAP after outlasting Russian qualifier Elizaveta Kulichkova 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Barty, a 6-3 6-0 winner over Italian Camila Giorgi.
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Lyon, France, 25 May 2017 | Reuters
Ending Australia’s chances at the tournament after the exits of Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson bowed out in the second round of the ATP event in Lyon.
Thompson was beaten 6-2 7-6(3) by Russian world No.54 Karen Khachanov, who will next face second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Home favourite Tsonga fought back to secure a 6-7(2) 6-2 6-3 victory over Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq.
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Strasbourg, France, 25 May 2017 | AAP
Ashleigh Barty and Daria Gavrilova are set for a quarterfinal showdown at the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg.
The Australian pair reached the quarters in varying styles.
Rising star Barty stormed into the last eight at the Roland Garros tune-up with with a straight-sets win over Camila Giorgi.
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Paris, France, 24 May 2017 | tennis.com.au
Tuesday was a forgettable day for the Australian contingent in Roland Garros qualifying as all four in action fell at the first hurdle.
Sam Groth led Serbian Filip Krajinovic by a set and a break before fading to a 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2 defeat while all three Aussie women in action bowed out in the first round in straight sets.
Teenager Destanee Aiava put in a promising showing in a 7-6(5) 6-1 loss to 19th seed Rebecca Sramkova; the Victorian led 5-3 and 5-2 in the tiebreak before her relentless opponent proved too strong.
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Lyon, France, 24 May 2017 | AAP
Nine double-faults and 16 aces summed up a forgettable day for Nick Kyrgios at the ATP event in Lyon.
Kyrgios lost his opener 2-6 6-4 6-2 to Argentine Nicolas Kicker from a position in which he appeared to be cruising on Tuesday.
The Australian fourth seed and world No.19 ripped through the opening set, serving six aces to blast the 24-year-old qualifier off the court.
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Strasbourg, France, 24 May 2017 | AAP/tennis.com.au
Australia’s top-ranked female Sam Stosur has easily accounted for Madison Brengle to reach the last eight at the WTA’s Strasbourg International.
Stosur’s 6-0 6-1 victory over American Brengle was an identical score to her first-round win over Ying-Ying Duan.
During the match, which lasted just 49 minutes, Stosur blasted 27 winners while committing just five errors, and also produced five aces to just one double fault.
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Strasbourg, France, 23 May 2017 | AAP
Daria Gavrilova wasted little time beating 21-year-old American Louisa Chirico in the opening round of the WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg.
The Australian world No.25 defeated Chirico 6-2 6-3 in just over an hour of court time to join fellow Australians Sam Stosur and Ash Barty in the second round.
Gavrilova will next play Russian qualifier Elizaveta Kulichkova, while Stosur is set for a showdown with American qualifier Madison Brengle.
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Lyon, France, 23 May 2017 | AAP
Thanasi Kokkinakis’ long-awaited return to the ATP Tour didn’t exactly go to plan with the 21-year-old Australian falling to Uzbek world No.81 Denis Istomin 6-3 6-4 in the first round in Lyon.
Kokkinakis, who has spent the last 18 months battling debilitating injuries to his shoulder and abdomen, delivered a serviceable performance but it appeared he was well below his best.
His forehand, usually a strength, was at times erratic and he failed to make any inroads on Istomin’s serve.
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Melbourne & Olympic Parks, Olympic Blvd, Melbourne VIC • 3001, Australia, 22 May 2017 | PA
Jordan Thompson has sent eighth seed Benoit Paire packing on the opening day of the Lyon Open in France.
Thompson, playing his final event before the French Open, beat Paire 6-7(3) 7-6(5) 6-4 in just over 2.5 hours on the red clay.
Thompson, the world No.88, wobbled late when leading 5-2 in the third set and allowed Paire to get one break back before serving out the match at his second attempt.
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Strasbourg, France, 22 May 2017 | AAP
Sam Stosur and Ash Barty are both through to the second round of the Strasbourg Open after impressive first-round wins.
Between them the Australians dropped a total of two games as they romped to claycourt victories on Sunday.
Stosur beat Chinese world No.64 Ying Ying Duan 6-0 6-1 in just 50 minutes before qualifier Barty recorded the same 6-0 6-1 scoreline with a win over Turkish world No.157 Cagla Buyukakcay.
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Thanasi Kokkinakis has used a protected to ranking to enter the draw at the ATP event in Lyon, France, in what will be his first singles match since Rio 2016.
Lyon, France, 21 May 2017 | tennis.com.au
Thanasi Kokkinakis will play his first singles match in nine months after using a protected ranking to enter the singles field in Lyon.
The South Australian, having suffered from a slower-than-expected recovery following shoulder surgery in December 2015, will play his first singles match since the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last year.
Kokkinakis lines up against Denis Istomin, with the winner to face top seed Milos Raonic, who received a first-round bye.
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For the second straight Grand Slam event, Australian rising star Jaimee Fourlis has secured a main draw wildcard after winning through a play-off event.
Paris, France, 21 May 2017 | Matt Trollope
Jaimee Fourlis will contest her second straight Grand Slam event after winning a wildcard into the main draw at Roland Garros.
The 17-year-old Victorian produced a commanding performance to beat Isabelle Wallace in the final of the French Open Women’s Wildcard Play-off on Sunday in Paris.
Fourlis, who won the AO Wildcard Play-off in December before advancing to the second round at Australian Open 2017, got past Priscilla Hon, Arina Rodionova and Wallace to secure the prized main draw berth.
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Paris, France, 21 May 2017 | Matt Trollope
Jaimee Fourlis is one win away from scoring a second straight Grand Slam wildcard after getting past an injured Arina Rodionova on Saturday at Roland Garros.
In the final of the French Open Women’s Wildcard Play-off Fourlis will take on Isabelle Wallace, who brushed aside No.2 seed Lizette Cabrera in straight sets.
Fourlis won the AO Wildcard Pay-off in December and is on the brink of reaching the main draw in Paris; she was leading Rodionova 6-2 4-0 before the top seed pulled out, citing a hamstring injury.
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Melbourne & Olympic Parks, Olympic Blvd, Melbourne VIC • 3001, Australia, 20 May 2017 | AAP
The power-hitting of Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens proved too much for Daria Gavrilova to handle in their Italian Open quarterfinal.
The world No.20 Bertens dismissed Gavrilova with a 6-3 6-3 victory, producing a barrage of heavy forehands that the Australian could not withstand.
Bertens broke Gavrilova twice in each set, attacking the world No.33’s second serve.
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