Stephens ousts 18th seed Muchova in Rd 3
PARIS: Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens overcame an attacking Karolina Muchova at the French Open on Saturday, ousting the Czech 18th seed with a 6-3, 7-5 victory and progressing to the fourth round.
Former world number three Stephens, who reached the final at Roland Garros in 2018, has slipped down the rankings to 59th currently. But the 28-yearold’s experience and consistency enabled her to fend off the challenge from Muchova, four years her junior. Australian Open semi-finalist Muchova had plenty of problems on her serve in the early stages of the match, and a lone break in the fourth game was enough for the American, who won her home major in 2017, to take the opening set on the Simonne Mathieu court.
After a double exchange of breaks in the second set, Stephens then took a third break to seal the win and set up a clash against either Czech Barbora Krejcikova or fifth-seeded
Wawrinka out of Wimbledon
Three-times Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka has pulled out of Wimbledon due to a foot injury that also ruled him out of the ongoing French Open, the governing body of men’s tennis (ATP) has said.
Former world number three Wawrinka underwent an operation on his left foot earlier this year. The 36-year-old Swiss has not played on the ATP Tour since his opening round defeat by Lloyd Harris at the Qatar Open in March. The Wimbledon competition starts on June 28.
Wawrinka has competed at the All England Club on 15 occasions, reaching the quarter-finals in 2014 and 2015. He won the Australian Open in 2014 before adding the French Open (2015) and U.S. Open (2016) titles to his trophy cabinet. The world number 24 is in rehabilitation at his base in Monaco. His spokeswoman told Reuters last month that the player hoped to be fit for the grasscourt season.