Shi showcases style and substance
PARIS — The magic that makes a Grand Slam champion is coming together for Britain’s Andy Murray at just the right time, according to former world No 1 Mats Wilander.
Murray swept aside Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6, 7-5, 6-0 in the French Open third round on Saturday, and Wilander saw something of a gear change in the top seed, who had been struggling recently.
“I think it is coming,” the Swede, 52, told Reuters at Roland Garros. “It is coming at the right time for us, and at the right time for him.
“Andy is the sort of guy who thrives on the challenge of man-to-man, he likes to feel his way.
“It is the fight when he is level that he loves, and we saw that today, how he really upped his game in that tiebreak.
“I mean he didn’t really hit any normal shots in the tiebreak, a couple of dropshots, some serve-and-volleying, but that is what the greats are like.
“It is a feeling, a sense for knowing what to do. I mean sometimes it means you hit the dumbest shots ever, but that instinct is what makes the greats, and we saw that in Andy today.”
With Rafa Nadal seemingly in impenetrable form, marching towards a 10th French Open title, Murray’s upturn in fortunes may not be enough to win the crown in Paris, but it Serena still hitting balls, baby bump and all all bodes well for Wimbledon, Wilander said.
“It is good for what comes next, it is all positive, only positive. He now has great momentum going.
“Just the way he is playing is positive. We saw in the last round against Martin Klizan he lost the first set and so changed something and won.
“Today he won that tight set and then his opponent basically gave the match to him.”
Demoralized by losing the opener on a disputed line call, Del Potro stood at the net, bent at the waist, his head resting on the netcord. There the Argentine stayed like that until the umpire called time about three minutes later.
“You can’t do that,” said Wilander, a three-time winner at Roland Garros in the 1980s. “He basically handed him the match.
“But still, Murray fought well in the second. It often isn’t how you are hitting the ball, it is the quality of your fight. And then in the third he thought, ‘OK, you try to stay with me now, I am world No 1, you come with me.”
Before the French Open, Briton Murray had lost seven of his 23 tour matches in 2017 – hardly the form of the world’s top-ranked player.
However, Wilander said: “It happens to the best. “They can have off-days, it just happens.”
With her good looks, fetching figure and super shots, there are plenty of reasons why China’s rising star Shi Yuting reminds of Michelle Wie.
And rather like American superstar Wie during her trailblazing teens, 19-year-old Shi upstaged the adults on Saturday by winning the Le Coq Sportif Beijing Ladies Classic, thrilling the local fans and turning heads in the fashion stakes to boot.
“My sponsor has a specific plan for the design of my outfits according to the different seasons,” said the young Beijinger after storming to a twostroke victory ahead of second-placed Thai Supamas Sangchan at Beijing Orient Pearl Country Club.
“The staff will help arrange the best dress collection for me. Sometimes I will also discuss with them to find clothes that best suit my style.
“I think it’s important to keep shining in the limelight and during competition.”
Shi, who has spent the first half of the year playing in her rookie season on the Japan LPGA Tour, closed with a remarkable nine birdies over the final 12 holes for her second 65 of the week and a total 54-hole score of 16-under 200 – enough to earn her second China LPGA Tour victory.
“This is my first China LPGA Tour event this season. I am the happiest girl now,” said a beaming Shi.
“I’m young and energetic, so I will try to play as much as possible this season on the JLPGA and gain more experi- ence of playing on different courses.”
Sangchan claimed the runner-up spot after firing a final-round 64, while overnight leader Na Hee-wan of South Korea carded a 70 to finish third, four shots off Shi’s winning mark.
Going into the day onestroke off the lead, Shi quickly found herself two strokes down when playing partner Na birdied the first hole. Both players shot a bogey five on the par-4 second before Shi dropped another stroke with a bogey on the next.
“I am not a long hitter. I just accept those two early bogeys because one is a long par-4 and another is a long par-3,” said Shi, who last week retained her China National Team individual title in Langfang, Hebei province, while also leading the Beijing Wom- en’s Team to the team title.
After settling down to make three straight pars following her rocky start, Shi began her birdie blitz at the seventh hole in an impressive run that included five in succession from the 12th, tying her personal best.
“I thought I might have many birdie chances on the back nine and it is actually what happened. I played great and it worked,” enthused Shi.
“I’m really excited with two wins over two weeks in China. I didn’t treat them differently, both are important.”
Thai Narisara Kerdrit (72), who matched the tournament record score with 9-under 63 in the first round, finished eight strokes off the pace, tied for fourth with Chinese trio Chen Liqin (68), Liu Ruixin (69) and Liu Yan (71).
does his trademark fist-pump during his French Open third-round win over Juan Martin Del Potro.
At six months pregnant, Serena Williams is refusing to let her baby bump get in the way of forehands or backhands — she is still working out and playing tennis to retain her touch, her long-time coach told Reuters on Saturday.
Although the 23-time Grand Slam champion has not played competitively since winning the Australian Open in January, she has been soaking up the Roland Garros atmosphere this week, watching sister Venus play and catching up with friends.
“She’s working out and she even played tennis the other day,” her long-time coach Patrick Mouratoglou said in an interview in Paris on Saturday.
“She said to me she didn’t want to lose her touch. Of course she went slow, but she wanted to hit the ball.”
The American former world No 1, who announced her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in December, posted a picture on Snapchat on April 20 with the words “20 weeks”. That means Williams would currently be 26 weeks pregnant.
Although the three-time French Open winner deleted the 20-week photo afterwards, her pregnancy was confirmed later that day by her publicist, Kelly Bush Novak.
Speaking at a conference hosted by media organization TED a week later, Williams said she had been keeping a diary of her pregnancy and had accidentally posted the shot online.
Although she turns 36 in September, and achieved a longtime goal when she won an Open era-record 23rd major title in Australia, she has every intention of coming back, according to Mouratoglou.
“When she called me to tell me she was pregnant, in the same sentence she said: ‘I’m pregnant but I will be back, will you wait for me?’” the Frenchman said. “She is really planning on coming back, and she said to me, ‘I am not done, I cannot finish like this.’”