No.21 seed Veronika Kudermetova defeated former champion Naomi Osaka, 6-0, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. Kudermetova will face Marie Bouzkova for a spot in the Round of 16 after the Czech qualifier earned her first Top 20 win of the season by defeating No.14 seed Jessica Pegula 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.
Kudermetova and Osaka were due to face each other for the first time earlier this season at the Melbourne Summer Set, before Osaka withdrew due to abdominal injury ahead of their semifinal clash. In their first meeting on Saturday night, Kudermetova proved the more in-form and consistent player, a result of a strong start to the season that has seen her make two finals in Melbourne and Dubai and enjoy doubles success as well by narrowly completing a sweep of titles in the Middle East.
Kudermetova held serve to open the match at 1-0 when a fan was heard heckling Osaka when the players switched ends. The incident left Osaka rattled for much of the match, as she fought back tears during play. On the next change of ends she asked the umpire if she could use the microphone to address the crowd. Osaka would play on but addressed the crowd after the match on court.
“Hi,” Osaka said, greeting the crowd. “I just wanted to say thank you. I feel like I cried enough on camera. To be honest, I’ve gotten heckled before and it didn’t really bother me. But heckled here. … I’ve watched a video of Serena and Venus getting heckled here and if you’ve never watched it you should watch. I don’t know why but it went into my head and got replayed a lot. I’m trying not to cry but, I just wanted to say thank you and congratulations [Veronika]. Thank you.”
Despite the situation swirling around her, Kudermetova remained laser-focused on the task at hand. She stormed through a 6-0 opening set with clutch serving, while benefitting from a wayward Osaka. Kudermetova saved all four break points she faced in the opening set, while keeping Osaka’s dangerous return game at bay. She served at 73% first serves in, winning 81% of her first-serve points.
Kudermetova’s return numbers were equally staggering, winning 75% of her first-serve return points and 67% of her second-serve return points. As Osaka struggled to find her range from both the baseline and service line – the former No.1 served at just 40% in the first set – Kudermetova took the opener after 32 minutes.
Osaka responded by raising her level in the second set. She held her serve to get on the board and kept Kudermetova at bay in her service games. But Kudermetova remained steadfast in her own service games. She did not face a break point in the second set and Osaka’s serve finally buckled at 3-3. With a break in hand, Kudermetova coolly held her serve two more times and closed out the match after 1 hour and 17 minutes.
“It’s nice to play against great players, against Naomi, because I never play against her,” Kudermetova said. “I want to play that match because I want to see what I can improve, what I need to improve. I play really well today. I hope I will continue to play like that.”
Azarenka returns to her winning ways
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka returned to her winning ways at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, defeating Australian lucky loser Astra Sharma 6-3, 7-5 in her second-round opener. Seeded No.13, Azarenka will face No.17 seed Elena Rybakina in the third round. Rybakina advanced earlier in the day by defeating Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-1, 7-5.
Azarenka was playing just her fourth match since the Australian Open, having withdrawn ahead of her last match in Doha with a left hip injury. In her first meeting against the 26-year-old Sharma, the former No.1 had her full arsenal on display, keeping sustained baseline pressure on Sharma while also charging into the net to finish points with ease.
“I felt that I played good in important moments,” Azarenka told reporters after the match. “I think there were a little bit ups and downs in some games where I felt like I could be a bit more decisive. But again, I haven’t played in a while. I have to get that match rhythm.
“Today was a good start to play against an opponent who gives a lot of different balls. I played actually I thought really well. I’m glad that I was able to handle myself and turn it up when it was important.”
While she served at 49% first serves in, Azarenka won nearly 80% of her first serve points and 46% of her second server points. Though broken three times for the match, Azarenka struck back to break Sharma five times, sealing the win after 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Fernandez saves four match points to advance
Leylah Fernandez, the 18th seed, came back from the brink to advance to the third round, saving four match points against Amanda Anisimova before the American retired due to illness at 2-6, 7-6(0). Fernandez will face American Shelby Rogers in the next round, a rematch of their exciting Round of 16 duel last year, which Rogers won 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4).
A champion in Monterrey last week, Fernandez extended her winning streak with a gritty second-set comeback. Down 5-3, the 19-year-old saved a match point on her serve to stay in the match and hold. With Anisimova serving at 5-4, Fernandez survived triple-match point to get to deuce and break to level the set.
With the momentum firmly on her side, the Canadian stepped up to save two break points to hold to 6-5, before Anisimova stopped the rot with a hold to force a tiebreak. With Anisimova struggling to maintain her baseline control, Fernandez ran away with the tiebreak, winning 7-0 to level the match. Anisimova subsequently retired citing illness.
Bouzkova continues strong form to upset Pegula
Czech qualifier Marie Bouzkova is finding her form once again. Now ranked No.97, the 23-year-old has enjoyed a strong run of form through North America, making the Guadalajara final, quarterfinals in Monterrey, and now backing up a successful qualifying campaign in Indian Wells to defeat No.19 Jessica Pegula 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the third round.
“We had a really tough match at the US Open,” Bouzkova said. “I lost in the third-set tiebreak. I thought about that match actually because there were times when I could have been more aggressive. So I told myself today, it doesn’t matter if I win or lose, just try to have it in my own hands a little bit more. Don’t have any regrets.”
After losing the opening set, Bouzkova dropped just two games for the remainder of the match. She did not face a break point in the second set, winning 92.3% of her first serve points to level the match. After breaking at love to open the third set, Bouzkova locked in on defense and saved all four break points she faced to seal the win after nearly two hours.
“A really big win and a very special one, too,” Bouzkova said. “I’ve always felt good to play here but got my first win this year, so I’m trying to build on that. After the first set I thought I felt great considering everything, I’m hitting the ball well but obviously Jessie is an amazing, clean hitter. She has so much power and she made some amazing shots. Even though I lost the first set I told myself to keep going, to keep being aggressive on my end. I found the right balance between attacking and defending some balls. It worked out really well in the end.”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
