Frances showed out in Vienna, the Billie Jean King Cup happened and events in Stockholm and Linz are currently under way
Frances Tiafoe made the Erste Bank Open (ATP 500) final as a qualifier – biggest final of his career to date! Beat top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets in round two, then 8th seed Diego Schwartzman in straights the quarters, and a salty Jannik Sinner in three in the semis. Lost to second seed Alex Zverev in straights in the final.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, the sixth seed, lost in the quarters to Zverev in three sets. Had a nice comeback win over the in-form Cam Norrie in the previous round.
Gael Monfils lost in the round of 16 to Schwartzman in three sets. Had a nice straight-sets win over Lorenzo Musetti in the previous round.
Jasmine Paolini, the seventh seed, reached the Courmayeur Ladies Open (WTA 250) semis where she lost to eventual champ Donna Vekic in straight sets. Played very well to beat Dayana Yastremska the quarters.
In Billie Jean King Cup action, Sloane Stephens picked up a win against Spain’s Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-4, 6-4 which helped the USA to a 2-1 win. In the semis, Stephens lost a thrilling three-setter to Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova 6-1, 4-6, 3-6.
Francoise Abanda secured a big win against Fiona Ferro – 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 – for Canada who beat France in the first round. The 24-year-old has an impressive record in the competition since 2015. Beat Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in 2019. In 2017 she beat Kazakhs Yulia Putintseva and Yaroslava Shvedova.
Will Smith, Venus and Serena in Entertainment Weekly’s December issue. Nice interview with all three ahead of the release of King Richard. Loved this line from Venus: “The film is not really about winning a championship. It was about this process of making a person who could win in life.”
A “rusty” Naomi Osaka is back on the court and we’re excited and seeing her post on socials thanking everyone for their support.
At the Paris Masters, Monfils reached the third round but was forced to withdraw after revealing he was carrying a leg injury. Frenchman played some great tennis in his home country. Auger-Aliassime was ousted in round two by Dominik Koepfer, which ended his ATP Finals hopes. Tiafoe lost in round one to Marcos Giron in three sets. Mikael Ymer came through qualifying but lost in the first round to Karen Khachanov.
Stockholm Open ATP 250
Auger-Aliassime is the second seed and gets a first-round bye. Plays Filip Krajinovic or Roberto Carballes Baena in round two. Tiafoe plays wildcard Elias Ymer in round one.
Upper Austria Ladies Linz WTA 250
Paolini opens against Yastremska in round one. Emma Raducanu is the top seed, Simona Halep is the second seed.
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