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Miami
World number one Naomi Osaka of Japan opened her campaign at the WTA and ATP Miami Open on Friday by outlasting Yanina Wickmayer 6-0, 6-7 (3/7), 6-1.
Since winning her second consecutive Grand Slam title in January at the Australian Open, Osaka has failed to go deep in Dubai or Indian Wells.
But she appeared in sold form against 141st-ranked Wickmayer, digging deep after the Belgian forced a third set.
“I had to work hard out there,” Osaka said. “In the second set, I got really emotional, so in the third, I just tried to shut off my feelings.”
Osaka advanced to a third-round matchup against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei, who defeated American Alison Riske 6-2, 7-5. Osaka broke twice for a 3-0 lead in the first set and blitzed through the final set as well to capture her first match in two hours and nine minutes after an opening-round bye.
On the men’s side, there was disappointment for her compatriot Kei Nishikori. The fifth seed lost to Serbian Dusan Lajovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Roland Garros raises prize money, inaugurates new court
French Open organisers have announced an eight per cent increase in the total prize money to 42.6 million euros and also inaugurated a new court that is the famed Grand Slam tennis tournament’s third-biggest.
Prize money will jump the most for men and women who are ousted in the qualifying stage or who lose in the first round, with the latter now set to earn 46,000 euros ($52,333) apiece, an increase of 15 per cent over last year, Efe news reported on Friday.
The winners of the men’s and women’s singles will each receive 2.3 million euros, up 4.55 per cent from last year, while the singles finalists will earn 1.18 million euros, an increase of 5.36 per cent.
Tournament organisers also inaugurated a new 5,000-seat court that is the first piece of a renovation project launched in 2018 at tennis’ clay-court Grand Slam.
Miami
World number one Naomi Osaka of Japan opened her campaign at the WTA and ATP Miami Open on Friday by outlasting Yanina Wickmayer 6-0, 6-7 (3/7), 6-1.
Since winning her second consecutive Grand Slam title in January at the Australian Open, Osaka has failed to go deep in Dubai or Indian Wells.
But she appeared in sold form against 141st-ranked Wickmayer, digging deep after the Belgian forced a third set.
“I had to work hard out there,” Osaka said. “In the second set, I got really emotional, so in the third, I just tried to shut off my feelings.”
Osaka advanced to a third-round matchup against Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei, who defeated American Alison Riske 6-2, 7-5. Osaka broke twice for a 3-0 lead in the first set and blitzed through the final set as well to capture her first match in two hours and nine minutes after an opening-round bye.
On the men’s side, there was disappointment for her compatriot Kei Nishikori. The fifth seed lost to Serbian Dusan Lajovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Roland Garros raises prize money, inaugurates new court
French Open organisers have announced an eight per cent increase in the total prize money to 42.6 million euros and also inaugurated a new court that is the famed Grand Slam tennis tournament’s third-biggest.
Prize money will jump the most for men and women who are ousted in the qualifying stage or who lose in the first round, with the latter now set to earn 46,000 euros ($52,333) apiece, an increase of 15 per cent over last year, Efe news reported on Friday.
The winners of the men’s and women’s singles will each receive 2.3 million euros, up 4.55 per cent from last year, while the singles finalists will earn 1.18 million euros, an increase of 5.36 per cent.
Tournament organisers also inaugurated a new 5,000-seat court that is the first piece of a renovation project launched in 2018 at tennis’ clay-court Grand Slam.
