Wimbledon: Lopez equals Federer record, Cornet draws level with Sugiyama

By Sports Desk June 28, 2022

Feliciano Lopez equalled Roger Federer's record of 81 main-draw appearances at grand slam events in the Open era but he was beaten in the first round at Wimbledon.

The 40-year-old made his grand slam debut at the 2001 French Open and had appeared in every major since the 2002 event in Paris until he failed to progress through qualifying at Roland Garros this year.

Spaniard Lopez went down in straight sets to Botic van de Zandschulp at SW19 on Tuesday.

Ranked 214 in the world, Lopez is a three-time quarter-finalist at the All England Club, while he also reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2015.

Since then, the veteran has never progressed further than the third round at a grand slam.

Fabrice Santoro is third on the list behind Federer and Lopez with 70 main-draw appearances at majors, with Mikhail Youzhny and Fernando Verdasco on 69.

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    Carlos Alcaraz held his nerve against a spirited Wu Yibing to progress to the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.

    Having already beaten another of the home favourites, Shang Juncheng, in his opener, the Spaniard had to dig deep but prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.

    There was nothing to split the two in the opening set, though Wu caused some real problems with his power, and successfully defended two break points in the ninth game.

    The tie-break was also tight, but Alcaraz found his edge at the right time, winning the last three points.

    Buoyed by the home crowd, Wu started the second set strongly too, but Alcaraz absorbed the pressure well and got the only break of the match in a three-game winning run.

    With his winning streak extended, Alcaraz will now face either Gael Monfils or Ugo Humbert in the next round.

    Data Debrief: Alcaraz marches on

    Alcaraz has put his shock US Open exit firmly behind him, with this his 11th win on the bounce since then. 

    He coped well with the early pressure Wu threw at him, and put in another solid performance, hitting 11 aces and winning 71% of his points at the net (5/7).

  • Gauff races to second title of 2024 with China Open cruise Gauff races to second title of 2024 with China Open cruise

    Coco Gauff claimed the China Open title in emphatic fashion on Sunday, bringing up her second WTA Tour trophy of the season.

    The world number six defeated US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes to be crowned the youngest winner of the China Open in 14 years.

    Gauff swiftly broke the Czech's serve to propel herself into a 2-0 lead before going on to dominate the first set, which lasted only half-an-hour.

    Muchova looked to be surmounting a comeback in the second set, breaking immediately, but Gauff fought straight back, and the American broke Muchova once more to race to victory in Beijing.

    It was an impressive win against an opponent who had defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen en route to the final. Gauff played 24 winning shots but restricted the world number 49 to just 14.

    It marked Gauff's second WTA 1000 title, making her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals, only older than Bianca Andreescu.

    Data Debrief: Gauff a proven winner

    Gauff, who was playing her 101st WTA 1000 match, is now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.

    Her victory meant she became the second American player to win the women's singles title at the China Open after Serena Williams (in 2004 and 2013 since the inception of the tournament in 2004.

    Gauff has now defeated Muchova in all three meetings in WTA events, previously beating her at the US Open and Cincinnati Open in 2023.

  • Sinner battles back again to progress in Shanghai Sinner battles back again to progress in Shanghai

    Jannik Sinner came from a set down to overcome Tomas Martin Etcheverry to progress at the Shanghai Masters.

    Sinner, who came from behind in both of his first two matches at the China Open, where he eventually lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz, had to showcase his fighting spirit once more on Sunday.

    The world number one eventually prevailed 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2, requiring two hours and 39 minutes to get the job done.

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    Earlier on Sunday, Daniil Medvedev also came from behind to claim a 5-7 6-4 6-4 victory over Matteo Arnaldi.

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    "In the other sets, I thought it was closer. Maybe even he had the edge on some of the moments, but that's why tennis is crazy.

    "You can win when you don’t expect it, and lose when you expect to win, so I’m happy to be here again in two days."

    Data Debrief: Master of the Masters 

    Moving to a record 74-26, only four players since the format's introduction in 1990 have claimed more wins from their first 100 ATP 1000 matches than Sinner (74).

    Sinner is behind only Rafael Nadal (83), Stefan Edberg (77), Pete Sampras (76) and Jim Courier (75).

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