Tennis roundup: Keys upsets Gauff to reach Eastbourne final, Swiatek withdraws from Bad Homburg

Madison Keys got the better of Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 in an all-American clash to reach the final of the Eastbourne International on Friday. Daria Kasatkina will face Keys in Saturday’s final after she beat Camila Giorgi 6-2, 7-5 in the other semi-final. Keys won the title at Eastbourne in 2014 but had not reached the last four of a grass court tournament for seven years prior to this week. The world number 25 was dominant in the first set as she twice broke the Gauff serve to take it in 37 minutes. Gauff struck back at the beginning of the second to take a 2-0 lead but threw that advantage away by serving three consecutive double faults. Keys then had to overcome a nasty slip in the next game but showed no ill effects as she levelled up her head-to-head with Gauff at 2-2. “I’ve had a little bit of a not great year so far, so being able to make a final here where I won my first title is amazing,” said Keys. “I’m very happy that I was able to have a not incredibly complicated match and get the win. I’m really looking forward to the final tomorrow.” Ninth seed Kasatkina also progressed to the final in straight sets. Giorgi struggled in the windy conditions as the Italian was broken six times in nine service games. The Italian battled back from 4-1 down in the second set to level at 5-5, but Kasatkina prevailed to reach her second final of the season. Swiatek withdraws from Bad Homburg with fever, food poisoning

I'm so sorry but I have to pull out of my match today. I had a restless night because of some fever and possible food poisoning. I'm not able to perform today and I need to take care of myself. I hope I'll be fine soon. Your support in Bad Homburg was amazing, thank you. pic.twitter.com/pAuN8Ug4u7

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) June 30, 2023

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Bad Homburg Open on Friday with a fever and possible food poisoning, three days before the start of Wimbledon. Swiatek was scheduled to play in her first career grass-court semifinal match on Friday against Lucia Bronzetti, who gets a walkover to Saturday’s final. “I’m so sorry but I have to pull out of my match today. I had a restless night because of some fever and possible food poisoning,” Swiatek said in a statement on Instagram. “I’m not able to perform today and I need to take care of myself. I hope I’ll be fine soon. Your support in Bad Homburg was amazing, thank you. It was a pleasure to play here. And I hope I will be back.”

1 - For the first time in her career, Iga Swiatek has withdrawn from a WTA match. Shock. @badhomburgopen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/H5IOaIK1SJ

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 30, 2023

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Swiatek, the French Open and U.S. Open champion, had been upbeat this week about adapting to play on grass, historically the surface which had brought her the least success. Following her French Open victory, Swiatek was on a 10-match win streak after beating Anna Blinkova in the Bad Homburg quarterfinals on Thursday. Swiatek has been drawn against Zhu Lin in the first round of Wimbledon. Bronzetti will play Katerina Siniakova in the final after Siniakova won two matches in one day. Siniakova completed a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win over second-seeded Liudmila Samsonova in a quarterfinal match which resumed Friday after it was suspended Thursday following the second set because of fading light. The Czech player was back on court soon after to earn a 6-2, 6-2 win over American player Emma Navarro in just over an hour. Siniakova is the top-ranked women’s doubles player and has a 3-4 record in career singles finals, including a loss to Angelique Kerber in the 2021 Bad Homburg final. Bronzetti is 1-1 with her first career win coming in May in Morocco. It will be the first match between the two. Eubanks beats Harris in Mallorca for first final Christopher Eubanks beat Lloyd Harris 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9) on Friday to reach the Mallorca Open final where he will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The American, who ousted compatriot Ben Shelton on the way to reaching his first tour level final, fought back to triumph after losing the first set to South African Harris. Eubanks saved three match points at 4-5 down in the third set and won in the tie-break, a day after winning two against Arthur Rinderknech. Both players survived two more match points each in the thrilling tie-break before the South African fired long. Mannarino ended the run of German Yannick Hanfmann, who beat world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas and retiring Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez earlier this week, with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win. Fourth seed Mannarino, whose best surface is grass and who has reached the Wimbledon fourth round three times, has won only two of his previous 11 ATP finals. (with inputs from AP, AFP) Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.