Tennis roundup: Iga Swiatek makes first grass-court semi-final, Feliciano Lopez plays last match

Berlin: World number one Iga Swiatek made the semi-finals of a grass-court tournament for the first time by beating Anna Blinkova in Bad Homburg on Thursday. Swiatek defeated the Russian ninth seed 6-3, 6-2 in the first meeting between the two players. The four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to get past the fourth round of Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, although she was junior champion at the All England Club in 2018. On Thursday, the Pole broke Blinkova once in the first set and twice in the second. Throughout the match she demonstrated a notable improvement to her serve compared to when she crashed out to Alize Cornet in the Wimbledon third round last year.

☺️ pic.twitter.com/HgKTWOvcam

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) June 29, 2023

“I’m happy that I can play such solid tennis,” said Swiatek, who is using the extra week before Wimbledon after a schedule change to play on grass for the first time this season. “Usually there’s not much time to play on grass. “I’m pretty happy that I used that time 100 percent between Roland Garros and Wimbledon… “Hopefully I can play like that for the next two weeks.” The 22-year-old has won three of the past five Grand Slams but has never won a tournament on grass, despite claiming 14 trophies in her young career. “I wouldn’t put myself close to being an expert on grass but I’m making progress and that’s the most important thing for me,” Swiatek said. “The time here really helped me. Every year I feel like it’s easier to get used to the conditions.” World number 39 Blinkova made the final herself at the Wimbledon junior tournament eight years ago, but has never got past round two as a senior. Swiatek will next face Italian Lucia Bronzetti, who defeated French eighth seed Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 6-3 earlier on Thursday. American Emma Navarro also reached the semi-finals after her opponent Rebeka Masarova pulled out in the second set due to a knee injury, while trailing 7-6 (7/2), 1-1. In Thursday’s last quarter-final, second-seeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova took on Czech Katerina Siniakova. They were one set all before the match was suspended until Friday as the light faded before a deciding set could be played. Siniakova took the first set 7-5 and Samsonova the second 6-4. Hanfmann beats retiring Lopez to reach Mallorca semis

Farewell Feliciano ⭐️@YannickHanfmann's QF 6-2 6-4 win marks the final ATP match for @feliciano_lopez!

What a career 👏#MallorcaChampionships pic.twitter.com/QNi8HTOpfc

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 29, 2023

Mallorca: Yannick Hanfmann cruised into the Mallorca Open semi-finals on Thursday with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 victory over Feliciano Lopez, in his final match in professional tennis. The 41-year-old Spaniard became the oldest ATP tour quarter-finalist since Jimmy Connors in 1995, who was 42 when he played at the Halle Open. German player Hanfmann, who beat defending champion and world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday, made light work of the veteran in the grass-court Wimbledon warm-up tournament. Lopez, ranked 634th in the world, needed a medical time-out in the second set but was able to complete the match.

We're not crying 🥹@feliciano_lopez with a career tribute in Mallorca!#MallorcaChampionships pic.twitter.com/YsP9UsmGsB

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 29, 2023

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“I want to thank the tournament for giving me the chance to retire in my country on a surface that is special to me, in front of my people,” said Lopez. “I didn’t expect to be here playing still, thanks to the organisers for the treatment they have given me and to everyone who has come to support me. “I’ve always seen tennis as a spectacle to make people happy, and tried to give the best of myself.” The tournament directors paid homage to him with a video compilation showed on big screens as fans applauded.

A farewell message from @RafaelNadal for @feliciano_lopez 💥#MallorcaChampionships pic.twitter.com/hUNYXUvRRO

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 29, 2023

Lopez, watched by 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, had beaten Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson to prolong his career, which started on the ATP tour in 1997, by two more matches. He has focused more on business interests in recent years and is the tournament director of the Madrid Open. Hanfmann, who sealed his triumph with an ace, will next play fourth seed Adrian Mannarino who beat his fellow Frenchman Corentin Moutet 7-5, 6-2. Earlier Christopher Eubanks reached his first tour level semi-final as he needed two tie-breaks to see off France’s Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4). The 27-year-old American, who beat compatriot Ben Shelton on Wednesday, fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to triumph. Eubanks will face South Africa’s Lloyd Harris, who hit 11 aces as he eased past Pavel Kotov 7-5, 6-2. Gauff gets first top-10 win of the year [caption id=“attachment_12807622” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Coco Gauff returns the ball to Jessica Pegula during their women’s singles quarterfinal match at Eastbourne. AP[/caption] Eastbourne: Coco Gauff secured her first win over a top-ten player in 10 months by beating doubles partner Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Eastbourne International on Thursday. The 19-year-old American won the last six games of the match from 3-0 down in the second set to snap a seven-match losing streak against top-10 opposition. The world number seven will face another compatriot in the semi-finals of the grass court tournament – 2014 champion Madison Keys, who beat Petra Martic 6-4, 6-1. After an early exchange of breaks, Gauff pounced in the sixth game. A clever drop shot enabled her to move up 4-2 and she maintained her lead for the rest of the opening set. World number four Pegula struck back at the start of the second set, taking advantage of a series of forehand errors from Gauff to break and then coming up with a fine lob to hold for 3-0. Gauff turned the tide, producing a series of deftly executed volley winners to level the set, going on to wrap up her victory in style. “I’m really happy with how I played. I obviously know Jess very well, she’s one of the best players on the tour for a reason,” Gauff told the BBC. Ninth seed Daria Kasatkina reached the last four when second seed Caroline Garcia retired with a right shoulder injury. Kasatkina was leading 6-2, 2-1 at the time. In Friday’s semi-final, Kasatkina will face Camila Giorgi, who also advanced via retirement. Giorgi won the first set against Jelena Ostapenko on a tie-break before Ostapenko retired from their big-hitting clash. In the men’s tournament, Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul beat fellow American JJ Wolf 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2). “It was a tricky one. A lot of breaks, breaks back,” said Paul, who said grass is his favourite surface. “In the third, I thought I played a really good tie-break in the end. I thought the level throughout the whole match was good and I’m happy to get through.” Paul will face Gregoire Barrere on Friday after the Frenchman beat Serbian eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 7-6 (7/2). Argentine fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo advanced to his first tour-level semi-final on grass with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Zhang Zhizhen. American Mackenzie McDonald beat Mikael Ymer of Sweden 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.