Alex de Minaur to Compete at First Olympics at Tokyo Games

Alex de Minaur is headed to the Summer Olympics

The 22-year-old Uruguayan-Spanish Australian player, who won the first grass-court title of his career at the Eastbourne tournament last weekend, will contest the Tokyo Games alongside Ash Barty,  Nick Kyrgios and Sam Stosur.

Alex de Minaur

The quartet have been confirmed on Australia’s 11-strong tennis team for next month’s Olympics.

John MillmanJames DuckworthJohn Peers and Luke Saville make up the rest of the male contingent with Ellen PerezStorm Sanders and Ajla Tomljanovic joining Barty and Stosur on the women’s team.

Stosur will contest her fifth Olympics, with Millman and Peers lining up for their second Games – the remainder will make their Olympic debuts.

“It’s super special being able to represent your country in one Olympics let alone five,” Stosur said on Tuesday.

“In primary school we did a time capsule thing.

“I went to the school for the first year that it opened and I wrote in there that I wanted to win a Grand Slam, be number one in the world and go to an Olympic Games.

“To have done two out of the three, thinking that when I was nine or 10-years-old … is something incredible.”

Stosur, Tomljanovic and Barty will compete in the women’s singles, with Barty teaming up with Sanders and Stosur with Perez in the doubles.

“Making your first Olympic team … is something I’ve always dreamt of,” Barty said.

“I’m excited to play both singles and doubles. Any opportunity you get to wear the green and gold, I wanted to grab it with both hands.”

de Minaur is world No.15 – his career-best ranking – after winning his fifth career title at the Eastbourne International three days ago.

“It’s an incredibly special feeling (to be going to the Olympics),” he said.

“The anticipation brings a higher level of intensity and, of course, passion.

“Playing for your country, it’s always going to be very special.”

de Minaur, Millman, Peers and Saville have been named for both singles and doubles tournaments with Kyrgios and Duckworth to contest singles only.

The sole Australian to win an Olympic tennis medal, Alicia Molik – who took bronze at the 2004 Games – will captain the women’s team with national men’s coach Jaymon Crabb to skipper the men’s team.

Muguruza’s Cinderella Run Comes to a Halt at the French Open

The clock has struck midnight for Garbiñe Muguruza, but not before making a massive impression at Roland Garros.

The 20-year-old half-Spanish-half-Venezuelan tennis player’s Cinderella run at the French Open came toan end at the hands of No. 7 seed Maria Sharapova.

Garbiñe Muguruza

Sharapova rallied to beat Muguruza, who was competing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Sharapova, the 2012 winner, overcame a sluggish start for the second match in a row, having defeated No. 19 Sam Stosur 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the fourth round. She improved to 18-3 in major quarterfinals and won her 48th match at Roland Garros (against 10 losses), breaking a tie with Serena Williams for the most among active players.

Williams, the world No. 1, barely added to her total at this year’s tournament because she proved no match in the second round for Muguruza, currently ranked No. 35 in the world.

Muguruza, a player to watch for a while, entered the French Open 0-5 against top-five players and 3-8 against the top 10. In her two most recent tournaments, she’d lost to Stosur in the second round of the Madrid Open and to No. 61 Francesca Schiavone in the second round of the Italian Open.

But the French Open was a different story as she crushed Williams 6-2, 6-2, followed that upset with two more routine victories and rolled to an early lead against Sharapova.

Muguruza dominated the first set on by breaking her opponent three times in five chances and hitting only seven unforced errors compared to 13 for Sharapova, who served at only 55 percent and won 2-of-9 second-serve points.

Sharapova, however, showed some of her trademark fight in the second set. After giving away a break lead with back-to-back double faults, the 27-year-old Russian had to hold at 4-5 to stay in the match. Muguruza then played a poor service game to get broken, and Sharapova served out the set.

“A lot of the games in the first set she was always up 30‑Love, 40‑Love, and then I’d win a point or two,” Sharapova said. “Then she’s the one with the confidence. You never are giving her a chance to think. In the second set, when you’re making her hit a second ball after her serve or when you’re being a bit more aggressive on the second serves, taking a bit more chances, all of a sudden she’s not hitting so freely.”

The key point of the third set came when Sharapova saved five break points while serving at 2-1. Both women struggled to string together two good points in the 10-minute game, with Muguruza taking the more offensive stance and forcing Sharapova to defend.

Sharapova struggled all day with the depth on her shots and couldn’t open up the court consistently enough to hit through her young opponent. But the Muguruza forehand broke down under pressure and began to leak errors. Sharapova finally earned the hold, won the next game for a double-break lead, at 4-1, and coasted from there.

“I knew that the match wasn’t over,” Sharapova said, when asked about the quick first set. “I still had a fair bit of time to change things around. Little by little I started playing a bit better, started getting in the court a little bit more, playing a little bit more aggressive, serving better than I did in the first set, returning as well, giving myself more looks at break points.”

“It’s tough now because I had the opportunity to win the match,” said Muguruza. “But I need more experience in these kind of matches. I think I played very good in three sets, but in the important moments I need to improve my mentality.”

Puig Becomes First Puerto Rican to Win a WTA Title…

Monica Puig is earned her place in the annals for tennis history…

The 20-year-old professional tennis player, considered a rising star in women’s tennis, defeated Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-4, 6-3 in the Strasbourg International final to become the first Puerto Rican player to win a WTA title.

Monica Puig

“It’s amazing to do this coming from such a small island, where tennis isn’t necessarily recognized as one of the main sports,” said Puig after her straight-sets victory. “I’m just happy I’m able to be here playing tennis not only for myself, but for my country too.”

In a match between two players appearing in their first WTA final, the Puig was on top from the start as she broke Soler-Espinosa in her first service game. She also broke twice in the second set, including in the final game.

Puig dropped just nine points on serve all match, two of which were double-faults.

“I woke up this morning and I felt it. I felt I was going to do something amazing,” said Puig, currently ranked No. 56 in the world. “It was one of those feelings where you just know it’s going to happen, and I played some of the greatest tennis I’ve ever played.”

Puig next heads to the French Open where she’ll face off against 2010 finalist Sam Stosur in the first round.

Soler-Espinosa faces Chanelle Scheepers at Roland Garros.