Ons Jabeur from Tunesia returns the ball to Coco Gauff from the United States during the WTA tournament semifinal tennis match in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
BERLIN — Coco Gauff missed out on reaching a first grass-court final on Saturday when the 18-year-old American lost to Ons Jabeur 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the semifinals of the Berlin Open.
Cheered on by fans waving Tunisian flags amid a heatwave in Berlin, Jabeur recovered from 3-1 down in the first set and dominated the second to set up a final against Belinda Bencic on Sunday.
“You have to be this good to beat Coco, you know. She’s a great player,” Jabeur said. She added she had “no expectations” of her first grass tournament of the season and paid tribute to the Tunisian fans. “Everywhere I go they’re always here, they’re chanting all the time, it’s amazing,” she said.
Coco Gauff from the United States returns the ball to Ons Jabeur from Tunesia during the WTA tournament semifinal tennis match in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Jabeur will play her fourth final in a season where she has reached a career-high ranking of fourth in the world and became the first African and first Arab player to win a WTA 1000 event at last month’s Madrid Open. The tournament in Berlin is her first since a surprise first-round loss at the French Open.
Next week, Jabeur is heading to Eastbourne, where she will team up with Serena Williams in doubles on t he American’s return after a year out.
Gauff’s run in Berlin was the closest she has yet come to a title on grass, a surface on which she hadn’t previously reached any quarterfinals, though she has twice reached the fourth round at Wimbledon. Her quarterfinal win over last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, Karolina Pliskova, was a particular highlight.
Bencic is back in the Berlin final for the second straight year in her quest for a first grass-court title in seven years after a hard-fought win over Maria Sakkari.
Bencic needed to play more than three hours in the heat to beat second-seeded Sakkari 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4 in their semifinal.
Bencic had set point in the first-set tiebreaker before her Greek opponent won the next three points to take the set.
Belinda Bencic from Switzerland celebrates winning the WTA tournament semifinal tennis match against Maria Sakkari from Greece in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
The second set and decider were also closely contested, with Sakkari saving four set points in the second and two match points in the third before Bencic broke through.
Sakkari is ranked sixth, 11 places above Bencic, but had never played a grass semifinal before.
Maria Sakkari from Greece returns the ball to Belinda Bencic from Switzerland during their WTA tournament semifinal tennis match in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
The Swiss player has a chance to win the Berlin title after losing last year’s final to Liudmila Samsonova. Olympic gold medalist Bencic has a 6-8 record in finals including 1-3 on grass, with the lone grass title coming in Eastbourne in 2015.
Bencic leads Jabeur 2-1 in career meetings, all of them on clay. Jabeur lost the Charleston Open final to Bencic in April but won their last meeting on her way to the Madrid title a month later.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PHILADELPHIA – The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Philadelphia and Greater Delaware Valley announced that the Evzones, the Presidential Guard of Greece will be participating in the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 20.
O oceanic you sing and sail
White on your body and yellow on your chimeneas
For you're tired of the filthy waters of the harbors
You who loved the distant Sporades
You who lifted the tallest flags
You who sail clear through the most dangerous caves
Hail to you who let yourself be charmed by the sirens
Hail to you for never having been afraid of the Symplegades
(Andreas Empeirikos)
What traveler has not been fascinated by the Greek islands, drawn by the Sirens’ song of a traveler’s dreams?
TNH and our video show ‘Mission’ marked the change of the season by transporting viewers into the heart of summer.
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