Sports
Tennis Briefing: Davis Cup progress, unlucky Seoul tournament, two remarkably short matches
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.
This week, the Davis Cup returned, there were two very short matches — in very different ways — and one women’s tournament bore the brunt of tennis schedule fatigue.
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What’s going on in the Davis Cup?
The final eight for the Davis Cup group stage finals were decided over the weekend, with Canada and the Netherlands joining Italy, Australia, Spain, Germany, Argentina and the United States as the qualified nations. The latter topped their group last week in Zhuhai, China, despite being without any of Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.
Spain’s qualification will be a particular relief to the tournament organizers given the finals are taking place in the Spanish city of Malaga. Home fans can look forward to seeing the star quality of Carlos Alcaraz — and possibly Rafael Nadal — with the former looking much more like himself in Spain’s group matches against France and the Czech Republic. Alcaraz produced a consummate performance to beat France’s Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-3 after his first appearance since losing early at the U.S. Open ended quickly on Wednesday when Czech opponent Tomas Machac was forced to retire with cramp at one set apiece.
After the match with Humbert, Alcaraz reiterated what he said in New York about his performances over the U.S. hard-court swing not being good enough: “I have tried not to do the bad things that I did on the American tour. I had been training well, but training is one thing and competition is another.”
Carlos Alcaraz helped Spain to qualify for the Davis Cup with some sparkling tennis (David Aliaga / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Others who struggled in New York also had satisfying performances last week.
The Canadian pair of Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger Aliassime both went out of the U.S. Open in the first round but helped their country into the Davis Cup showpiece in November. Shapovalov recorded an impressive win over Great Britain’s Dan Evans 6-0, 7-5 in Manchester, England, on Sunday, while Auger-Aliassime won all three of his matches during the week, including a straight-sets success on Sunday against U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper. It was the first meeting between the two since the controversial ending to their match in Cincinnati last month when Draper won with a shot that video replays showed to have been illegal.
The Davis Cup group stage finals will take place in Malaga between November 19-24, with Italy looking to retain their title. Recent winners Great Britain, France and Croatia all failed to make the cut.
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Charlie Eccleshare
Thirteen games, 37 minutes, and one Benoit Paire
Scan those details of a men’s tennis match and a longtime tennis fan will likely think something like “Benoit Paire doing Benoit Paire things”. Paire, 35, is one of the most mercurial players in the sport, capable of drop volleys from heaven and tantrums from hell (spitting on a ball mark in a match against Francisco Cerundolo in 2021, packing his bag with at least one game left against Cameron Norrie at the 2022 U.S. Open, things of that nature.)
So look at a 6-1, 6-0 reverse to Britain’s Jacob Fearnley at the Blot Open in Rennes, France, and it’s easy to see all the same stuff. Well, not quite.
In reality, Fearnley got out of a 15-30 and then 30-30 service game in the first set, having broken Paire in the opening game. His misses were largely close to the lines, a few scary forehand returns into the lower part of the net notwithstanding. Make no mistake, this was a one-sided thrashing — it just wasn’t the histrionic kind easily associated with the Frenchman… Until the end. Blowing kisses to the crowd who jeered him to the handshake, Paire was not long off-court when he delivered his ultimate assessment of the match.
😂😂😂
— paire benoit (@benoitpaire) September 11, 2024
Fearnley went on to win the whole tournament, coming back from a thrashing of his own in the final. Quentin Halys won their first set 6-0, before Fearnley took the second on a tiebreak, cruising past the dispirited Frenchman in the third.
In Monastir, Tunisia, fellow Brit Sonay Kartal won her first WTA title, triumphing in the 250-level event against Rebecca Sramkova.
James Hansen
What follows 37 minutes? Thirty-eight minutes
One of the great things about the Davis Cup is the way players somehow bridge huge ranking differentials to pull off major upsets. Or at least find ways to be competitive against far more vaunted opponents.
And then you get matches like the one on Saturday in Belgrade between 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and the world No. 770 Ioannis Xilas, of Greece.
Xilas was playing in the tie against Serbia after Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled out and won a solitary game in a 6-0, 6-1 defeat that lasted 38 minutes. In a sport where the average set lasts longer than that, it was an astonishingly one-sided rout. Though less so given the 766 places Xilas was giving up in the rankings — so maybe the surprise is that this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often.
The following day, Djokovic teamed up with Hamad Medjedovic to secure victory in the tie with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win in the doubles rubber against Aristotelis Thanos and Petros Tsitsipas.
The win means Serbia will compete in next year’s Davis Cup qualifiers for a chance to return to the group-stage finals.
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Charlie Eccleshare
How one unlucky tournament bore the brunt of tennis’ long summer
After she won the Seoul title in 2023, Jessica Pegula looked ahead to even better things in 2024.
“Hopefully, we can get even higher-ranked players and more girls to come here and play. The city is amazing and I’ve had so much fun here,” Pegula, who is half-Korean on her mother’s side, said after her victory over Yuan Yue.
The American, who reached the final of this year’s U.S. Open, was discussing the tournament’s elevation from 250-level to 500-level, beginning this year. But by the time it came around, world No. 3 Pegula had to pull out with a rib injury. Elena Rybakina, world No. 4, and Emma Navarro, world No. 8, also withdrew.
Jessica Pegula lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open final (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
And then the coup de grace, when world No. 1 Iga Swiatek informed tournament organizers she too would be skipping the event, citing fatigue. So, all four top-10 players are out in the first year of a newly-elevated tournament. The new top four seeds, Daria Kasatkina, Liudmila Samsonova, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Diana Shnaider will see great opportunity; the tennis calendar will see another example of its gruelling schedule doing more harm to the sport’s infrastructure than good.
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Shot of the week
Carlos Alcaraz looking a bit more like Carlos Alcaraz here.
Recommended reading:
🏆 The winners of the week
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Vit Kopriva (5) def. Andrea Pellegrino 7-5. 6-2 to win the Szczecin Open (Challenger 125) in Szczecin, Poland. It is the Czech’s fourth Challenger title.
🏆 Christopher O’Connell (1) def. Sho Shimabukuro 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) to win the Guangzhou Open (Challenger 100) in Guangzhou, China. It is his sixth Challenger title.
🏆 Jacob Fearnley (8) def. Quentin Halys (4) 0-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 to win the Rennes Blot Open (Challenger 100) in Rennes, France. It is Fearnley’s third Challenger title.
🏆 Learner Tien (3) def. Tristan Boyer (6) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 to win the Las Vegas Tennis Open (Challenger 75) in Las Vegas. It is Tien’s second Challenger title.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Magdalena Frech (5) def. Olivia Gadecki 7-6(5), 6-4 to win the Guadalajara Open in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is Frech’s first WTA Tour title.
🏆 Sonay Kartal def. Rebecca Sramkova 6-3, 7-5 to win the Jasmin Open (250) in Monastir, Tunisia. It is the Brit’s first WTA Tour title.
🏆 Jil Teichmann def. Nuria Parrizas Diaz 7-6(8), 6-4 to win the Zavarovalnica Sava Ljubljana (125) in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is her first WTA 125 title.
📈 On the rise
📈 O’Connell moves up 12 places from No. 87 to No. 75 after his title in Guangzhou.
📈 Camila Osorio rises 20 places from No. 81 to No. 61 after her run to the semifinals in Guadalajara.
📈 Fearnley ascends 35 spots from No. 164 to No. 129 after his title in Rennes.
📅 Coming up
🎾 ATP
📍Chengdu, China: Chengdu Open (250) featuring Lorenzo Musetti, Shang Juncheng, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Nicolas Jarry.
📍Hangzhou, China: Hangzhou Open (250) featuring Marin Cilic (WC), Holger Rune, Zhang Zhizhen, Brandon Nakashima.
📍Berlin: Laver Cup featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV
🎾 WTA
📍Seoul: Korea Open (500) featuring Daria Kasatkina, Amanda Anisimova, Emma Raducanu, Diana Shnaider.
📍Hua Hin, Thailand: Tournament (250) featuring Wang Xinyu, Katerina Siniakova, Katie Volynets, Mayar Sherif.
📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel
Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men’s and women’s tours continue.
(Top photo: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
Sports
Teenage golfer Miles Russell delivers his dad an all-time Father’s Day experience during US Open final round
America 250: Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones was born on March 17, 1902, in Atlanta, Georgia, and became one of the greatest amateur golfers in history. As a teenager, he reached the third round of the U.S. Amateur at age 14, showing early promise. He went on to win 13 major championships, all as an amateur, a record that still stands. In 1930, Jones achieved the
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Miles Russell is the youngest player in the 2026 U.S. Open field at just 17 years old. Teeing it up in a major championship at that age, let alone making the cut as he did at Shinnecock Hills, made for an already unforgettable week for him and his family.
The young man had one final surprise up his sleeve for Sunday’s final round, however, that not only his family will cherish forever, but made plenty of golf fans watching the moment unfold a bit misty-eyed.
After hitting his approach shot into the par-4 18th, Russell’s caddie made his way over to the gallery. He proceeded to take off his caddie bib and hand it and Russell’s golf bag over to Russell’s father, Joe.
Miles Russell plays his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the UNC Health Championship at Raleigh Country Club on May 29, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Jordan Bank/Getty Images) ((Photo by Jordan Bank/Getty Images))
TEENAGE PHENOM MILES RUSSELL MAKES ENTIRE GOLF WORLD FEEL OLD WITH EYE-POPPING QUOTE AHEAD OF US OPEN DEBUT
According to the NBC broadcast, the entire thing was Russell’s idea. He approached USGA rules officials before teeing off on Sunday to ask them if it was okay to have his dad take over caddying duties for the final hole, and they gave him the green light.
Talk about a Father’s Day gift that may never be topped.
“It was pretty cool,” Russell said after Sunday’s final round. “Just there walking up 18, that’s when he stepped in. It was kind of a fun Father’s Day gift. Kind of cool since it was my first one. Hopefully it’s something he’ll remember for a long time.”
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Amateur Miles Russell of the United States walks across the 16th hole during the first round of the 126th U.S. OPEN at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 18, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Russell shot 3-over in the opening two rounds of the U.S. Open to make the cut by two shots. During Saturday’s third round, he struggled a bit en route to a 74, but backed it up with a final round score of even par.
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Miles Russell on the seventh tee during the first round of 126th U.S. Open Championship at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 18, 2026 in Southampton, New York. (Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Russell qualified for this week’s U.S. Open after advancing in the final stage of qualifying in a three-man playoff vying for two spots in the field. He had Charlie Woods, Tiger’s son, on the bag as his caddie during the qualifier. Both Woods and Russell have committed to play college golf at Florida State.
In 2024, Russell became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make the cut in a tournament, eventually finishing T-20
The Lakers will seek to use their 25th pick in Tuesday’s first round of the NBA draft on a player who fills a need on a roster that could have up to nine free agents this summer. Yet the Lakers also are aware that picking that late in the round could leave them selecting the best player available.
They probably will be in search of a center who can be a lob threat or an athletic wing who can play defense and knock down three-pointers, two positions the Lakers crave as they try to build a team around star Luka Doncic that fits best with his style of play.
Names that NBA executives and mock drafts attached to the Lakers are Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Texas forward Dailyn Swain and Duke wing Isaiah Evans.
The Lakers spent time in Spain looking at 20-year-old guard Sergio de Larrea, but many NBA scouts see him going later in the first round or even in the second. According to people not authorized to speak publicly, the Lakers were impressed by their workout with Purdue point guard Braden Smith. But he’s on the smaller side (6 feet) and played four years in college, leading scouts to believe his upside is not that high and that he’ll be drafted in the second round.
The Lakers don’t have a pick in Wednesday’s second round.
After the Lakers were swept by a deep and athletic Oklahoma City team in the second round of the playoffs, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka outlined what it takes when trying to compete in the uber-tough Western Conference against the likes of the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, who became the second-youngest team to reach the NBA Finals.
Pelinka looked at how Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell was drafted in the second round and how he flourished in just his second season, especially in the playoffs, in which he averaged 15.1 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games.
“Depth is really important, athleticism and youth. We have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it,” Pelinka said last month during his exit interview with the media. “I think those are some of the key North Stars that we need to look at.
“One of the players that they had who played really well, Ajay Mitchell, they got in the second round. So there’s ways to add to your roster if you commit to doing the hard work and commit to the process of adding the right pieces. … We’ll be doing that through the draft and free agency and through trades. We’ve gotta find a way to have a roster that will compete with any team in the NBA. That’s what we do here.”
The Lakers do have three tradable first-round picks — 2026, 2031 and 2033 — but the latter two can’t be moved until after the draft.
Lakers star LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent and is looking for a deal from the Lakers, while Austin Reaves is expected to opt out of his $14.8-million deal so he can sign a contract with them for up to five years and about $241 million.
Still, the Lakers have to proceed with the draft to find a player.
Texas forward Dailyn Swain, left, vies for a loose ball against Purdue guard Braden Smith during an NCAA tournament game in March.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
Swain (6-7) and Evans (6-6) are the kind of athletic wings the Lakers could use, but both might be chosen before the Lakers make their pick.
The 6-9 Quaintance could slide to the Lakers because of health concerns. He played in only four games last season at Kentucky because the team was being cautious following knee surgery after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament when he played at Arizona State.
Scouts still view him as mobile, athletic and young enough — he turns 19 next month — to develop. But, Quaintance will need to rehab his knee and probably won’t be ready for the upcoming season. When healthy, scouts said, he can be the lob threat and defender that Doncic yearns to have.
Sports
Bryce Harper hits for cycle, Kyle Schwarber blasts three homers in Phillies blowout win over Mets
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The Phillies’ turnaround following the dismissal of manager Rob Thomson reached a new milestone when two of the franchise’s biggest stars delivered a historic performance.
Kyle Schwarber launched three home runs, including two in the third inning, while Bryce Harper completed the cycle to add yet another achievement to his accomplished career.
The offensive explosion powered Philadelphia to a 15-3 rout of the New York Mets on Saturday, as the Phillies continued their surge and received a signature performance from two of the game’s most recognizable stars.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber celebrates his home run with Bryce Harper during the third inning against the New York Mets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 20, 2026. (Chris Szagola/AP)
Schwarber’s first home run traveled 456 feet, while his second blast of the third inning measured 457 feet off Mets reliever Cionel Pérez.
He capped his night with a two-run homer in the seventh inning. Schwarber’s major league-leading home run total climbed to 28, and the performance marked the fifth three-homer game of his career.
Cristopher Sanchez allowed one earned run in six innings to lower his ERA to 1.80.
It’s his 23rd straight start at Citizens Bank Park in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer, the second-most such starts by a pitcher at the same ballpark in MLB history since 1913, trailing only Jacob deGrom’s 24 at Citi Field for the Mets from Sept. 9, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2022.
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Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies leave the field after defeating the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 20, 2026. (Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Schwarber is the 67th player in major league history and second this season with multiple home runs in an inning, joining Houston’s Yordan Alvarez on June 12.
Schwarber is the fourth Phillies player to hit two home runs in an inning, along with Trea Turner (Aug. 19, 2023), Von Hayes (June 11, 1985) and Andy Seminick (June 2, 1949).
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber hits a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 20, 2026. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Harper hit a solo home run in the first inning, his 16th of the year. He doubled and singled in the third, then hit a two-run triple to the gap in left-center field in the fifth for his first career cycle and the 11th in Phillies history.
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The Phillies and Mets will wrap up their three-game series Sunday night, with first pitch set for 7:20 p.m. ET.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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