TOKYO (AFP) – Belinda Bencic and the Swiss are doing well without Roger Federer at the Tokyo Games. 12th-seeded Kazakh Elena Rybakina eliminated 7-6 (2) 4-6 6-3 on Thursday and will compete for the Olympic gold medal.
Bencic could join a select group of tennis players who have played singles and doubles matches in the same games – American sisters Serena and Venus Williams, Britain’s Andy Murray and Chilean Nicholas Massu – if they, along with compatriot Victoria Golubek, beat Brazilians Laura Pegosi and Luisa Stefani in the doubles semi-finals at the same time. later today.
The match started four hours later the day before after organizers finally acceded to the tennis players’ requests to avoid the sweltering hour of the day. At first, the thermometers read 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius), with wind-chill humidity rising to 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), but soon shade covered the pitch and a steady breeze made the heat more bearable.
In the men’s draw, Russia’s Karen Khachanov (12) was the first to qualify for the semi-finals after defeating Frenchman Ugo Humbert 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3.
In the doubles, Croatians Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig, Czechs Barbora Krijkova and Katerina Siniakova are waiting for a contender in the finals of each of them.
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