Sofia Kenin advances to Hobart International semifinals

HOBART, Australia — Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin is two wins away from her first title in three years after coming from behind to make the semifinals of the Hobart International.

The 24-year-old Kenin, who beat Anhelina Kalinina 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, is ranked 280th after a career-high ranking of No. 4. Injuries and poor form saw her ranking plummet after her win at Melbourne Park in 2020.

It is the American’s first semifinal at a WTA level or higher since her run to the final of the French Open in 2020.

“I just tried to keep on fighting. She’s a tough player to play. I knew I had to hang in there,” Kenin, the 2019 Hobart winner, said. “Match after match I’m playing better and better. I hope I can keep it going.”

Kenin will meet Italian 21-year-old Elisabetta Cocciaretto for a place in the final.

Cocciaretto, who upset third-seeded Alize Cornet in the first round, had a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory over sixth-seeded Bernarda Pera.

Kenin drew a tough Australian Open first-round match against two-time champion and No. 25 Victoria Azarenka.

MONACO — Fourth-seeded Casper Ruud extended his winning streak on clay to nine matches to reach the third round at the Monte Carlo Masters.

The 2022 French Open runner-up was made to work hard by Botic van de Zandschulp in his opening match at the Country Club before winning 7-5, 7-6 (1) on the slow surface.

Ruud has won the past two clay events he has played, in Gstaad last July and in Estoril last week.

“It is never easy to start at a new tournament and against a player I have lost to before,” said Ruud, who fell to his Dutch opponent in Miami last month. “Sometimes it is a little tricky playing someone you recently lost to, like ‘Not again’, but in this case I was a bit happy because I felt like some unfinished business from the Miami match.”

Ruud, who saved one set point in the second set, will next be up against Jan-Lennard Struff, who defeated 14th-seeded Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2.

After struggling with consistency at the start of the year in the wake of his best season, Ruud has found his confidence back on his best surface.

“It felt great last week in Estoril,” he said. “It felt very comfortable. Today was at times a very good match, but at times a little rusty. There are a lot of positives to build on.”

Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev made a clinical start to his clay-court season, edging Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-2 to set up a meeting with 13th-seeded Alexander Zverev.

Medvedev has been in superb form recently, winning 25 of his past 26 matches during a run that saw him clinch four titles.

Among those advancing to the third round were seventh-seeded Jannik Sinner, No. 8 seed Taylor Fritz, and Lorenzo Musetti, who got past fellow Italian Luca Nardi 6-0, 6-0. The quick win earned Musetti the right to take on top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the tournament last week. Nadal has won it a record 11 times, including an Open Era record streak of eight consecutive titles from 2005-12. But the 22-time Grand Slam champion has been sidelined with a left hip flexor injury since the Australian Open.

MONACO — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic looked rusty as he started his clay-court season with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win against qualifier Ivan Gakhov at the Monte Carlo Masters.

The two-time Monte Carlo champion had not played since losing to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the Dubai Championships five weeks ago, which ended the Australian Open champion’s 20-match winning streak.

The 35-year-old Djokovic, who suffered an opening-round exit last year in the Principality, struggled with consistency in the first set and took time to find his marks on the slow surface. He played more aggressively in the second set and broke for 3-2, then did not look back to reach the third round.

“I have not played my best, particularly in the first set,” said Djokovic, who saved three of the four break points he faced. “All in all, I’m just pleased with the way I held my nerves in important moments.”

Djokovic’s next opponent will be either Lorenzo Musetti or Luca Nardi.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, aiming for a third consecutive title at the Country Club, advanced after Benjamin Bonzi retired because of a wrist injury just 22 minutes into their match, with the two-time defending champion leading 4-1.

Alexander Zverev also started his clay season with a win but dropped a set in a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Alexander Bublik.

The 13th-seeded German was playing on clay for the first time since a right ankle injury forced him to retire in the French Open semifinals against Rafael Nadal last year.

Zverev said he needed to “get the injury out of my head” and get used to sliding again.

“It felt awful at times to be honest, but he made me feel awful,” Zverev said. “Tactically he played well, he didn’t let me play my game at all. He didn’t let me have my rhythm and he almost won the match, just a few points here and there.”

Still, Zverev limited his unforced errors to nine and hit 21 winners on Court Rainier III to set up a match against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the next round.

Two-time semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov also advanced by beating American Ben Shelton 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. The 20-year-old Shelton made his debut at Monte Carlo and did not disappoint, testing Dimitrov in a tense contest that lasted more than two hours.

“It is one of those matches that I just needed to go through,” Dimitrov said. “I played a lot of good tennis. There were a lot of positives to take out of that.”

Dimitrov will next play Jiri Lehecka of Czech Republic.

Rafael Nadal and second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the tournament last week.