Ons Jabeur Completes Second-Round Comeback at Cincinnati 

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia serves to Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine during their third round match at the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 15, 2023, in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia serves to Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine during their third round match at the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 15, 2023, in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Ons Jabeur Completes Second-Round Comeback at Cincinnati 

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia serves to Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine during their third round match at the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 15, 2023, in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia serves to Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine during their third round match at the Western & Southern Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 15, 2023, in Mason, Ohio. (Getty Images/AFP)

No. 5 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia battled back from a hefty deficit in the third set to secure a 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (2) victory over Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina in a second-round match at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday in Mason, Ohio.

After earning a first-round bye, Jabeur was playing in her first match since losing to Czech Marketa Vondrousova in the Wimbledon final on July 15. She took command early, recording four aces to take the opening set before Kalinina leveled the match.

Kalinina carried that momentum over to the third set, where she jumped out to a 5-1 lead. But Jabeur took the next five games, eventually forced a tiebreaker and went on to prevent the upset at the Cincinnati-area tournament.

"Very happy with the win," Jabeur said. "It was very tough, but I'm glad that I kept fighting, kept playing point by point, and I'm glad that I got the win in the end."

Jabeur finished with six aces for the match. Kalinina saved 14 of 21 break points, but she was hampered by 13 double faults.

"Some situations that I went through during this match definitely helped get me back into the hard-court season," Jabeur said. "I will try to keep going, keep playing more matches. The more matches I play, the better."

In a second-round match contested Tuesday night, the United States' Sloane Stephens ousted French sixth seed Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Czechs Petra Kvitova and Vondrousova and Daria Kasatkina of Russia were also able to ward off upsets on Tuesday.

Kvitova, the No. 9 seed, beat Russian Anna Blinkova 7-6 (2), 6-0, and Vondrousova, the No. 10 seed, defeated countrywoman Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 6-4. Fourteenth-seeded Kasatkina swept American Peyton Stearns 6-2, 6-1.

No. 11 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic wasn't as lucky, falling 6-3, 7-5 to Belarus' Victoria Azarenka. Swiss No. 13 seed Belinda Bencic was also toppled by an unseeded opponent, losing 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 to Spain's Cristina Bucsa.

Belgium's Elise Mertens knocked out 15th-seeded Madison Keys of the United States 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a match that ended at 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Other first-round winners on Tuesday included Romanian Sorana Cirstea, Marie Bouzkova and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, Egypt's Mayar Sherif, Varvara Gracheva of France, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Italy's Martina Trevisan.

Croatians Donna Vekic and Petra Martic and Americans Ann Li and Danielle Collins also earned victories.



Just Frustration: Piastri Explains Radio Cursing at Alpine

Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)
Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)
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Just Frustration: Piastri Explains Radio Cursing at Alpine

Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)
Second-placed McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia poses on the podium with his trophy after the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, Austria, 29 June 2025. (EPA)

McLaren's Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri said cursing at former employers Alpine over the radio at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix was just a humorous way of expressing his frustration.

The Australian made a comment after having to go off track to avoid Renault-owned Alpine's Argentine driver Franco Colapinto.

"Alpine still managed to find a way to (expletive) me over all these years later, huh?," he told race engineer Tom Stallard in an exchange not broadcast on television at the time.

Piastri told Reuters at a McLaren fan event in London's Trafalgar Square on Wednesday that his swearing had just been spur of the moment.

"It was just kind of a frustrating coincidence. My qualifying got hampered by an Alpine. I got impeded in the race by both the Alpines. So, it was kind of just a build-up of a few things," he said. "And it was more out of frustration.

"I still have a lot of friends at Alpine. A lot of people that I respect a lot.

"It was just kind of an ironic coincidence that the things that hampered me a bit in the weekend were all with Alpine. But, yeah -- more just me trying to express my humor and frustration in the race."

Piastri joined McLaren after being named by Alpine as their driver for 2023, only for the Australian to very publicly reject the seat with a statement that has become part of Formula One lore.

Then Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer questioned the driver's integrity, and threatened legal action, but McLaren won easily when the matter went to the contract recognition board.

Alpine are now last in the championship, and are still going through turmoil, while McLaren won the constructors' title last year and are runaway favorites again.