Zvi sent eggs to advance to Rune's hard-fought out, Zheng Qinwen entered the round of 16, and Sun Fajing won the first championship in the challenge

Three minutes a day, knowing about tennis in the world. Hello fans, today is Monday, May 12, 2025, and welcome to the afternoon newsletter brought to you by Home of Tennis.

Last night, Beijing time, the ATP1000 Rome Masters launched the third round of the singles semi-finals. Defending champion and German Zverev was in red-hot form to beat Lithuanian qualifier Gaubas 6-4 6-0 to advance to the round of 16. He will next face 13th seed and rising French star Fes, who defeated Greek star Tsitsipas 2-6 6-4 6-2 to win all four of his matches.

Third seed and Spanish star Alcaraz was also solid, beating Serbia's Djere 7-6(2) 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the tournament for the first time. Next, he will face Russian titan Khachanov. Fifth seed and British No. 1 Draper beat qualifier Copliva 6-4 6-3 to reach the last 16 of the Masters for the fourth time this season.

He will next face France's Mutai, who knocked out ninth seed and Danish rising star Rune 7-5 5-7 7-6(4) for the first time in the last 16 of the Clay Masters after three hours and 44 minutes. Although Rune, who lost, scored 48 winning points in the game, 13 more than his opponent, his unforced errors were as high as 63, significantly higher than his opponent's 39, which was the main reason for his final loss.

Musetti and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, who are playing at home, have won their respective opponents and will meet in the next round.

Women's Tournament: The WTA 1000 Rome Open continued last night Beijing time. In a key matchup in the third round of singles, No.8 seed and China's No.1 sister Zheng Qinwen played well to beat Poland's Fletcher 6-3 6-2 to reach the round of 16 for the third year in a row. She will next face former US Open champion Andreescu of Canada, who defeated former tournament champion Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-2 6-4.

After the game, as for how to crack the opponent's moon ball tactics, Xiao Zheng said that it is to be patient, "Yes, the first thing is to be patient, it is indeed difficult to kill directly with one shot, even if you have a lot of strength, it is difficult, because the ball speed will become very slow on clay." When the opponent picks up the ball, every bounce is a little different. So on clay, I was the first to tell myself to be patient, and if I really can't, then I should fight with them, because my fitness is definitely better than theirs. ”

Elsewhere: Top seed Sabalenka defeated American Kenin 3-6 6-3 6-3 to face Ukraine's Kostyuk, who beat Canadian Fernandez 6-4 6-2. Seventh seed and rising Russian star Milla Andreeva defeated Czech star Northkova 6-1 7-5 to next face Danish rising star Tauson, who overcame American Navarro 3-6 6-0 6-4. Gauff, the first sister of the United States, and Raducanu, the first sister of the United Kingdom, defeated their respective opponents and will meet in the next round.

Let's focus on one more piece of good news. Last night, Beijing time, in the final of the ATP Challenger CH100 Wuxi Station, Chinese player Sun Fajing played well, defeating Australian player Usain Bolt 7-6(4) 6-4, and lifted the championship trophy in the ATP Challenger for the first time in his career. Sun Fajing also became the seventh Chinese mainland player to win the ATP Challenger men's singles title. After winning the title, Sun Fajing earned 100 points and $22,730 in prize money, and immediately rose to No. 194 in the world rankings. Congratulations!

Finally, let's guess and recognize. The image below is a picture of a player as a child. Can you recognize who he is without prompting?

In the last guess, some golfers gave the correct answer. That's right, the child in the picture is the famous Russian Rublev.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Maverick)