Swiatek returns to Madrid Open final by beating Keys. Medvedev retires in quarterfinal with injury

MADRID (AP) — Iga Swiatek cruised to a straight-set win over Madison Keys to reach the Madrid Open final for the second consecutive year on Thursday, while Daniil Medvedev retired from his quarterfinal against Jiri Lehecka because of an injury.

Top-ranked Swiatek beat 20th-ranked Keys 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals and will face second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in a rematch of last year's final. Sabalenka, the defending champion, defeated world No. 4 Elena Rybakina in three sets late Thursday.

The Madrid Open is the only high-profile European clay-court competition that Swiatek has yet to win.

“It was a pretty clean performance and really solid game from myself,” Swiatek said. “I’m happy with everything.”

It will be the third final of the year for Swiatek after titles in Indian Wells and Doha.

“I’m happy that we can play a final against the top players,” Swiatek said. “It shows consistency. For sure it’s going to be a challenge, whoever it’s going to be, and a tough match. I will be ready. I will focus on myself."

Sabalenka, who needed three sets to defeat Swiatek in the Madrid final last year, rallied to beat Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5). The win sent Sabalenka into her third Madrid final and ended Rybakina’s 16-match clay-court winning streak.

Keys said she was disappointed but there were “a lot of really great things to take from the tournament” in the Spanish capital.

“It’s been a while since I have won four matches in a row. Lots to build on. It’s obviously great momentum going into Rome next week,” she said. “It’s obviously only my fourth tournament back after the shoulder injury, so to do so well here and to be able to play some tough matches and have some three-set matches and be physically 100% still and being able to look forward to Rome and hopefully play some good tennis there is a huge positive.”

MEDVEDEV INJURED

Medvedev retired after losing the first set 6-4, sending the 31st-ranked Lehecka into a semifinal against 35th-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Medvedev, the No. 4 in the world, needed treatment on his upper right leg while leading 3-2, complaining about having trouble moving to his right. He also needed treatment at 4-3, and after Lehecka broke serve in the ninth game to win the set, Medvedev decided not to continue.

“It’s never easy in a match like this,” Lehecka said of Medvedev’s retirement. “If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn’t be like that. So of course, it’s never easy to see your opponent struggling, but at that moment, you just need to focus on yourself, trying to get the maximum level out of yourself.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan returns the ball to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns the ball to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus serves to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns the ball to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic returns the ball to Daniil Medvedev of Russia during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Daniil Medvedev of Russia follows through on a serve to Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Daniil Medvedev of Russia walks past the net during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament against Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland, right, shakes hands with Madison Keys of USA after winning their match during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes the ball before returning it to Madison Keys of USA during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates after defeating Madison Keys of USA during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates after defeating Madison Keys of USA during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts after defeating Madison Keys of USA during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early Friday caused power cutoffs in the city of Sevastopol and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia, Russian authorities said.

The drone raids marked Kyiv's attempt to strike back during Moscow's offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has added to the pressure on outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces who are waiting for delayed deliveries of crucial weapons and ammunition from Western partners.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, another 44 over the Krasnodar region and six over the Belgorod region. It said Russian warplanes and patrol boats also destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, which is the main base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, said the drone attack damaged the city’s power plant. He said it could take a day to fully restore energy supplies and warned residents that power would be cut to parts of the city.

“Communal services are doing their best to restore the power system as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement.

Razvozhayev also announced that schools in the city would be closed temporarily.

Earlier Ukrainian attacks damaged aircraft and a fuel storage facility at Belbek air base near Sevastopol, according to satellite images released by Maxar Technologies.

In the Krasnodar region, the authorities said a drone attack early Friday caused a fire at an oil refinery in Tuapse which was later contained. There were no casualties.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted refineries and other energy facilities deep inside Russia, causing significant damage.

Ukrainian drones also attacked Novorossiysk, a major Black Sea port. The Krasnodar region’s governor, Veniamin Kondratyev, said fragments of downed drones caused several fires but there were no casualties.

Belgorov Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a Ukrainian drone struck a vehicle, killing a woman and her 4-year-old child. Another attack set a fuel tank ablaze at a gas station in the region, he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops were fighting to halt Russian advances in the northeastern Kharkiv region that began late last week.

The town of Vovchansk, located just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Russian border, has been a hot spot in the fighting in recent days. Ukrainian authorities have evacuated some 8,000 civilians from the town. The Russian army’s usual tactic is to reduce towns and villages to ruins with aerial strikes before its units move in.

Russia has also been testing defenses at other points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line snaking from north to south through eastern Ukraine. That line has barely changed over the past 18 months in what became a war of attrition. Recent Russian attacks have come in the eastern Donetsk region, as well as the Chernihiv and Sumy regions in the north and in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. The apparent aim is to stretch depleted Ukrainian resources and exploit weaknesses.

Follow AP's coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows a closer view of a destroyed MiG 31 fighter aircraft at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of destroyed MiG 31 fighter aircraft and fuel storage facility at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of a destroyed SU 27 fighter aircraft in revetment at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This image released by Maxar Technologies shows a damaged plane, likely a MiG 31 fighter aircraft, at Belbek air base, near Sevastopol, in Crimea, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)