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Sinner surges after slow start in New York opener

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2024

Jannik Sinner needed some time to settle into his latest US Open campaign on Tuesday afternoon in New York. Once the World No. 1 found his rhythm, however, he barely looked back en route to booking his second-round spot at the hard-court major.

Sinner overcame home favourite Mackenzie McDonald 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to set a second-round clash with another American, Alex Michelsen. The Italian appeared in real trouble after a first set in which McDonald expertly redirected the ball from the baseline, but he proved too strong from then on and ultimately wrapped a two-hour, 23-minute triumph.

“I started not in the best way, for sure, but the first match in every tournament is not easy,” said Sinner in his on-court interview. “You have to accept it. He played really, really well at the beginning and I tried to stay there mentally, tried to get into a rhythm. I did that at some point in the second set and then just tried to keep going, so I’m very happy to be in the next round. It’s the first time that I won here on this court after some attempts, so I’m very happy about this.”

Sinner dropped serve three times during a below-par first-set display, but he responded strongly by converting seven of 13 break points he earned across the second, third and fourth sets. The Italian is now 12-0 in opening rounds at tour-level events this year, and is 12-0 in Grand Slam first rounds dating back to Wimbledon 2021.

“We go day by day. Tomorrow I have a day off and we will try to get a little bit more rhythm and try to improve for the next match,” said Sinner, who defeated his next opponent Michelsen just 13 days ago in Cincinnati, in what was the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. “For sure, I have room to improve, so I’m looking forward to the next one and let’s see what I can do.”

Sinner, who won his maiden Grand Slam trophy at January’s Australian Open and arrived in New York after lifting his third ATP Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati, is now 49-5 for the season. The current leader in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, the 22-year-old is bidding to lift a Tour-leading sixth singles title for the year this fortnight in New York.

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#NextGenATP Mensik earns standout US Open win

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2024

#NextGenATP Czech Jakub Mensik clinched a statement win on Tuesday at the US Open, where he upset World No. 19 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to record his third Top 20 win.

The 18-year-old earned a major breakthrough in New York last year when he reached the third round at Flushing Meadows on his Grand Slam debut. Twelve months on and at No. 65 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Mensik once again put on a show to dispatch Canadian Auger-Aliassime after two hours and four minutes and reach the second round.

Mensik won 89 per cent (40/45) of his first-serve points and fired 25 winners to level the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. He will next play Australian wild card Tristan Schoolkate or Japan’s Taro Daniel.

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Mensik has enjoyed an impressive season, highlighted by his run to the final in Doha. The 18-year-old is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and aiming to make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in December.

Auger-Aliassime reached the semi-finals at the US Open in 2021. The Canadian’s best result this season was a run to the title match at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.

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With some clean up to do, Djokovic eases into US Open second round

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2024

Like slipping into a comfortable bath, Novak Djokovic eased into his title defence at the US Open Monday night, albeit with a few wrinkles to iron out in the coming rounds.

Returning to hard courts for the first time since Indian Wells in March and playing his first tournament since winning Olympic gold on clay in Paris three weeks ago, Djokovic didn’t bring his cleanest game to Arthur Ashe Stadium. The four-time champion threw in 10 double faults, put just 47 per cent of first serves into play and made 40 unforced errors.

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But despite the stains on the stats sheet, Djokovic was always in full control of his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Albot, closing out the 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win in two hours and seven minutes, sending fans on their way just before midnight.

Joking before the match that he was seeking revenge on Albot, who has wins over his brothers Marko and Djordje, Djokovic captured a record 78th win by a male inside Ashe.

“I wanted to kick start the tournament in the right way and I think I did,” Djokovic said on ESPN. “Some ups and downs which I think is normal, getting the rust off your shoulders coming off a different surface and the Olympic Games.

“I haven’t played on hard courts for six months, so I’m still finding that groove, finding the tempo on the court.”

Moving into a tie with Roger Federer for most wins at the Open (89), second only to Jimmy Connors (98), Djokovic was untroubled in his return to hard courts in his first appearance since claiming the Olympic singles gold medal in Paris, where he completed the career Golden Slam.

Chasing a 25th major to break a tie with Australia’s Margaret Court, Djokovic next faces fellow Serbian Laslo Djere, who defeated German Jan-Lennard Struff in five sets.

The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings is also hunting his 100th career title this fortnight.

Djokovic, who won the first of his four US Opens in 2011, improved to 30-7 on the season. Over his Grand Slam career, the 37-year-old is 62-1 versus players outside the Top 100 and at the US Open he is 41-0 against players outside the Top 50. Albot slipped to 107-147 according to the Infosys ATP Match Wins Index.

World No. 138 Albot was making his 10th US Open main draw appearance after qualifying for the third time.

Albot had momentum for a fleeting moment in the second set when he broke back at 2-all and led 40/0 on serve, but Djokovic responded with a flurry of penetrating returns to win five consecutive points to reclaim the lead in emphatic fashion.

 

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Shang's secret: Less complaining, more winning

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2024

Less complaining, more winning. That has been the motto lately for #NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng and it has proven plenty successful.

The Chinese 19-year-old ticked off his latest first on Monday when he earned his maiden US Open win against 27th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 34 minutes. Shang has now reached the second round of every major main draw (also the Australian Open and Wimbledon) he has played this season.

“Very happy and tired. Very tired. Interesting match against Alex. He has everything, he throws anything at you, some second-serve bombs, also drop shots, underarm serves, anything,” Shang said. “You really have to focus the whole match, and I’m glad I did all the way ‘til the end. It was just a good win, and hopefully I can continue.”

It has been the best season of Shang’s young career. The teen is currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, putting him in good position to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the first time.

Results that stand out include his first two ATP Tour semi-finals in Hong Kong and Atlanta, a trip to the third round of the Australian Open and a quarter-final in Eastbourne. Entering 2024 he had not reached a tour-level quarter-final.

“I think mentally, I’m a different person, also physically,” Shang said. “Not too many things have changed.”

The Chinese star has played more aggressively and improved his serve. He even explained that he is still growing height-wise. But the big difference has been in his mind.

“Until Eastbourne this year, if I remember exactly, I was complaining so much about the grass that I had no idea how to move on it, and every two steps I would slip. And so me and my parents and also my coach, we made a deal,” Shang said. “No complaining during the match, and then we’ll count it as one match. Whenever you get to 50 matches, that’s when you have another breakthrough.

“Right now we’re counting, I think, to 16 matches. Today I was complaining a bit in the second and third, but gladly, in the fourth and fifth, I brought it all back together and had the focus again.”

It is a work in progress, just like everything in a tennis player’s game. And in many ways, it’s natural to have dialogue with your team during a match.

“If you’re really anxious, or if you’re really mad at something and nothing is working, obviously first thing is you go to your team and ask them, ‘What is going on?’ And the truth is that they did nothing wrong,” Shang said. “You’re out there by yourself, and you’re making the mistakes. So for me, it’s better to just forget about the mistake. It doesn’t matter how big it is, [you have to] just keep moving forward, because what you can do is focus on the next point and stop thinking about the past.”

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Shang is the second-youngest player in the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Live Rankings at World No. 67. This time last year, the teen had to go through qualifying at the US Open and lost in the final round.

That match, against Otto Virtanen, was a three-setter that lasted two hours and one minute. “I ran out of gas pretty bad,” Shang recalled, cracking a smile. The lefty charged through five sets in nearly double the time on Monday.

Entering the season, Shang owned four tour-level wins. He has claimed 18 this campaign alone and is eager to push for more, starting with his second-round encounter with Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.

But the teen is remaining level-headed. Win or lose, there is less complaining and more of a focus on staying in the moment. That includes not dwelling too much on his success.

“Whenever I win or I do something bad, I try to forget about it, because if you’re always staying in the past, I feel like you can’t really enjoy the present,” Shang said. “I take days off. Sometimes I don’t want to practise, just like a normal guy. I try not to think about too much of the other things that happened before, just focusing on the present and what’s going to happen in the future as well.”

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Schwartzman after final US Open: ‘I’m grateful for all the years I’ve been here’

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2024

He may not be a home favourite nor a former champion, but Diego Schwartzman’s connection with the New York crowd has always run deep.

The former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings completed the final match of his US Open career on Monday afternoon, when he fell to Gael Monfils in four sets on Grandstand. Just a few hours after another former Top 10 star in the PIF ATP Rankings, Dominic Thiem, also completed his final New York match in emotional circumstances, it was fan favourite Schwartzman’s turn to step up to the mic.

“It’s difficult to speak. I am a guy who cries a lot. Sorry,” said a tearful Schwartzman in a post-match interview as the crowd cheered him on. “I’m not supposed to cry now, I have to be strong.”

The two-time US Open quarter-finalist Schwartzman had already summoned one final hurrah in New York by coming through qualifying last week to secure his 11th consecutive main-draw appearance. Monfils proved too strong in Monday’s first-round clash, however, ultimately prevailing 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Even in defeat, Schwartzman was happy to add some more cherished New York memories before bringing his career to a close.

“[These are] special moments, like you saw before on the screen,” said Schwartzman, referring to a montage video played on court after the match. “Once again, playing here, 11 times in a row. Playing in a Grand Slam, at the US Open.

“I did great, but I think [also] the entire crowd, today and in the years before, all the Latin American people, all the American people here. I don’t know why they take care of me so well every year, and I’m not sure if I deserve it or not, but I’m really grateful for all the years I have been here.”

Schwartzman is not done yet as a competitor on the ATP Tour. The 32-year-old has said he intends to retire next February at home in Argentina.

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