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Charlie Robertson: Once a future farmer, Murray mentee making his mark at US Open

  • Posted: Sep 05, 2024

Briton Jack Draper has stepped into the sun at the US Open, advancing to his maiden major semi-final in the first Grand Slam tournament since former World No. 1 Andy Murray’s retirement. But Draper is not the only Briton making his mark in New York.

Seventeen-year-old Charlie Robertson is into the semi-finals of the boys’ singles event and two victories from becoming the first British boys’ singles champion at Flushing Meadows since Oliver Golding in 2011.

“It’s obviously more impressive from Jack getting to the semi-finals of the men’s,” Robertson told ATPTour.com. “But I’m so happy for him. I also hit with him at Queen’s and he looked like he’s been working so hard and he’s a really nice guy, also. It’s just cool to see another Brit that’s doing so well.

“I think it’s just great for everyone in British tennis. For me when people are doing well, you go like, ‘I want to get to what he’s like as well’. It’s going to be massive for British tennis in a positive way.”

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Robertson grew up on a farm in the north of Scotland. His older sister, Kirsty (23), and older brother, Harry (21), were in a tennis class. Charlie was too young to participate, but from the age of four he would hit against the wall. His efforts were impressive enough to be placed in the class despite his age and he immediately loved it. But the Scot also enjoyed time at home.

“Out of my brother and my sister, I was actually into the farm and the animals,” Robertson said. “I used to look after the sheep, that’s what I got. I honestly loved it. I think my dad thought I was going to be a farmer, but I just enjoyed sports too much and tennis I loved, so I decided to go for that.”

As Robertson improved, it was clear he had to move to the GB National Tennis Academy at the University of Stirling for the best training.

“We had to sell our farm to afford somewhere to stay in Stirling, a home,” Robertson said. “From there I kept playing and it was great.”

The No. 23 player in the ITF Junior Rankings, Robertson is already one of the best juniors in the world. Unsurprisingly, Murray, who was already a Top 20 player in the PIF ATP Rankings when Robertson was born, was his role model.

“Seeing him, a Scotsman do it is so special for me obviously. Being from Scotland, it’s unbelievable seeing a Scottish guy doing so well. So for me, it was always Andy,” Robertson said. “Andy’s always been my inspiration since I was little and to know that someone can do it from where you’ve trained and where he’s trained and grown up, it’s a massive inspiration.”

They have grown closer this year. Andy’s older brother, Jamie Murray, is the tournament director at the cinch Championships and invited Robertson to serve as a hitting partner.

“It was quite special. Me and Andy built our relationship there, so that was very special and I also got the time to hit with Alcaraz, which I thought was really nice,” Robertson said. “It was only once, but he actually requested me again to hit with him, which was quite cool, but I actually had to go play a tournament myself!”

Murray even had Robertson as a training partner ahead of the Olympics, the final tournament of his career. Andy’s mother, Judy Murray, wrote: “It’s 20 years since Andy won the US Open junior event in 2004 and it’s great to see him investing in the next generation. No better and quicker way to learn than working alongside someone who has been there and done it.”

”I can’t thank the Murray family enough. They’ve given me so much support and I can’t thank them enough for backing me and backing a Scot. It’s really special,” Robertson said. “For what he’s already done for tennis and how he’s giving back also now that it’s done, it’s amazing for me.”

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Errani & Vavassori win US Open mixed doubles title: 'Dream come true'

  • Posted: Sep 05, 2024

Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori capped a dream run to the mixed doubles title Thursday at the US Open, where the third seeds overcame home hopes Taylor Townsend and Donald Young 7-6(0), 7-5 in the championship match.

Errani and Vavassori held their nerve in pressure moments, including a trade of breaks at the tail end of the opening set that forced a tie-break, during which they did not drop a point. When Townsend and Young served to stay in the match at 5-6 in the second set, Errani and Vavassori jumped to 0/40 lead and converted their third match point.

The 35-year-old Young, who reached a career-high No. 38 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2012, was competing in his final professional tournament.

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Errani and Vavassori survived a difficult path en route to becoming the third Italian duo to win a major title in mixed doubles and first since 1986. They began the tournament by fending off a match point against Robert Galloway and Shelby Rogers. In the quarter-finals, Errani and Vavassori downed Hsieh Su-Wei and Jan Zielinski, who were chasing their third major mixed doubles title of the year (Australian Open, Wimbledon).

“It’s very special. It’s a dream come true for me,” Vavassori said. “Being with Sara, an amazing person, an amazing player. I always watch her during her career. It was amazing to play with her at Wimbledon and the Olympics this year… We did it. We won a Grand Slam! It’s amazing.”

Vavassori, No. 9 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, partnered Simone Bolelli to reach the Australian Open and Roland Garros final this season. The Flushing Meadows mixed doubles title marks his first major crown.

Errani last month teamed Jasmine Paolini to claim the Paris Olympics gold medal in women’s doubles. A five-time major champion in women’s doubles, Errani was competing in her first mixed doubles major final.

“This is so special for me. I’ve never played mixed and to share this moment with Andrea is so special,” Errani said. “I’m so happy. This is incredible for me. This year, it’s amazing.”

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What is the US Open semi-final schedule?

  • Posted: Sep 05, 2024

Top seed Jannik Sinner and 25th seed Jack Draper will meet in the first US Open semi-final on Friday afternoon before 12th seed Taylor Fritz faces 20th seed Frances Tiafoe in an all-American evening battle.

Sinner, who defeated 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday evening to make the last four, will try to reach his second major final of the season not before 3 p.m. EDT/9 p.m. CEST. Also a semi-finalist at Roland Garros and a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, he won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

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It will be the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings’ second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against Draper, a first-rime major semi-finalist. The Briton defeated Sinner three years ago at The Queen’s Club in two tie-breaks for his first ATP Tour main-draw win.

Fritz or Tiafoe, who will play not before 7 p.m. EDT/1 a.m. CEST will become the first American man to reach a Slam final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009. This will be the first all-American men’s singles semi-final at a Grand Slam tournament since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri at the 2005 US Open.

Fritz leads Tiafoe 6-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Their most recent meeting came last year in Acapulco (Fritz won 6-3, 6-4) and they have met in a major just once, at the 2022 Australian Open (Fritz won 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5).

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Preview: Fritz, Tiafoe’s all-American SF, can Draper upset Sinner at US Open?

  • Posted: Sep 05, 2024

No American has reached the men’s singles final at the US Open since 2006. On Friday, Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe will end that drought in New York.

The two players will step out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium in front of their home fans for an intriguing semi-final clash at the hard-court major. As well as a matchup between Fritz’s serve-dominated game and Tiafoe’s ability to redirect an opponent’s power to his advantage, it will also be a duel between two close friends that have played a major role in the resurgence of American men’s tennis in recent years.

“Taylor and I had a conversation about being No. 1, No. 2 Americans for a very long time,” said Tiafoe ahead of the first all-American Grand Slam semi-final since Andre Agassi defeated Robby Ginepri in 2005. “I remember we were sitting on a plane some years ago, and he’s a pretty to-himself kind of dude, and he’s, like, ‘Bro, I think me and you are going to be one, two Americans and leading the way.”

Competing at the US Open as the leading American in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fritz has expertly handled the pressure so far this fortnight as he bids to become the first home men’s singles champion since Andy Roddick in 2003. The 26-year-old has dropped just two sets across his five matches so far, eliminating Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev in the process.

After losing his first four major quarter-finals, the way Fritz held his nerve to overcome Zverev in four sets to reach his maiden semi-final was particularly impressive. However, the eight-time ATP Tour champion has no intention of resting on his laurels.

“The emotional level is down,” said Fritz. “It’s cool I’m in the semis, but I very much have the mindset of ‘The job’s not done’, and I keep taking it one match at a time like I’ve been all tournament and focus on the next match ahead of me.”

Fritz enters the clash with history on his side. The 12th seed holds a 6-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Tiafoe, a tally which includes victory in the pair’s only Grand Slam meeting at the 2022 Australian Open. Yet Tiafoe, who reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati earlier this month, believes past encounters will have little bearing on Friday’s clash in New York.

“It’s different on Ashe, man,” said Tiafoe, who also reached the US Open semi-finals in 2022. “It’s different. Obviously you have to learn from those [defeats]. I mean, couple of those I thought I actually should have won. He’s tough, man. He’s a tough player. He plays great from both sides, has a great serve, he’s moving much better now. It’s going to be tough.”

As well as becoming the first American men’s singles finalist since Roddick in 2006, whoever triumphs in Friday’s semi-final will also significantly boost their hopes of reaching the Nitto ATP Finals. Currently seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Fritz would rise to fourth by reaching the championship match. Tiafoe, who has never qualified for the prestigious season finale, will rise from 14th to 10th in the Live Race if he can defeat Fritz.

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Sinner Eyes Revenge Against Red-hot Draper
After years beset with injury struggles, has Jack Draper’s big-stage moment finally arrived?

The Briton has stormed to his maiden major semi-final without dropping a set this fortnight at the US Open, where World No. 1 Jannik Sinner stands in his way in the last four. For the 22-year-old Draper, a junior rival and friend of Sinner’s, his breakout major run in New York has come as a reward for years of perseverance.

“I’ve had times when I’ve maybe thought to stop or, ‘Am I cut out for this sport? Am I really good enough?’ And all this sort of stuff,” reflected Draper, who won his maiden ATP Tour title in June in Stuttgart, after easing past Alex de Minaur in straight sets in the quarter-finals. “I kept on believing in myself, kept on working.

“Those are hard moments. This is not a hard moment compared to that. This is a privilege, and this is an honour to be in this position. This is why I work so hard, so I’ve got to just keep it going in my stride. I’m not afraid of being in these positions.”

So can Draper maintain his impressive form to upset the World No. 1 and become the first British men’s singles US Open finalist since Andy Murray lifted the trophy in 2012? The lefty, who has already guaranteed he will crack the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings next Monday with his New York run, triumphed in his only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Sinner at the Queen’s Club in 2021.

Even prior to that meeting on the London grass, Sinner was familiar with Draper’s game. The Italian recalls seeing the Briton compete as a junior, and he knows he may have to adapt to the unique challenge that his opponent’s big-serving, heavy-hitting lefty game poses.

“I don’t remember playing against him… But I do remember seeing him from outside,” said Sinner of Draper after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals. “Obviously lefty, it’s also tough to see, as there are fewer lefties than righties. You know, his ball striking was always very, very good.

“It’s going to be a tough match. He hasn’t lost one set yet. He’s playing great. He’s serving great. I saw also the match today, he’s hitting very, very strong. So it’s going to be tough match but I’m looking forward to it and hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”

By beating Medvedev in New York, Sinner completed the set of reaching the semi-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments. The Australian Open champion clearly holds the advantage over his last-four opponent Draper in terms of experience at the tail end of Grand Slams, but he will be wary of the Briton’s weapons in what will be one of the most high-powered matchups of the Grand Slam season.

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Medvedev on Sinner defeat: ‘I got lost in my misses’

  • Posted: Sep 05, 2024

Daniil Medvedev was dissatisfied and disheartened by his quarter-final exit at the hands of Jannik Sinner on Wednesday evening at the US Open. Yet in trademark fashion for one of the ATP Tour’s master tacticians, it did not take long for the World No. 5 to form a detailed assessment of his four-set defeat.

“[It’s a] tough loss,” said Medvedev after Sinner’s 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 triumph in New York. “I am definitely not happy with the way I played in general, because there were some very good moments and some not so good. So in general it’s a tough feeling when you come out, and at the end it’s rare that I get tight, but in the end I got super tight.

“When I was missing, I didn’t feel why I was missing, so I couldn’t correct it, and then I got super tight at the end, and it was even tougher. Not an easy feeling, not happy with myself, but that’s tennis, it’s okay. I lost. I go home.”

After dropping the opening set, Medvedev eased to the second in a topsy-turvy encounter inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. He was unable to maintain that momentum, however, and was ultimately defeated in four sets as Sinner avenged his five-set defeat in the pair’s Wimbledon quarter-final two months ago.

“The first set was horrible for me. I think almost even probably worse than the third one,” reflected Medvedev. “I managed to solve a lot of problems in the second set. Played better. Same in the fourth set, like I managed to start solving some problems that I had in the third set. So those are the positive things.”

Medvedev arrived in New York off the back of three straight defeats at the Paris Olympics, in Montreal and Cincinnati, respectively. He put that slump in form behind him by dropping just one set across his first four rounds at the US Open, but acknowledged he still didn’t feel like he had completely settled into the North American hard-court swing.

“A theory I have is that here I saw it in practice, the week before the tournament,” said Medvedev. “The balls, the courts, not easy. It was the same in Montreal, Cincinnati, it’s not super easy to control them. So sometimes you feel like you’re doing all good and then you miss and then you have question marks.

“But before I played maybe I was more like confident with myself that I will win this match even if I miss some shots. So maybe today I was going for a little bit more risky shots, I was missing just a bit more. One moment I kind of got lost in my misses. Maybe it was the same for him a little bit, because I still managed to many times put him in trouble even if it was not enough.”

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With his latest win against Medvedev, Sinner continued to eat away at his rival’s lead in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Medvedev at one point led the Italian 6-0, but Sinner has since won six of seven meetings between the pair to cut the deficit to 6-7.

“Lately it has been a tough one for me, but at the same time, honestly today, comparing to some matches I played with him last year when he started to beat me, I felt like I was doing the right things,” said Medvedev when asked about his matchup with Sinner. “I just didn’t manage to execute them well. I feel like the match itself, he was doing the right thing and I was doing the right thing.

“So I feel like we both come out of this match thinking, ‘Okay, now I feel what he does’. Well, the only thing is that I lost, and he won. So he will be feeling better. To have big rivalries like this always pushes me to be better, and sometimes I lose; sometimes I win. I will try to be better next time, and that’s the only thing I can do.”

Although Medvedev’s wait for his second major title after his 2021 US Open triumph goes on, his quarter-final run in New York has had a positive short-term impact when it comes to his hopes of competing at the Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive year. The 28-year-old has consolidated fourth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, with Taylor Fritz the only player remaining in the draw able to leapfrog him during the US Open.

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