Tennis News

Alcaraz Books Maiden Slam Quarter-Final In Five-Set Triumph

#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest US Open quarter-finalist in the Open Era after ending the run of qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in five sets at Flushing Meadows on Sunday night.

Two days after he stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas to become the youngest man to defeat a Top 3 player at the US Open, the 18-year-old secured back-to-back five-set victories for the first time in his career to advance 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0. The Spaniard finished with 35 winners – five more than his opponent – and his 45 unforced errors were 39 fewer than the German’s.

The teenager served for the opening set at 5-4 only to be broken and a brief delay due to mist did nothing to slow the German’s momentum. He reeled off three straight games and took the opening set on the seventh break.

There was no threat of a letdown from Alcaraz at having let the first set slip from his grasp as he broke immediately to set the tone for the second set. When a double fault from the German surrendered the double break, Alcaraz sensed his opportunity and put the foot down as he sealed the set after just 31 minutes. 

Gojowczyk, who reached a career-best of No. 39 in the FedEx ATP Rankings three years ago, was not about to go quietly. While he failed to serve it out the third set on his first chance, he made good on his next opportunity to serve it out after 56 minutes.

Both players had treatment on their left legs deep in the fourth set and after Alcaraz secured a hard-fought hold for 4-1, Gojowczyk looked to be struggling most. A fifth set was ensured when the Spaniard picked off consecutive backhand winners to break at the three-hour mark and he was in total control as the deciding set wore on.

After three rounds of qualifying and two of his three main draw matches had gone five sets, Gojowczyk was attempting to finish points quicker to conserve energy but momentum had firmly swung to his younger opponent. A double fault from the German gave up the double break in the deciding set and Alcaraz closed to within a game of victory on a sliding sliced crosscourt backhand winner.

His passage to a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final was sealed at the three-hour, 26-minute mark. He awaits the winner of 12^th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and American Frances Tiafoe for a place in the semi-finals.

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Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell & A Memorable Celebration: Otte's US Open Breakthrough

When a tennis player vomits, normally that is not a good sign. Doing it twice in as many matches is even worse. Yet after getting ill during his first two qualifying matches at this US Open, German Oscar Otte is into the fourth round of the main draw.

“In the moment when it happened, I was just thinking, ‘Okay, doesn’t matter what the score is, how the match is going to end,’” Otte told ATPTour.com during a press conference. “I just wanted to be off court [and] out of the sun because it was so humid and hot.

“It’s a crazy ride. Just unbelievable. I didn’t expect that I could come so far.”

Otte failed to advance through Grand Slam qualifying on his first 13 attempts, although he played Roger Federer at Roland Garros two years ago as a lucky loser. He broke through his qualifying hurdle at the clay-court major this season and showed his potential in the main draw by taking a two-set lead against countryman Alexander Zverev in the first round. Otte also qualified for Wimbledon, where he won his opener in a fifth-set tie-break before losing against Andy Murray in five sets.

But things did not appear as favourable leading into the US Open. Otte had not played a hard-court tournament since an ATP Challenger Tour event in Lille, France in March. And according to the 28-year-old German’s longtime friend, two-time Roland Garros doubles champion Andreas Mies, there was another issue: a stomach bug.

“He wasn’t feeling physically well coming here,” Mies said. “He was laying in bed for one week and started practising one week before his first-round qualifying match.

“He actually vomited two times in qualifying, in his first round of qualies and his second round of qualies. He threw up in the third-set tie-break and still went on to win. He came back a few times and it just shows his great fighting spirit.”

^{Photo Credit: Adam Glanzman/USTA}
In both the first and second rounds of qualifying, Otte saved a match point before winning a final-set tie-break. Then he battled from 6-7(8), 2-5 down to beat 20th seed Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the main draw. Now, he will face sixth seed Matteo Berrettini for a spot in the quarter-finals and a likely showdown with 20-time major champion Novak Djokovic.

“Qualies are always tough, especially the first two rounds. I wasn’t in very good physical shape,” Otte said. “I know if I play well and my game works really good, I can make a lot of damage no matter who my opponent is.

“It’s tough. It was a long way, but I think it’s still not the end.”

Mies was 13 when he first met Otte, who was 10 at the time. They first played at Marienburger SC in Germany for eight years, before shifting to Rot-Weiss Köln for 10 years. Their first club match together came on a snowy day, when both got blitzed in singles, before they paired to crush the same two opponents in doubles.

“I remember him always being really small. He’s always been really skinny and small, and he was wearing a hat. His hat was so big, you couldn’t see his face!” Mies said. “He was 10 years old and his racquet was bigger than he was. You could already see that he was feeling the ball and he was hitting the ball clean.”

At the time, Mies remembers Otte being more of a scrappy player, who battled from behind the baseline and retrieved more than he attacked. When Mies eventually left Germany for his freshman year of college tennis at Auburn University, he returned, to a different Otte.

“He’s always been pretty small until he was 16, 17 and all of a sudden he grew so fast in a short period of time, which I think helped his game,” Mies said. “All of a sudden he made this huge jump in height and all of a sudden he has this huge serve, so he can actually serve big and still play from the baseline.”

 

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Otte chose to turn professional in 2011 rather than play college tennis like his close friend. But that decision did not immediately pay dividends. Currently the No. 144 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, his career-high is No. 129. A big goal has been to crack the Top 100.

“Always when he was close and he didn’t have much to defend when he was around No. 130, he was playing nervous,” Mies said. “He was feeling the pressure.”

After Mies finished college, he played doubles with Otte for a few years — winning 13 professional titles together — until Oscar decided in 2017 that physically, he needed to focus on singles.

“He told me, ‘It’s too much for me and my body to play singles and doubles every day. Let me focus on singles to break the Top 100,’” Otte said. “I had no problem with that. We were always honest with each other. I said I think that’s a good decision actually because I saw him struggling a little bit with the body.”

Mies formed a successful partnership with Kevin Krawietz shortly thereafter, while Otte still struggled to find his breakthrough. But the German is making his mark at Flushing Meadows. He is also having a blast in the process.

After winning his past two matches, Otte has celebrated by making a circle with his thumb and index fingers on both hands and placing those circles over his eyes, similar to a celebration basketball players use when they swish a three-pointer. Mies laughed when asked about it, as he had never seen his friend do it before the second round of this tournament. It is a tribute to Anthony Modeste, a football player for FC Köln.

“Oscar is crazy, but in a positive way. He’s a really funny guy. He just likes to have fun,” Mies said. “We love to talk some bullshit and stuff. He loves to enjoy the game and time with his friends. We’re always having a good time. He’s a positive dude. He’s a really funny guy, actually. He’s a little bit crazy, but really funny.” 

 

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Fans might be intrigued to find that on Otte’s recent Instagram posts, he has used the hashtags #chickfila and #tacobell in reference to the fast-food restaurants.

“My sister and her husband, they are obsessed with Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell, and they always force me to go and order as soon as I’m in the States,” Otte said. “I actually did it when I came here the first couple of days. Then I was thinking, ‘Okay, maybe it’s a little bit of a lucky charm.’ So I decided to keep on with that.

“The past days I ordered Taco Bell and Chick-fil-A. I really like it. Just in the evening. Not before the match.”

On court, this has been a timely run for Otte, as he is defending 200 FedEx ATP Ranking points from a run to an ATP Challenger Tour final in Ostrava and a title in Aix en Provence during last year’s US Open. Regardless of what happens against Berrettini, maintaining this form in the weeks and months ahead will bode well for Otte.

“I know now that I have more trust in my game, and it’s working really well,” Otte said. “Let’s see when this ends.”

Otte is no longer the little kid whose big hat covered his face. The German is very much thriving in New York, and loving his moment in the sun.

“I hope he realises how good he is, because I realised it early on,” Mies said. “I’m just really happy for him.”

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US Open 2021: Emma Raducanu ready to face Shelby Rogers in New York

British teenager Emma Raducanu is unfazed by the prospect of playing home favourite Shelby Rogers on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the US Open last 16.

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Johnson/Querrey Reach US Open QF

Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey’s strong run at the US Open continued Sunday as the Americans overcame Ricardas Berankis and Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

The unseeded pair enjoyed a run to the semi-finals as a team in New York in 2015 and moved to within one victory of matching that this year as they won 88 per cent (29/33) of their first-serve points to advance after 58 minutes.

They will next face Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau after the sixth seeds continued their bid to claim their second tour-level title as a team with a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory against Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

The German-Romanian team lifted the trophy in Halle in June and saved all five break points they faced against Gonzalez and Molteni to secure their victory in one hour and 48 minutes.

Australians Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell also advanced into the last eight as they defeated Americans Evan King and Hunter Reese 6-4, 6-4, while Dominik Koepfer and Emil Ruusuvuori reached the third round as they received a walkover from Neal Skupski and Jack Sock.

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Exclusive: Ferrero On Alcaraz's Rise

You’ll rarely find him without a smile on his face. On court, around the corridors of Flushing Meadows or in the press room. Carlos Alcaraz has plenty of reasons to wear one at the moment, one of them being his performance at the US Open. The 18-year-old Spaniard revealed another after reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam and defeating a Top 3 player for the first time in his career; his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, recommended he do so.

In just nine months, the Murcian has gone from aspiring to enter the Top 100 to “trying to compete head to head against all the best players in the world.” A day after Alcaraz’s greatest performance to date, the former No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings takes a look back at the achievements of his player’s early career in this interview with ATPTour.com.

Arthur Ashe Stadium, Stefanos Tsitsipas on the other side of the net. Victory in the fifth-set tie-break. Were we watching Alcaraz’s presentation to the world?

Obviously yes. I think playing on center court at the US Open and against the opponent he had in front of him made Carlos’s victory more noticeable. Without a doubt, it was his presentation to the world showing everyone that he has great potential and a great level. He has to continue in that line to try to compete head to head against all the best.

“Juan Carlos always tells me that I have to have a good time on the court. With a smile on my face I play better, and we have proved that”. These were Alcaraz’s words, after the match.
I tell him this to try not to be tense in the match and to enjoy what is happening, so he can see things clearly. If he is happy and relaxed, he will see things much better than if he is tense and nervous.

Against Tsitsipas he seemed to follow your advice. He not only enjoyed himself but also demonstrated an ability to play with determination and maturity in critical moments such as the third set or the end of the match.
I think he had been playing very good matches against great opponents like Rafa [Nadal], [Daniil] Medvedev and [Alexander] Zverev, but his level always went down a bit after the second set. Yesterday the goal was to maintain that level, and except in the fourth set with the problems he had with his leg, he was at a good level. It was what we were looking for.

He himself highlighted those three matches that you mentioned against Zverev in Acapulco; Nadal in Madrid; and Medvedev at Wimbledon.
All the matches that he is playing are giving him experience, especially those against the best in the world and in big stadiums. He has to accumulate experiences and having played against Rafa, Zverev and Medvedev surely helped him to approach things in a better way.

What do you tell him before matches like that?
It doesn’t change much from what I tell him in other matches: great attitude, fight until the end, try to be himself on court and not be intimidated by where he is playing or against whom. From there, let him fight to the end.

 

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After the match, he looked excited when he hugged Albert Molina [Alcaraz’s manager].
Yesterday’s match was very emotional. There was a lot of tension throughout the match. I was happy that he had reached the tie-break at the end, but in that situation, it is heads or tails. Obviously, having it so close you always want to win, but the goal was accomplished: to continue growing against an opponent like him. I really enjoyed the match. The end of the match with the victory, even more so.

The kid you started this journey with three years ago has grown up.
He is in a process of maturity and the match against Tsitsipas will surely help him approach everything differently, believing more in himself in the matches that have to come on this kind of court against this type of player.

Now he’s facing Peter Gojowczyk in the fourth round.
Now we must continue. I think you have to give it due importance that it has [a victory like this] on the day it happens, but the tournament goes on. This Sunday we have a very tough opponent and once again we have to keep our feet on the ground, do things well and play the tennis he is capable of.

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US Open: Qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp sets up Daniil Medvedev quarter-final

Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp beats Diego Schwartzman in five sets to set up a US Open quarter-final against second seed Daniil Medvedev.

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US Open 2021: Dan Evans loses to Daniil Medvedev in fourth round

Britain’s Dan Evans is outclassed by second seed Daniil Medvedev as the Russian reaches the US Open quarter-finals in style.

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Medvedev Cruises Into US Open QF

Second seed Daniil Medvedev continued to lay his claim Sunday as the man most likely to stop World No. 1 Novak Djokovic from capturing the Grand Slam at the US Open as the Russian moved past Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

The 25-year-old is yet to drop a set in New York and has been in strong form since the Tokyo Olympics, winning his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto, before reaching the semi-finals in Cincinnati. Medvedev’s one-hour 43-minute victory over Evans, in which he hit with great depth and struck 24 winners, means he now holds a 15-2 record since Wimbledon.

“Today I liked my serve better,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “But there was one forehand return that for me was the best shot of the match, so if we take one shot it has to be this one, but if we take the whole match it has to be the serve.”

The Australian Open finalist, who has captured titles in Marseille and Mallorca this year, is aiming to win his first major at Flushing Meadows, a tournament in which he has fond memories at. In 2019, the 12-time tour-level titlist rallied from two sets down to force a fifth set against Rafael Nadal in his maiden major final, before not dropping a set en route to the last four last year.

“First time when I came back last year [after the Russian’s final defeat to Nadal in 2019] I had some good memories,” Medvedev added. “Now, I just want to make it to the final again to have another one to remember and hopefully a better one.”

Medvedev now leads Evans 1-0 in their ATPHead2Head Series and will face qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp in the last eight as he aims to reach his fourth major semi-final after the Dutchman upset 11th seed Diego Schwartzman in five sets.

In a strong performance, the Russian sat just behind the baseline as he soaked up Evans’ pressure while also imposing his aggressive game, stepping inside the baseline to rifle his flat groundstrokes through the court as he dictated play.

After committing just six unforced errors in the first set to lead, Medvedev fired 12 winners in the second set to move towards victory. The Russian then did not drop a point behind his first serve (12/12) in the decider as he manoeuvred Evans around the court to secure his victory.

Evans was competing in the fourth round at the US Open for the first time in his fifth main draw appearance in New York. The 24th seed overcame Australian Alexei Popyrin in a fifth-set tie-break in the third round to set up his meeting with Medvedev.

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US Open: Elina Svitolina beats Simona Halep to reach quarter-finals

Elina Svitolina produces a commanding performance to beat two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep and reach the US Open quarter-finals.

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How Ferreira Is Helping Tiafoe Walk The Fine Line Between Fun & Focus

Frances Tiafoe earned a big win in the early hours of Saturday morning when he upset fifth seed Andrey Rublev in the third round of the US Open.

Later in the day, ATPTour.com spoke to Tiafoe’s coach, former World No. 6 Wayne Ferreira, about the American’s progression, finding the fine line between fun and focus, and more.

You’re often very calm during Frances’ matches, but during the fifth set even you were out of your chair. How was it seeing the way he responded?
There are so many different things we’re working on with him that he has to overcome. For example, being up a break in the fourth set, then losing his serve, losing his serve again and then losing the set. We’ve seen that happen a few times and then he’s come out and played a poor next set, letting that get a handle on him.

But I think he responded exceptionally well last night. Having that little downfall, losing that fourth set, coming out and playing as well as he did in the fifth set, for me it was all exciting. He’s starting to implement some of the work that we’ve been putting in, trying to overcome some of those things. He did a fantastic job coming through the adversity. It was really exciting for me.

You’ve spent so much time working on improving his focus, so was it like that work came to fruition last night?
Very much so. I was a little bit disappointed given he had been up a break in the fourth set. He got a little bit tight and then let the next game get control of him, but for him to overcome it and rectify it and play such a good fifth set was very, very encouraging.

^{Photo Credit: Pete Staples/USTA}
Was the game plan to try to get on top of Rublev to prevent him from controlling play?
Take away completely his strategy. His strategy is to get the ball in play and look for the forehand. He stands in that backhand corner and hits forehands all over the place. The strategy was to attack second serves, which he did phenomenally well last night.

The other play was to change the direction a lot and go to the forehand early so that he could open up the backhand and not allow him to sit in the backhand corner. Frances did a fantastic job last night of changing directions. He played a very smart match.

Do you believe that was his best win with you?
Yes, but I would also say the win over [Stefanos] Tsitsipas at Wimbledon in straight sets and not losing his serve in that match, that was an incredible, incredible win. We’re starting to have some good ones. There are starting to be a lot more matches where a lot of the work he’s been putting in is starting to come together. It’s probably one of the top three wins we’ve had so far.

Frances was in this position at last year’s US Open, reaching the fourth round. What is the difference between the Frances of last year and this year?
He has definitely made a big stride forward this year compared to last year. Last year he did well, but the matches weren’t as clean as he’s had this year. There were some ups and downs with the [John] Millman match and then an unbelievable match against [Marton] Fucsovics. It was a disappointing match with [Daniil] Medvedev. Last year there were too many ups and downs.

This year has been pretty good. His first round, second and third round have been very solid. He’s done everything the right way. It’s been very, very clinical to a certain degree. I’m hoping with everything we’ve been working on that he’s now able to move it to the fourth match, because obviously to win a major you need to win seven matches and that’s a lot of work to do.

Was there a point when you realised he made those strides?
It’s been gradual. We have pros and cons every week. Every week there is some good that we’ve done and improved on and there is still some poor that we have to overcome. It’s an ongoing process. We have a lot of things that we’re working through and we’re taking them step by step.

He’s knocking a few of them off the list, but there are going to be bad weeks. We’ve had some good matches and we’ve had some bad ones still, so it’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But we’ve got to just keep working on it.

Is his focus still the big task at the moment?
The focus of course, absolutely. No question. Keeping the focus and the intensity, not letting things get on top of you. That’s why the fifth set was such an impressive set last night. There were so many times he would have let that fourth set get a hold of him and he would have gotten disappointed and lost his commitment, his drive. The focus is still going to be key.

A match like he has with [Felix] Auger-Aliassime, it’s going to be very important for him to be focused all the time. He has to serve really well. If he can get through his service games, he’ll give himself a really good chance.

^{Photo Credit: Getty Image}
If the game plan was to attack Andrey’s second serve, Felix has also had some issues there sometimes. How different is the matchup with Felix?
In my opinion, fairly similar in a lot of ways. Felix does have problems with his second serve, but his second serve is a lot bigger, it’s a lot more penetrating, it’s much harder to attack. But I do think he needs to try to put pressure on the second serve.

As far as the groundstrokes, they both hit the ball very hard, very solid, play very, very well from the back. The ball is going to come back quickly again, he’s going to have to defend a lot. He’s going to have to try to change directions, mix things up. From that aspect, I think it will be similar.

The serve is going to be key again. I think if Frances serves well or if he can get on top of Auger-Aliassime’s serve, the key is going to be the serve and return.

We saw how much Frances played to the crowd. How much does being at home help him?
With his personality, it’s something that he really likes to do. We’ve been working very hard on finding that happy medium of having fun, but focusing at the same time. I’ve always said that if he was able to mix the two really well, it would be really good for him because that’s what he wants. He wants the crowd to be involved, he wants to have fun.

His personality is so outgoing, he wants to enjoy himself. I think he actually did it pretty perfectly yesterday in regards to enjoying himself, getting the crowd involved, but keeping focused. And if he’s able to do it at that level, I think that’s the type of player he is. It’s like a [Gael] Monfils in a way. He wants to get the crowd involved, have fun, but you also have to be careful not to let that get a handle on you.

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How fine of a line is it to avoid drifting too far into that and losing focus on the tennis?
That is the key, trying to find a way to make that not happen. That’s the difficulty with him. I want him to enjoy himself, but he also has to learn to switch on and shut off. Go and enjoy with the crowd, but then make sure you shut off.

Last night, I think he did a great job. I think there are going to be times when it’s going to get the better of him. This is something we’re trying to work on, but it’s a difficult thing to work on because you can only work on it during matches. Yesterday was good. Hopefully he can control himself and have fun with the crowd in the next one, but make sure it doesn’t get the better of him and lose focus. But yesterday’s match was good.

How much fun are you having on this journey with Frances?
It’s great, because he’s such a nice guy. We have such a nice time together. He has so many improvements to make and so much that he can do. It’s a really cool project, because he has the ability to be so much better and he wants to do it. It’s nice that he’s open to learning and to do his best. There are a lot of changes we have to make and it’s really a lot of fun spending time with him, being with him and seeing everything go in the right direction.

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