The new wave of antifeminist influencers
Layla Wright meets the American women posting offensive content online.
Layla Wright meets the American women posting offensive content online.
Frances Tiafoe rising to the occasion at the US Open has become an annual tradition. The final major of the 2024 season has proven no different.
The 20th seed advanced to the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows for a third consecutive year on Sunday evening when he defeated 28th seed Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 in three hours and two minutes. The home favourite will play ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the last eight.
“I always dreamt about playing on this court [since I was] a kid. I used to hit against the wall and wanted to compete on this court,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “Seeing the Williams sisters win titles here, seeing Roger win here a million times, I was like ‘I just want to play on this court’. It’s so iconic, obviously named after Arthur Ashe, so I wanted to be a part of that. I think it brings out the best of me.”
Welcome to the Late Night Show, starring Big Foe! ✨@usopen | #USOpen | @FTiafoe pic.twitter.com/Sis71NoMev
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 2, 2024
Tiafoe arrived in Cincinnati with a 19-18 tour-level record this season. Since then he has won nine of 10 matches, including a run to his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Ohio and now his fourth major quarter-final.
The match was a lot closer than the scoreline indicates. Popyrin, who stunned 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the third round, led the second set 5-2 and earned three set points on serve at 5-3, 40/0 before his second serve let him down in the ensuing tie-break. He hit eight double faults in the match.
“He was serving 5-3, 40/0. I was like, ‘Well I’m pretty sweaty, I’m sweating through my shoes. I’m about to go and change and try to win this thing in four’,” Tiafoe said. “I won a point, won another point. I was like, ‘Ooh’. He gave me one. I was like, ‘Don’t let me get two’. And then I was like, ‘Don’t let me get three’. And then I was like, ‘I might as well break now’. I got pretty lucky there, honestly.”
The Australian, who claimed his maiden Masters 1000 title in Montreal, battled back in the third set to keep the match alive. But Tiafoe played clean tennis throughout — making just 17 unforced errors — to shrink his opponent’s margin for error.
[ATP APP]Tiafoe loves the spotlight and he once again used the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to help push past a challenging opponent, whom he had never previously faced in a match. Early in the second-set tie-break, the 2022 semi-finalist hit a forehand passing shot and immediately pointed to the fans like a showman.
Popyrin, who was competing in the fourth round of a major for the first time, double-faulted to lose serve in the fourth set. He had a tremendous look at a forehand passing shot inside the court to get back on serve when Tiafoe served for the match, but missed into the net.
Tiafoe’s next opponent, Dimitov, eliminated sixth seed Andrey Rublev earlier in the day. The Bulgarian leads Tiafoe 3-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, but they have played just once since 2019.
“Obviously he’s so talented. He’s been one of the most talented players for a very, very long time,” Tiafoe said. “He’s playing great in the later stages of his career and he’s starting to find great form again. So it’s going to be really, really tough. He can hit all the shots. I’m going to make him fight for it and earn it and I’m sure he is, too. I hope you guys are with me there as well.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jack Draper bids for a first Grand Slam quarter-final as he faces Czech Tomas Machac at the US Open on Monday.
Defending champion Coco Gauff loses to fellow American Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the US Open.
Alexander Zverev qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the seventh time on Sunday when he advanced to the US Open quarter-finals with a victory against Brandon Nakashima. The season finale will take place at Inalpi Arena from 10-17 November.
The German has earned his place at the prestigious year-end championships in seven of the past eight seasons. He is a two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion, having lifted the trophy in 2018 and 2021.
The 2x CHAMP is back! 🎟️
See you in Turin, @AlexZverev 👋
#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/Y6HSYKvzPe— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 1, 2024
Only two active singles players have won the tournament more than once: record seven-time champion Novak Djokovic and Zverev, who in 2018 defeated Roger Federer in the semi-finals and Djokovic in the final to earn the crown. Only 10 players have triumphed at the event more than once in the event’s history (since 1970).
[ATP APP]Zverev leads the ATP Tour in wins during the 2024 season with 56 according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The 27-year-old has enjoyed a consistent season, including his sixth ATP Masters 1000 triumph in Rome. He also made his second major final at Roland Garros and another championship match on home soil in Hamburg.
Zverev owns a 14-9 record at the Nitto ATP Finals and in addition to his titles in 2018 and 2021, he also advanced to the semi-finals in 2019.
The German is the second singles player to qualify for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, joining Jannik Sinner. Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic and Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos have qualified in doubles.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Alexander Zverev moved closer to capturing his first major title at the US Open on Sunday when he ended American Brandon Nakashima’s run to reach the quarter-finals in New York for the fourth time.
The German dictated after a slow start on Louis Armstrong Stadium to earn a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win. With his two-hour, 38-minute triumph, Zverev notched his 450th win.
“I was extremely defensive at the beginning of the match and Brandon used it very well and played an awesome set,” Zverev said. “I knew that I had to step up my game and take the ball on the rise more and I did well today and I am happy to be back in the quarter-finals.”
A special achievement for @AlexZverev 💪
The No. 4 seed sees off Nakashima 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 to reach his fourth consecutive #USOpen quarter-final! pic.twitter.com/G3xnacYuoX
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 1, 2024
Zverev looked on course for a comfortable win in the fourth set when he almost turned his right ankle when chasing a ball down on the forehand wing at 3-1. Despite showing a look of anguish on his face after the point, Zverev showed little sign of discomfort following the brief scare, winning three of the next four games to advance. The 27-year-old injured his right ankle during his semi-final match against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2022 and missed the rest of the season.
Fit and firing again, the fourth seed is chasing his maiden Grand Slam trophy. Zverev, currently No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, lost in a deciding-set tie-break to Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final and fell in the Roland Garros championship match to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets earlier this year.
[ATP APP]After Nakashima held his own in the first set, Zverev timed the ball cleanly in sets two, three and four to generate easy power. The 22-time tour-level titlist won 89 per cent (51/57) of his first-serve points against Nakashima, who was aiming to reach his first major quarter-final.
Zverev’s reward for improving to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion is a meeting against American Taylor Fritz.
“I am expecting a tough battle,” said Zverev on facing Fritz, who beat the German at Wimbledon. “Every time I play Taylor it is a tough battle and I am expecting nothing less and hopefully it will be entertaining.”
Zverev is seeking his second title of the season, having clinched his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome. The fourth seed has earned a Tour-leading 56 wins in 2024 and is second in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Can Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson complete a Grand Slam redemption story at the US Open?
The Australian duo booked its quarter-final spot at the hard-court major on Friday afternoon with a 7-6(3), 6-3 triumph against Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral. Purcell and Thompson did not face a break point in their 86-minute triumph on Grandstand, where they struck 32 winners to Borges and Cabral’s 18.
Seeded seventh at Flushing Meadows, Purcell and Thompson are chasing their maiden Grand Slam title as a team. The pair held three championship points at Wimbledon in July before falling to a heartbreaking loss to Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten. They have lifted three ATP 250 trophies together this year, however, and the pair is currently up one spot to seventh in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as it chases a spot at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
[ATP APP]Standing in Purcell and Thompson’s way in the last eight in New York are top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. The Spanish-Argentine duo defeated Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti 6-2, 6-2 in a 62-minute third-round encounter.
In the bottom half of the draw, 10th seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz ousted fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4). The German pair, which has already reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, will take on second seeds Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden or 16th seeds Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni in the last eight.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Grigor Dimitrov reaches the US Open quarter-finals for the first time since 2019 with a five-set victory over Andrey Rublev.
Andrey Rublev was on the brink of elimination at this year’s US Open in the second round. He came back from two sets down against Arthur Rinderknech for a five-set victory in hot and sticky conditions in New York. Surviving the encounter has now led to a golden opportunity this weekend as we approach the halfway point of the final Grand Slam of the 2024 season.
“It was a turning point because you kind of think you’re out,” explained Fernando Vicente, Rublev’s coach, to ATPTour.com. “Watching the match on court, it was a very hot day, and he was in deep trouble. Andrey was very strong physically and he managed to pull through, and the other matches were a little better.
“In Grand Slam tournaments, there are always days like that, where you have to come back or play long matches. As I say, he did well; his body held up, as did his mind, and he was able to celebrate victory. I think he looks good.”
[ATP APP]Having seen off Rinderknech and then beaten Jiri Lehecka in the third round, Rublev will on Sunday face Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the quarter-finals. The 26-year-old Rublev holds a slender 4-3 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
“He’s looking good coming into the match against Dimitrov. I think against Lehecka he played a very solid match, even though he dropped his serve a couple of times in the third set and things got tough, he coped with it very well,” reflected Vicente, whose charge is the current No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “I think he’s physically well, feeling confident.
“He’s had a good American swing, it’s going pretty well. Obviously you can always do better, but he reached the final in Canada, quarters in Cincinnati and now he’s playing well here. He’s ready, we’ll see what happens.”
Match of the Day 🎾@AndreyRublev97 🆚 @GrigorDimitrov
2 players who can dominate matches with their forehands ⚠️
A look back at their Shanghai (SF) ’23 meeting shows often (44 plays to 25) and how effective (24 #WinningPlays to 6) Rublev was with his forehand from the middle… pic.twitter.com/zPWbBU8X6A
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) September 1, 2024
With two titles under his belt in 2024 (Hong Kong and Madrid), Rublev has had a season with plenty of positives and few negatives. According to his coach, though, his season has had a little of everything.
“Looking back at the year… It still hasn’t finished, but there’s been a bit of everything: there have been some good weeks and others not so good,” said Vicente. “It seemed like we were playing well at the start of the year, confidently, but then things got difficult. He lost confidence at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, two matches we weren’t expecting. Not so much in terms of his game, but mentally.
“Knowing Andrey, he always has some weeks like that. He’s working with a psychologist, doing things better, and we’ll see what happens. The highlight of the year, of course, was winning in Madrid. We weren’t expecting it because he was unwell and he managed to win an ATP Masters 1000.”
Rublev’s run in the Spanish capital, where he won the second Masters 1000 title of his career after his Monte-Carlo win in 2023, was complicated by a bout of tonsilitis. Coming through such adversity to triumph in early May in Madrid is one of the main reasons Rublev currently sits sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
“We keep a close eye on the Race, and he’s in the battle to finish the year qualifying for the [Nitto] ATP Finals, that’s the real goal,” said Vicente. “As well as being able to attack the final rounds of a Grand Slam as well as possible.”
Dimitrov is the only player now standing between Rublev and a return to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, a round he has never surpassed at any of the majors. If he can overcome the Bulgarian on Sunday in New York, Rublev will have another chance to set that record straight.
Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
The “unusual” head clash that left Wimbledon men’s doubles champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara with concussion before the US Open.