Rojer/Tecau Capture Second Major Title In New York

Rojer/Tecau Capture Second Major Title In New York

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Del Potro vs Rafael Nadal US Open 2017 SF Preview and Prediction

It was in New York where Juan Martin Del Potro first established his credentials as a player who could challenge the status…

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Kevin Anderson vs Pablo Carreno Busta US Open 2017 SF Preview

The breakdown of the bottom half of the draw in the men’s tournament means there is one hell of an opportunity for someone…

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Wheelchair tennis: Stephane Houdet wants Paralympic sport to become Olympic event

Former world number one Stephane Houdet is pushing for able-bodied athletes to be allowed to compete in wheelchair tennis in the hope it can become an Olympic event.

Houdet has already discussed his proposal with other top male players and disability sports officials.

The 46-year-old wants the sport to be the first to make the transition from the Paralympics to the Olympics.

“It’s about inclusion and taking the sport to the next level,” he said.

“Wheelchair tennis is among the best wheelchair sports professionally, and right now we are in the locker rooms at the US Open with all the other players.

“What we are is grouped relating to who you are and how you are. Why can’t we go further together?”

Rules for both wheelchair tennis and the running game are almost identical. The major difference is that two bounces are allowed in wheelchair tennis before the ball is returned, and only the first bounce has to be in the court.

Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic tested his abilities in wheelchair tennis in Melbourne earlier this year, facing Paralympic champion Dylan Alcott during a charity event before the Australian Open.

‘Anyone can sit in a wheelchair and play’

While the change would grow the talent pool exponentially, Houdet – who had his left leg amputated above the knee following a motorbike accident at the age of 24 – said it would open new horizons for disabled athletes.

“We are part of a small group of people who are more or less limited to playing tennis in a wheelchair, so when we win a title, a medal, it relates to the group that we belong to,” said the 20-time Grand Slam winner.

“I want to change it so that anyone and everyone can sit in the chair and play. Anyone can do it, so let’s integrate as a sport.

“Sport is all about competition. You want to be the best in the world, not be the best of a group and left out from the wider sporting population.”

Houdet admits not all share his vision, having first called a meeting to talk about the idea with some of the world’s top players, including British number one Reid, at July’s British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Nottingham.

“Slowly I think some attitudes are changing,” he said. “First they thought, ‘oh no, able-bodied athletes will be too strong’, but now they are thinking they can be part of the wider world and that they can challenge their bodies by playing together.

“It is no advantage to have two legs in wheelchair tennis. The best body type is to have a very strong upper body and almost nothing below the waist.”

A snapshot of wheelchair tennis

Wheelchair tennis has been part of the Paralympics as a medal event since 1992, having been introduced as a demonstration sport in Soul four years earlier.

It was the first disability sport to become fully integrated into a world governing body, when it was taken on board by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in 1998.

It is played at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments, with men’s and women’s singles and doubles crowns up for grabs at each. Additionally, the US Open and Australian Open include a Quad division – for athletes who have three or more limbs affected – for singles and doubles.

Like the ATP and WTA, there is an end-of-year Masters tournament, which, after three years at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will be hosted at Loughborough University in November.

After the US Open – where Houdet and fellow Frenchman Nicolas Peifer will face British pair Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett in Saturday’s doubles final – the world number four plans to make a proposal to French tennis officials with the hope of lobbying the ITF to make changes.

Ultimately, the three-time Grand Slam singles winner and 17-time doubles champion wants to the see the sport considered as a new event for the 2024 Olympic Games, which are set to be staged in Paris.

How would it work?

Five new sports – baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding – are all joining the line-up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and mixed-gender events in athletics, swimming, table tennis and triathlon have also been approved.

The new additions were all recommended by Tokyo organisers and unanimously backed by the executive board of the International Olympic Committee, while traditionally a sport’s international federation would petition the IOC.

Changes proposed by Houdet, in which any disability requirements to play the sport competitively would be scrapped, would mean players such as Andy Murray and Johanna Konta could also compete in wheelchair events.

“We have a professional tour, a mix of genders play, we are part of the ITF and tournaments are televised globally,” said Houdet. “OK, the sport is not open to all, so let’s change that and apply to the IOC.”

‘The Paralympics helped me’

Before his accident, Houdet admits he had never heard of the Paralympics. After it, however, the former golfer said he “learned from it”, going on to win two gold medals in the doubles.

“What has changed since London 2012 is that people saw what challenges so many of us have come back from,” he said.

• Wheelchair tennis: All you need to know

“People would like their children to have that same psychology and attitude no matter what they have been through. But no-one wants their son to have just one leg, for their daughter to be an amputee.

“If a four-year-old can sit there and want to be a Paralympian by playing wheelchair tennis, maybe one day they can think about an Olympian in that same chair.”

Analysis

Nick Hope, BBC’s Olympic and Paralympic sports reporter

The concept is fascinating and I can understand how a Paralympic athlete may see inclusion in the Olympics as ‘a step forward’, with those Games having considerably greater profile and finance.

However, it would go against the spirit, which has driven forward the progression of the Paralympic movement over the past decade.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has a strong relationship with the IOC, but view it as a partnership and does not see itself as a ‘lesser player’ in the association.

IPC president Sir Philip Craven and his incoming successor Andrew Parsons are against any talk of merging with the Olympics and want to grow their own product rather than acting as a ‘feeder’ competition.

That said, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson told me earlier this week that she would like to see more Paralympic sports join with their Olympic counterparts for major events outside of the Games, such as World and European Championships.

Tennis Grand Slams are actually a good example of how the two can integrate.

However, new Olympic sports generally require either a significantly strong number of elite athletes from around the world already competing in established global events – like Karate – or have an expanding fan-base with youth appeal – like freestyle BMX and skateboarding.

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Keys crushes Vandeweghe to seal place in US final

Madison Keys played superbly to beat Coco Vandeweghe for the loss of just three games and reach her first Grand Slam final at the US Open.

Keys, seeded 15th, won 6-1 6-2 in New York and goes on to face unseeded Sloane Stephens in the final.

Stephens, ranked 83rd, beat Venus Williams in the first semi-final.

The pair will make their major final debuts on Saturday in the first all-American women’s final since Serena Williams beat Venus in 2002.

• Stephens beats Williams to reach final
• Live scores and results

Keys’ coach, Lindsay Davenport, in 1998 was the last American woman outside the Williams family to win the title in New York.

She could not have asked for more from Keys in only her second Grand Slam semi-final, with the 22-year-old dominating 20th seed Vandeweghe in every aspect.

It was their third meeting in as many tournaments, and produced the same result as Keys made it 3-0 in their head-to-head.

I knew had to rise to the occasion and I’m just really happy to be in the final

The only concern was a thigh issue that required strapping, but she said afterwards: “I definitely started to feel it and was worried something more serious could happen.

“I felt like I needed it worked on sooner rather than later. I feel great right now, I don’t think I could feel better than I do right now.”

Keys won the first five games for the loss of four points in 13 minutes, her powerful game impressively under control as she made just two unforced errors in the set.

Vandeweghe, 25, managed to at least slow her compatriot’s progress in the second but was soon a break down, and when Keys leant into a backhand down the line to break again for 4-1 she let out a scream of delight.

Given her huge lead it came as a surprise when Keys took a medical timeout off court, and she returned seven minutes later with her right thigh heavily strapped.

It made no difference to the outcome, with Keys returning to hold serve twice more and sealing victory with an ace.

“I knew had to rise to the occasion and I’m just really happy to be in the final,” said Keys, who ended with 25 winners and just nine errors.

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'Tired' Del Potro seeks to upset Nadal in semis

Juan Martin del Potro will try to extend his thrilling US Open run all the way to the final when he faces top seed Rafael Nadal in the last four.

The Argentine 24th seed came back from two sets down to beat Dominic Thiem in round four and beat five-time champion Roger Federer in the quarter-finals.

Del Potro and Nadal meet in Friday’s second semi-final at about 23:30 BST.

Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Kevin Anderson of South Africa open play at 21:00.

The pair will make their Grand Slam semi-final debuts after excelling in the bottom half of the draw, which lost British second seed Andy Murray to injury before the tournament started.

• Stephens beats Williams to reach women’s final
• Hewett & Reid make wheelchair doubles final

‘Sport is not that difficult’

Del Potro has been the story of the second week in the men’s draw with his miraculous comeback against Thiem followed by a brilliant win over Federer.

However, the 28-year-old has spent 13 hours and 20 minutes on court – one hour and 40 minutes more than Nadal – and admitted: “Physically I’m not in the perfect conditions, but when you play semi-finals on the Grand Slam, everything can happen.

“So you must be ready for the chance and playing against Rafa in my favourite tournament, I will try to enjoy the atmosphere, the game, and I know if I play my best tennis, I could be a danger for him.”

Asked about the huge forehand which has brought him 69 winners already, he added with a smile: “He’s a lefty guy, so he has chance to find easily my backhand.

“So I don’t know what’s going to be my strategy for that match.

“But for sure I will try to make winners with my forehands and don’t run too much, because my legs are tired.”

Nadal, 31, is looking to end the Grand Slam season with his second major of the year and 16th overall, and his form has steadily improved in New York.

“Sport is not that difficult,” said the Spaniard. “The player who plays better that day is the player that is going to have better chances.

“Then there are small adjustments, if you can do it, yes. But the most important thing is to play at my best level.

“If I play at my best level, I believe I’m going to have my chances against everybody.”

‘You have to do your best to take advantage’

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev, fifth seed Marin Cilic and eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were among the leading names to lose early, and the less heralded Carreno Busta and Anderson have taken full advantage.

Carreno Busta, seeded 12th, played qualifiers in his first four matches and then beat 29th seed Diego Schwartzman, reaching the semis without dropping a set.

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Celebrities At 2017 US Open

Celebrities At 2017 US Open

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Stephens beats Williams to make US Open final

Unseeded Sloane Stephens held her nerve to beat Venus Williams in three sets and set up a US Open final against fellow American Madison Keys.

Stephens, ranked 83rd after recently returning from injury, won 6-1 0-6 7-5 in the first semi-final at Flushing Meadows in New York.

In another all-US contest, 15th seed Keys then beat Coco Vandeweghe, seeded 20th, 6-1 6-2.

Both Stephens and Keys will make their Grand Slam final debuts on Saturday.

It will be the first time since Serena Williams beat Venus in 2002 that a US Open women’s final has featured two American players.

“Having four Americans in the semi-finals, I think that says a lot about American tennis and where we are right now,” said Stephens.

“I don’t think I would have had it any other way. I’m just super proud and honoured to be a part of what these four girls were, what we did tonight.”

• Watch: 5 live commentary team look ahead to the final
• Keys thrashes Vandeweghe to make final
• Live scores and results

“I have no idea how I have done it. Your guess is as good as mine.

Stephens only returned to action at Wimbledon, ranked 957th, after missing 11 months with a foot injury.

Two months later the 24-year-old is on a run of 14 wins in 16 matches and through to her first major final, with her speed of foot and athleticism to the fore.

“I have no words to describe my feelings and what it took to get here. I have no words,” said Stephens.

“I have no idea how I have done it. Your guess is as good as mine.

“If someone had told me when I started my comeback that I would make two semi-finals and a Grand Slam final I would have passed out. I don’t know how I did it. Just hard work.”

Williams, 37, misses out on returning to the US Open final 15 years after her last, and the two-time champion will end 2017 without adding another major title despite reaching two finals and a semi-final.

“For me, it’s about putting myself in the position all the time to get the titles, and that’s exactly what I did,” said Williams.

“That’s all I could do.”

‘I hung tough, gritted it out’

Williams was playing in her 23rd major semi-final, as opposed to Stephens in her first, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion made a nervous start.

Seventeen unforced errors from Williams saw the first set disappear in 24 minutes, and she was in danger again facing three break points at the start of the second.

However, she grew in confidence from clinging on and began to attack the Stephens serve at will, breaking three times to level without dropping a game.

After 54 minutes of wildly uneven quality, the third set proved to be a gripping decider.

Williams twice recovered from a break down and appeared to be on the brink of victory at 5-5, 30-30, pushing Stephens back into the corner as she advanced to the net.

It brought the best out of the younger player, who found a magnificent backhand pass that brought the 23,000 spectators to their feet and wrenched the initiative her way.

Stephens would win six points in a row, including chasing down two drop shots and making spectacular winners, on her way to breaking the Williams serve.

Both women had dropped serve five times, but there was no wobble from Stephens as she moved confidently to match point, before Williams tamely netted a return.

“I hung tough, gritted it out,” said Stephens. “I worked my tail off. We played some incredible points in the third set.”

Analysis

BBC Sport tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

After two of the most one-sided sets you are ever likely to see in a Grand Slam semi-final, Williams threw everything she had at Stephens in the decider.

The younger American’s defence was extraordinary, but it was matched by the resilience of Williams who twice recovered a break.

And then, as she served to stay in the match, at 4-5 30-all, Stephens hit one of the backhand winners of her life to end a pulsating rally – and went on to win 10 of the last 11 points.

She was ranked 957 in the world in late July, after nearly a year out with a foot injury.

“Eventually, I will beat someone,” she said after a first-round defeat in Washington the following week.

How right she was.

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TIFF 2017: Borg/McEnroe opens Toronto film festival

The tennis drama starring Shia LaBeouf turns heads in Toronto, although early reviews are mixed.

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Nadal Sets Sights On Snapping Del Potro's Run

Nadal Sets Sights On Snapping Del Potro's Run

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