Evans hoping to back up epic win with Boulter & Draper in action
Britons Dan Evans, Katie Boulter and Jack Draper are back in action on day four of the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
Britons Dan Evans, Katie Boulter and Jack Draper are back in action on day four of the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
Three years ago, Botic van de Zandschulp faced Carlos Alcaraz for the first time in the first round of the Australian Open. Both players were qualifiers, new on the scene, and their clash was on an outer court at Melbourne Park. Van de Zandschulp was No. 151 in the PIF ATP Rankings and Alcaraz, then 17, was not much higher at No. 141.
“What I was most impressed about was how he started. He was fully pumped, aggressive in a good way. That took me a little bit off actually, I had never played him,” van de Zandschulp told ATPTour.com. “Of course I’d seen him play and you hear all the talk about him. But that’s what I was most impressed about: the ferocity he was playing with, how he was hitting, the power he had. That was insane.”
Alcaraz won the match 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 and they will meet again at a major on Thursday in the second round of the US Open. This time, the Spaniard will walk on court a four-time Grand Slam champion.
“It’s always nice to compare yourself to players like Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sinner. I played Sinner for example twice this year. First time, it’s nice. Second time in the first round, you think, ‘Man, maybe a little better later in the tournament?’” van de Zandschulp said. “But it’s always interesting to play these guys because I think after the match, you always know where you have to get better — which kind of situations, what kind of shots. I think you can learn a lot from those matches.”
Watch Alcaraz-van de Zandschulp 2022 Basel Highlights:
It is a big opportunity for a player who has not faced a Top 10 player since April. It has not been an easy year and a half for the Dutchman, who has struggled regaining form and momentum after dealing with feet issues.
“Last year, I had way more serious injuries than this year. In April [of last year], I got a bone bruise on the left foot. Then I twisted my ankle. The bone bruise took a while, [it was] tough to get in my shoe with the bone bruise,” van de Zandschulp said. “Then afterwards, I [had] finally recovered, I twisted my ankle and tore my ligament. Same foot.”
The pain was difficult to deal with. Van de Zandschulp said: “I tried everything, like not tying all the shoelaces, maybe leaving something in between. It’s constant pressure. If you tie the shoe tight, it’s constant pressure on top of the foot. You feel it for a while.
“They probably thought I hit a nerve, like there was a nerve damaged as well, and a nerve takes ages to recover. It’s constant pain, constant something there. Of course some guys are better at playing in these kinds of pains I think. But for me, it was really the first time I really had something, so for me it was pretty difficult.”
[ATP APP]The Dutchman explained that he returned “a little too early” because he wanted to play at the US Open. He eventually recovered in October, but it was a series of events that set him back in the longer term.
“I got an infection on the right foot. So yeah, all with the foot last year,” van de Zandschulp said. “I have to say it took a while before you start feeling 100 per cent confident in the foot. That took me a while.”
Van de Zandschulp was healthy by the end of the year, but with the injury came a fall in the PIF ATP Rankings. The former World No. 22 fell as low as No. 115 this April and that led to more difficult early-round matches and a drop in confidence.
“Then you can lose a lot. If you play good guys, I think everybody is playing unbelievably well on the Tour,” van de Zandschulp said. “It’s not that common that you always win matches on the Tour. So then of course I think it’s a little bit tougher, if you week-in, week-out for four or five weeks, you don’t win a lot of matches, you just practise. Then of course it’s tough.”
Van de Zandschulp is back to World No. 74 after a string of success on the ATP Challenger Tour, reaching two finals since the start of July. Now the 28-year-old will face Alcaraz for the third time in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series and the first time since 2022 in Basel, where the Spaniard triumphed 6-4, 6-2.
“How he went from Australia to Basel in one and a half, maybe two years, he was such a complete player,” van de Zandschulp said. “In Basel when I played him, you never knew what to expect. He could play serve and volley, he could do everything with the ball. For me, that was a completely different match than in Australia.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Wimbledon champions Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara are safely through to the second round of the men’s doubles at the US Open.
Andrey Rublev fights back from two sets down in brutally hot conditions to beat Arthur Rinderknech and reach the US Open third round.
Ben Shelton made it six sets played, six sets won at this year’s US Open on Wednesday when he dispatched Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round.
The 21-year-old American earned a breakthrough run in New York last year when he became the youngest American man to reach the semis at the hard-court major since Michael Chang in 1992.
After defeating former champion Dominic Thiem in the first round, Shelton laid down an impressive marker against Bautista Agut to underline his hopes of another deep run on home soil. The No. 13 player in the PIF ATP Rankings struck 59 winners, including 17 aces to triumph after two hours and 10 minutes. He saved both break points he faced and let out a roar after sealing victory in front of a lively crowd on Grandstand.
“I thought I moved extremely well,” Shelton said. “I served well and hit my forehand well and didn’t get broken today and was clutch at the big moments when I needed to be. I am happy with where my game is at.”
Shelton will next play countryman Frances Tiafoe. The 13th seed overcame Tiafoe in the quarter-finals last year to reach his first major semi-final at the US Open.
“I am really looking forward to it,” Shelton said when asked about playing Tiafoe. “We had a great battle in the quarters last year and I am sure it will be another popcorn match.”
[ATP APP]Former semi-finalist Tiafoe advanced to the third round after Alexander Shevchenko was forced to retire. American Tiafoe led Shevchenko 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 when play was stopped on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Tiafoe enjoyed a stunning run to the semi-finals at the US Open in 2022 and arrives at the hard-court major off the back of a final showing at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati.
Tiafoe received huge amounts of support inside Ashe and greeted NBA star Mikal Bridges after his win.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/28/19/04/tiafoe-us-open-2024-wednesday.jpg” alt=”Frances Tiafoe” style=”width: 100%;” />
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Lorenzo Musetti saved two match points to overcome Miomir Kecmanovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 after three hours, 47 minutes. Musetti, who next faces Brandon Nakashima, committed 43 unforced errors to his opponent’s 62. The 18th-seeded Italian held his nerve in fighting off two match points on serve at 4-5 in the fifth, hitting a volley winner at 30/40 and then hammering an ace when the Serbian led 40/Ad.
#NextGenATP Chinese star Shang Juncheng reached the third round at a major for the second time when he overcame Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(2).
The 19-year-old, who beat Alexander Bublik in the first round, is playing at a career-high No. 72 in the PIF ATP Rankings this week, having reached his second tour-level semi-final of the season in Atlanta in July.
Aiming to reach the fourth round at a major for the first time, Shang will next play Casper Ruud or Gael Monfils in New York. Shang has boosted his hopes of qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF by advancing at the US Open. The lefty is currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah.
Nakashima continued his impressive form by dispatching Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion defeated Holger Rune in the first round and also reached the third round in Montreal and Cincinnati earlier this month.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Britain’s Harriet Dart suffers a painful defeat as she loses to Ukrainian 19th seed Marta Kostyuk in the US Open second round at a sweltering Flushing Meadows.
France’s Caroline Garcia calls out the “damaging” abuse tennis players receive on social media when they lose matches.
Eighth seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus overcame Hugo Gaston and Gregoire Jacq 6-3, 6-3 Wednesday to advance to the second round of the US Open.
The duo won 90 per cent of first-serve points to overcome the French team in 64 minutes. The eighth seeds are vying for their third title together this season after winning the cinch Championships and Rothesay International.
The pair will face Guido Andreozzi and N.Sriram Balaji in the next round. Andreozzi/Balaji overcame Marcus Daniell and Miguel Reyes-Varela in a tight 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(10) victory. Andreozzi and Balaji squandered three match points in the final-set tiebreak at 9/6 but remained composed enough close out the match in two hours, 36 minutes.
[ATP APP]Fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic progressed to the next round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over #NextGenATP Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
The No. 1 pair in the PIF ATP Rankings Doubles Race won 87 per cent of their first-serve points and capitalised on their two break point opportunities to see off the French duo. Victory ensured that they become the first doubles team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.
The pair begin their campaign at Flushing Meadows after taking their fourth title of the season at the Cincinnati Open. They will meet either Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen or Miomir Kecmanovic and Roman Safiullin in the next round.
Ninth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin suffered an opening-round exit as they lost 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to American pair Tristan Boyer and Emilio Nava.
Julian Cash and Robert Galloway advanced with victory over American pairing Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen 7-6(4), 6-1. Ivan Dodig and Adam Pavlasek also progressed past Americans Vasil Kirkov and Christian Harrison 6-3, 6-4.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova loses in straight sets to Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the US Open second round.
It was fifth time lucky for Li Tu on Tuesday night in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Facing Carlos Alcaraz, the Australian had let slip four set points that would have levelled his first-round US Open clash against the Spaniard after two sets. However, at the fifth time of asking, Tu made no such mistake and he lifted his hand to his ear as the arena exploded, celebrating the fact that they were witnessing an intense battle, which was now tied thanks to the heroics of the No. 186 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
“It’s something I’ve often said I have to improve on; ‘disconnections’,” Alcaraz reflected later. “I went out for the match really focused and up for it, knowing what I had to do at all times. Of course, his game helped everything go smoothly because he made a lot of errors, I think he was a little nervous. Then, in the second set, he upped his level and I made a lot of unnecessary mistakes. I’ve seen the stats… I went from two in the first set to 18 in the second. That’s a big change and that’s why the set got away from me.
“These are things I have to improve, avoiding those kinds of disconnections. I can’t allow myself to make so many errors without knowing why. In general, I’m happy with my level and the way I hit the ball and moved. I felt good, apart from those small things I have to improve on.”
In any case, the win has allowed Alcaraz to break a new barrier; he now has 60 major wins under his belt. Only John McEnroe, by one match, required fewer encounters to reach the mark.
“Such a shame that McEnroe beat me by one match!” joked Alcaraz. “It’s a great stat. I wasn’t aware of it, but that’s why we work hard every day, to try and be better, to win matches and to give ourselves the chance to reach the final rounds of every tournament, above all in the Grand Slams. For me it’s an honour to be able to share stats like that with great legends of the sport. Now we want to reach 70 and then 80. And try to get as many Grand Slam wins as possible.”
[ATP APP]It was not the only statistic thrown up after the match. By getting past Tu, Alcaraz has strung together 15 major wins, with his titles at the French Open and Wimbledon and now his opener at the US Open. Quite the streak.
“I honestly haven’t thought about it,” admitted Alcaraz. “I haven’t thought about how many straight wins I had in Grand Slams, but we’ll try to keep adding to that number. As I’ve said before, that’s why we work hard; to try and win as many matches as possible, to produce our best level and try to be better. And of course, to give ourselves the chance to play in the final rounds of every tournament, above all at the Grand Slams.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]