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Zverev survives ankle scare at US Open, captures 450th win

  • Posted: Sep 02, 2024

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.”

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.

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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.

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Purcell/Thompson set showdown with Granollers/Zeballos in New York

  • Posted: Sep 02, 2024

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.

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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.

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Vicente: Rublev on the right track at Flushing Meadows

  • Posted: Sep 01, 2024

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.”

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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.”

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

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Medvedev restores order to US Open night session

  • Posted: Sep 01, 2024

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev restored order to the US Open evening session Saturday after the chaotic exits of former champions Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz the previous two nights.

The 28-year-old, who is now the only former champion remaining in the men’s field, denied a feisty challenge from young Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours, 18 minutes to set a fourth-round showdown with Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

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“I said it before the match that for me the upsets don’t really matter. The only thing [is when] the conditions are a bit tricky the favourites maybe have less margin than the other guys. Just have to be more cautious,” said Medvedev, who improved to 38-13 on the season [21-6 on hard courts].

“If I play good tennis I can win the whole thing. If I don’t play good I can lose against anyone.”

The players captivated fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium with a series of spellbinding rallies, with Cobolli frequently forcing Medvedev to defend like an octopus with his gangly arms at full stretch and his trademark defensive skills tested to the limit.

Medvedev’s crisp deep-court returning kept Cobolli under pressure on serve throughout the match. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion cultivated 20 break point chances, converting seven. While he dropped serve three times himself, Medvedev won a healthy 81 per cent of first serves and clipped 33 winners, including nine aces.

“It was a tough match. It was just a little bit up and down,” Medvedev said. “And at one moment I started playing much better on my serve than on his.

“It was a tricky match. Very very humid, very hot out there. I think it makes the conditions a bit slower because I was watching other matches before mine… it was a fun match to play. Crowd was pretty full, I feel, for such a late time. And I was enjoying myself.”

The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings remains on track for a blockbuster quarter-final showdown with current No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who plays American Tommy Paul in the last 16.

Should he win the title, Medvedev could climb to as high as No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings and to second place in the PIF ATP Race to Turin, as he seeks to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin from 10-17 November. 

Medvedev has enjoyed a strong Grand Slam run in 2024, reaching the Australian Open final and the Wimbledon semi-finals, but he is still seeking his first title since winning the ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome in May last year.

The 2021 champion and two-time finalist has now reached the second week at Flushing Meadows six straight years.

 

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Sinner, more stars react to Alcaraz & Djokovic shockers

  • Posted: Sep 01, 2024

On back-to-back days Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic suffered stunning defeats at the US Open, sending shockwaves through the tennis world.

The players remaining in the draw, headlined by Jannik Sinner, were quick to credit their opponents and point out that losses are part of the sport.

“It shows that this sport is unpredictable. Whenever you drop a little bit of your level, if it’s mental, if it’s tennis-wise or physical, at the end it has a huge impact on the result. Both opponents who they lost against, they played some incredible tennis. And it happens,” Sinner said. “So I just watch on my side what I have to do, that I guess I have done also in last period of time, and then we will see what I can do.”

One player who was directly impacted by one of the upsets was 25th seed Jack Draper. The Briton was in the same section of the draw as Alcaraz. But instead, the lefty faced the Spaniard’s conqueror, Botic van de Zandschulp.

“I think both of them, [Carlos and Novak], obviously played the Olympic final. I think that’s taken a lot out of them. It’s taken a lot out of everyone, but they obviously made the finals, and it was emotional for both of them,” Draper said. “Obviously Novak, that was probably his biggest goal, and to come through that is obviously emotionally challenging to sort of have a rest and then come here.

“Same with Carlos as well. He’s achieved so much this year winning the French, Wimbledon. I’m not surprised that they’re probably feeling really tired and emotionally a bit drained. But I watched both the matches, and I thought Botic played an incredibly high level of tennis against Alcaraz.”

Draper took advantage, defeating van de Zandschulp in straight sets Saturday to reach the fourth round. While preparing for his own match, he saw the first two sets of Alexei Popyrin’s stunner over Djokovic.

“I didn’t honestly feel like Djokovic was playing incredibly badly. Maybe his serve was a bit below par, but I felt like Popyrin played an incredible match as well,” Draper said. “There are a lot of players on the tour at the moment who are really dangerous and on their day can play an amazing match against the best players in the world.”

Home favourite Tommy Paul joked he was hoping the Popyrin-Djokovic match would end earlier.

“I wanted to go to sleep. Today was the first day I used an alarm clock the whole tournament,” Paul said, cracking a laugh. “I think the guys that played Alcaraz and Novak both stepped up and played awesome. But, yeah, I feel like I had the Olympic fatigue, I guess at the right time, in Canada and Cincy, but now I’m feeling pretty good. I had a nice little reset. It’s a tough turnaround. We never go from grass to clay to hard so quickly.

“But I don’t want to take anything away from those guys. They earned those wins and they played awesome tennis. I’m happy for them. And Carlos and Novak have won quite a few tournaments, so I don’t feel too bad, I guess.”

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Australian Jordan Thompson, who also made the fourth round on Saturday, does not watch a tonne of tennis in general.

“But I’ve been glued to it recently. Last night when I wasn’t at dinner I was watching Pop [Alexei Popyrin] play,” Thompson said. “He was playing the greatest of all time and took him time. We’ve got Davis Cup around the corner, so the corner couldn’t be better. If I do watch someone, it’ll be someone that I like or another Aussie.”

Nuno Borges, who advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time, caught short bits of each upset.

“I thought they played great. Talking about Popyrin first, I know he’s been on a big confidence moment and he’s always been a very dangerous player to be honest. Maybe it didn’t feel like he was that close, but I’m sure he was… closer than people think. When his big serve is going, there’s not really much you can do sometimes,” Borges said. “It doesn’t surprise me. Novak can have an average day and then a few more mistakes than usual and all of a sudden he’s two sets down and anything can happen.

“Carlos, I think he’s paying a little bit the price of such a heavy summer too. He’s won so much and I’m sure he gave it all in the Olympic Games. Maybe he still hasn’t been able to fully recover mentally. That’s tennis. We’re expecting always so much from him, but you look back and he’;s still done some very, very good results.”

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De Minaur beats Evans, returns to Top 10 in Live Rankings

  • Posted: Sep 01, 2024

Alex de Minaur moved back inside the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Live Rankings Saturday night after defeating an ailing Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-0 to advance to the US Open second week for the fourth time in his career.

The No. 1 Australian also became the first player from his country to reach the fourth round of all majors in the same season since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago. He joins countrymen Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson, whom he faces next, in the second week.

”I’m super proud of what I’ve been able to achieve this year,” De Minaur said. “It’s been tough coming back from injury, but I’m so happy to be back here in New York playing these kind of matches. Let’s keep it going.”

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Evans came into the clash with a 3-0 lead in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series over the Australian and appeared to be digging into a dogfight after winning a second-set tie-break to level the match.

But De Minaur’s plan to make it a physical match proved telling in the third, when Evans began to suffer from a physical ailment, which required treatment from the physio. In the first round Evans survived a five-hour 35-minute match — the longest match in US Open history — in his epic victory over Karen Khachanov.

Despite not being able to compete at his best in the final two sets, Evans showed character by refusing to bow out through retirement.

“We should show a lot of respect for Dan. He’s the ultimate competitor,” De Minaur said. “He could have easily pulled out; the body obviously wasn’t feeling well. But he stayed out and tried his best and I really appreciate it.

”He’s had the better of me on many occasions, so I’m happy to get one on the board.”

In a match that featured 94 net approaches, De Minaur found more success in the forecourt, wining 34 of 44 approaches. He was sharp when Evans approached, nailing several passing shots among his match total of 56 winners.

Playing his first tournament since Wimbledon, where a hip injured forced his withdrawal ahead of a quarter-final with Novak Djokovic, De Minaur has strengthened his hold on eighth place in the PIF ATP Race to Turin, boosting his hopes of making his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals. But his immediate focus is on the great run of the Australian contingent and his looming match with Thompson, against whom he holds a 4-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head record.

“It’s so good for Australian tennis to show what we’re capable of,” De Minaur said. “Alexei putting on a show last night to beat Novak. Jordan playing some incredible tennis. It’s a pity we’ve got to play each other. I just need to say that we’re all from Sydney, so there’s something special out there.”

 

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Reflections of Carlos Alcaraz's Grand Slam season

  • Posted: Sep 01, 2024

On Friday night, Carlos Alcaraz was en route to the John F. Kennedy International Airport to return to Murcia after bowing out in the second round of the US Open to Botic van de Zandschulp, who defeated the Spaniard in three sets in one of the biggest upsets of the season.

Alcaraz, who posted a photo on social media bidding farewell to the fans at the tournament until next year, ended his participation in the 2024 Grand Slams on Thursday with a return that he surely would have taken at the start of the year.

Below, ATPTour.com reflects on the 21-year-old’s season at this year’s majors.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: QUARTER-FINALS
Alcaraz arrived in Melbourne to play his first tournament on the calendar at the season’s first Grand Slam. He beat Richard Gasquet (first round), Lorenzo Sonego (second), Juncheng Shang (third) and Miomir Kecmanovic (last sixteen) before meeting Alexander Zverev in the quarters. In that round, German sent Spaniard packing after four sets, ending his title hopes.

“I honestly don’t know what happened,” Alcaraz said later. “I’d love to say what might have happened, but I wasn’t feeling my game at the start of the match, with a lot of errors that I wasn’t making in previous matches, and my serve was very bad too…” he added.

“These kinds of things shouldn’t happen to me; I can play well, I can play badly, but I can’t have zero feel in my shots, that can’t happen and it’s something we have to improve.”

FRENCH OPEN: CHAMPION
Up to the quarter-finals, Alcaraz enjoyed a relatively easy run in Paris, defeating J.J. Wolf in round one, Jesper de Jong in the second round, Sebastian Korda in the third, Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last sixteen and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarters. However, the semi-finals (Jannik Sinner) and the final (Zverev) were real dog fights that were decided in set five, and Alcaraz was just a set away from going home, as Sinner and Zverev both had the Murcia man on the ropes at 2-1.

“We’re still so excited to be here,” admitted Alcaraz. “I see videos of when I was young, here in Paris, under the Eiffel Tower, watching Roland Garros. And years later I’m lifting the Musketeers’ Trophy… they’re beautiful moments and it’s especially exciting for me.”

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WIMBLEDON: CHAMPION
Weeks after claiming the crown at Roland Garros, Alcaraz arrived in Wimbledon as the defending champion (he had beaten Novak Djokovic in 2023’s final).

After making easy work of the early rounds, sinking Mark Lajal and Aleksandar Vukic, the Spaniard came through a five-set tussle with Frances Tiafoe, who was just one set from victory. Against Uno Humbert, Tommy Paul and Daniil Medvedev, the world No. 3 needed four sets to progress, before facing Djokovic in the final, where he sealed his successful title defence in three sets.

“It’s a question of fighting and believing, I’m so happy to be at the same table as Djokovic,” said the Murcia native. “But I still don’t consider myself a champion of his stature.”

US OPEN: SECOND ROUND
Without a doubt one of the biggest upsets of 2024. Having got past Li Tu in the first round, where he dropped a set, Alcaraz was caught off-guard by a stunning performance from Van de Zandschulp, who played some brilliant tennis to send the 21-year-old 2022 US Open champion packing.

“Right now I feel like I’ve gone backwards mentally and I don’t understand why,” said Alcaraz. “I had a spectacular summer at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. I left those tournaments saying that I’d taken a step forward mentally. I’d realised that to win big things, to win Grand Slam titles, you have to be mentally strong,” added the Spaniard. “And now I’ve reached this swing and I’ve taken steps backwards, like I’m not doing well mentally, I’m not strong. I don’t know how to control myself when faced with problems and I don’t know how to handle it.”

In 2025, very soon, Alcaraz will be presented with four more chances to shine on the big stage.

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