US Open: Naomi Osaka to take break after title defence ended by teenager Leylah Fernandez
Naomi Osaka says she will take another break from tennis after her US Open title defence ends in the third round.
Naomi Osaka says she will take another break from tennis after her US Open title defence ends in the third round.
Pitting the full range of his all-court talents against the determined defence of Roberto Bautista Agut, Felix Auger-Aliassime claimed one of his best wins of 2021 Friday night to charge into the fourth round of the US Open.
In addition to an intoxicating mix of 65 net approaches and 77 winners, including 27 aces, the Canadian showed great resilience to wrestle back the match momentum after dropping the third and fourth sets before rallying for a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 win in front of boisterous fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“I live for these moments,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I started off the best I could by winning the first two sets but then unfortunately from being a break up I didn’t solidify and things got tricky. He grew more confident and I didn’t serve so well, but the crowd helped me to dig deep.
“There were a lot of emotions but I tried to settle down and in the fifth set my mindset was to play every point the best I could and to stay focussed. It worked, so I will try to keep going this way.”
Auger-Aliassime claimed an early break in the fifth and later in the set twice had to stave off stern challenges, saving three break points when serving at 4-2 and fighting back from 0/30 to serve out the match.
The World No. 15 has now reached the second week at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open this season. He next will meet Andrey Rublev or Frances Tiafoe.
Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram are into the third round of the men’s doubles event at the US Open.
Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz claims a fifth set tie-break to stun third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a thrilling third round tie at the US Open.
Fourth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury continued their quest for their second major title as a team on Friday when they cruised past John Millman and Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round at the US Open.
With victory, last year’s Australian Open champions have become the second doubles team to qualify for the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 14-21 November at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.
Second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos survived a scare as they overcame Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-6(4) to advance after two hours and 46 minutes.
Seventh seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares also moved on with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Christopher Eubanks and Bjorn Fratangelo, while 13th seeds Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig defeated Australians James Duckworth and Jordan Thompson 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(1).
Israel’s Jonathan Erlich and South African Lloyd Harris booked their spot in the third round with a 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-2 win over Austrians Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald.
“At 44 years old, I am grateful to still be playing and not taking anything for granted,” Erlich said. “I am really enjoying being here. Playing majors is amazing for me and I am taking it every match. I am loving it. Me and Lloyd are great friends. I try to help him off the court as well as on it, with my experience at majors.”
“I feel like I have been playing well over the summer, making a deep run in Washington and playing pretty well in both ATP Masters 1000 events,” Harris added. “My level has been really high and I hope to keep that momentum going.”
Dan Evans produces a gritty comeback from two sets down to beat Alexei Popyrin in a gruelling match and reach the US Open fourth round.
Second seed Daniil Medvedev continued his perfect run in New York Friday as he cruised past Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-0, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the fourth round at the US Open for the third straight year.
The Russian, who overcame Richard Gasquet in the first round to record his 200th match win, is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows this week. The 25-year-old played with confidence against Andujar, hammering groundstrokes and winning 76 per cent (32/42) of his first-serve points to secure his victory after one hour and 56 minutes.
The World No. 2 has now compiled a 14-2 record since Wimbledon, capturing his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and advancing to the semi-finals in Cincinnati. Medvedev, who has also lifted trophies in Marseille and Mallorca this year, will next face 24th seed Daniel Evans or Australian Alexei Popyrin.
The 12-time tour-level titlist is aiming to capture his first major title in New York, after falling to Rafael Nadal in five sets in the US Open final in 2019 and then to Novak Djokovic in this year’s Australian Open championship match. The Russian also reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows last year.
Medvedev made a fast against Andujar, breaking in the opening game of the first set as he pinned the Spaniard behind the baseline with his flat groundstrokes. The 25-year-old struck the ball with great power and consistency, committing just three unforced errors and dropping only two points on serve to lead.
Despite Andujar raising his intensity and level in the second set, he lost his serve in the fifth game. The World No. 74 was unable to convert two break points at 4/5, before firing a forehand wide as Medvedev moved to within one set of his victory. The Russian broke three times and hit seven winners in the third set to advance.
Andujar rallied from two-sets-to-love down in his opening-round victory against Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin and was aiming to reach the fourth round at the US Open for the second time, after enjoying a run to the last 16 in 2019.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep advances to the fourth round of the US Open with a three-set win over Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
Taylor Fritz joins TopCourt to share the story of his journey and development into one of the world’s brightest stars. In the American’s TopCourt class, Fritz shares the keys to his signature serve and backhand, the drills that developed his lethal groundstrokes and the parts of his game he’s working on today.
Fritz demonstrates to fans the technique and drills that have seen him leverage the serve and backhand to take him as high as No. 24 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.
Technique: The backhand has not only proven to be a consistent, reliable shot for Taylor, it’s also a significant weapon that has successfully seen him through tight situations in a match. In detail, Taylor also helps you take control of the point by showing you how to hit both a powerful flat serve and a tricky kick serve. In a demonstrative step-by-step approach, Taylor shows you how you can take control of points and hit a technically sound and powerful backhand and serve like his.
Drills: Taylor teaches three personally chosen unique drills in detail and showcases on-court examples of him practising the drills. While coaching “The Fritz 10” drill, Taylor describes memories of how his father used to incentivise him to complete this drill successfully and how the challenge of achieving 7/10 shots helped build consistency and confidence in his game. The “Live Approach Volley” will teach you how to transition to the net with confidence, while the “Backhand Red Light, Green Light” (one of Taylor’s favorite drills) teaches patience and shot selection.
Follow Taylor’s Tutorials At TopCourt.com
Britain’s Gordon Reid says his Paralympic men’s doubles final defeat with Alfie Hewett is “the toughest loss of his career”.