'We are humans' – Garcia calls out 'damaging' online abuse
France’s Caroline Garcia calls out the “damaging” abuse tennis players receive on social media when they lose matches.
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.
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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]Watch as Dan Evans makes history after winning the US Open’s longest-ever match, beating Russia’s Karen Khachanov in five hours and 35 minutes.
Marin Cilic will play his first match in more than six months Wednesday at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Manacor, Spain.
The Croatian, who underwent knee surgery in May, faces Spaniard Alberto Barroso Campos in the opening round of the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar, held at the Academy of 22-time major champion Nadal. The match is scheduled not before 6:30 p.m. local time. Fans can tune into Challenger TV to stream all ATP Challenger Tour matches live and on demand at no cost.
Watch Marin Cilic vs. Alberto Barroso Campos:
This fortnight marks the 10-year anniversary of Cilic’s US Open title run. The former World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has enjoyed a standout career, claiming 20 tour-level titles and 582 match wins.
The 35-year-old has competed in just three tournaments this year. He also represented his home country in February’s Davis Cup action. Wednesday will mark Cilic’s first ATP Challenger Tour match since March 2012.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]French wild card Alexandre Muller will try to earn a big upset on Wednesday when he plays fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the second round of the US Open.
Before the match, ATPTour.com caught up with Muller to get to know him better off the court.
If you could have dinner with any three people, who would they be and why?
I think Roger [Federer], because for me, it’s easier because he speaks French [laughs]. I would like to enjoy the dinner so someone who speaks French, my language, it’s easier for me.
It’s difficult. I think people from sports, so we choose maybe Tiger Woods, because I like golf, and Michael Jordan.
Do you play a lot of golf?
I like to play golf when I have some days off, yes. [I like] the feeling when you hit the ball clean. That’s happened not very often, but when I do it, I enjoy it. [I play with] my coach, who loves golf, and I played golf two weeks ago in Cary with Lucas Pouille. My coach won, Lucas was second and I was third. Not such a good result, but we played in Pinehurst. Very nice golf course.
If you could switch places with anyone in the world for a day, it would have been why?
Let’s say Tiger. I would like to know the feeling when you’re so good at golf.
If you could have been part of any tennis match in history, which would you pick and why?
You remember Roger [Federer] against Rafa [Nadal] at the Australian Open 2017? I think to be Roger in this match would be amazing — the intensity, [reaching a] fifth set. It was a comeback for Roger after his injury [and he] won the tournament. It was so crazy.
Have you ever played with him?
I just had a short practice in Dubai with him, but I never played a match against him or Rafa [Nadal]. The practice was very short, because it was the morning and in the afternoon he had a flight to China to [play] an exhibition. So it was like one hour, hour and a half, just to play, no points, just hitting the ball, very chill. I was quite young still, 22 years or something. I was on holidays with my parents, and I played some good tennis with Roger.
[I liked] his game of course, even if I don’t play like him. His mentality [is] very funny. I mean, I’m just 70 the world, and I think if I go and meet him in the locker room, I can go and ask for a photo or talk with him for five minutes.
What’s something cool you’ve gotten to do because you’re a tennis player?
I’m not a superstar so I think for me, it’s travelling. I think for people who cannot travel and want to travel, that’s the cool thing that I’m doing every week, taking a flight and going everywhere in the world. Right now I’m in New York, in two weeks I’m in China, in three weeks in Tokyo in Japan. So I think that’s the cool thing I’m doing with my job.
Your favourite place?
I like Australia, in Melbourne, because it’s winter in Europe. It’s the end of the preseason, and there it’s the holidays during the summer, so everybody is very happy to be there.
Is there somewhere you haven’t visited that you wish you could?
Canada. I’ve never played the tennis in Canada, which is crazy, because there are a lot of tournaments there. So I would say, I would say Canada. Nowhere in particular, because I know nothing about this country. So I would like to go to Toronto, Montreal, see ideas, just to visit.
What other hobbies do you have?
Golf. Football. I’m not playing football because it can be dangerous, but I like to watch golf and football. [My favourite team is] Marseille, because I’m from the south of France. I like Real Madrid in Spain.
I like to watch live streams during my time off, like video game live streams. I like stuff like this. I played football for three years from seven to 10, and after, I needed to stop football because in the district in France, they told me come to [tennis] practise Wednesday, but the football [training] was at the same time, so I needed to stop football for tennis.
What was your pinch-me moment on Tour?
I think last year, when I played, I played here against [Novak] Djokovic on centre court for the night session. That was a good memory. For me a good victory was this year in Rome, I beat [Andrey] Rublev, he was [ranked] six in the world. So after a good victory like this, you say, ‘Okay, I’m a good tennis player’.
What was it like last year on this court?
It was tough. It was 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 against Djokovic. For one hour it was not a good memory, but after, I was trying to enjoy it because afterwards he won the tournament. He’s one of the best players in the world, so I could not do anything.
Did you enjoy looking around at all the fans in the crowd?
I enjoyed it. I remember just next to my towel was Barack Obama, so some amazing people like this, some actor or singer.
If you could achieve one thing on and off the court, what would it be?
On the court I hope it’s going to change when I see you in a year or six months, but for me, it’s to get one ATP title. That’s my goal in the short time right now. And off the court, I just want to be happy with my family, make them happy too, be proud of myself, and that’s it.
Britain’s Harriet Dart says it’s “nice” to have her mum as her coach as she prepares for her second-round US Open tie against Marta Kostyuk.
World number one Iga Swiatek is made to work hard to beat lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova in the US Open first round.
Three days before qualifying at the US Open began, Mitchell Krueger stood on a nearly empty set of practice courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with his 15-month-old daughter Camille. The biggest tennis-only stadium in the world, Arthur Ashe Stadium, was just metres away. International superstars like 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and four-time Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz were yet to arrive and take over those courts.
But Krueger has made his own mark at the season’s final major. The 30-year-old qualifier on Monday defeated French qualifier Hugo Grenier 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows.
It is the American’s 30th major — combining qualifying attempts and main draw appearances — and just the second time he has advanced to the second round of the main draw.
“The first emotion was definitely relief. It was a tough, long battle. It was pushing almost four hours, [we were] having a lot of long rallies, long points, and I definitely had to earn it,” Krueger told ATPTour.com. “But relief was definitely the first emotion. It’s obviously a massive achievement, because it’s only the second Slam match I’ve ever won. So to do it in New York after qualifying also was extra special for sure.”
[ATP APP]This is also Krueger’s first appearance at a major as a father. One of his goals this year was to put less pressure on himself tennis-wise, and looking after Camille has helped provide perspective.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the past and have your results kind of reflecting who I am as a person, like ‘I’m a tennis player. I live and die by winning or losing’, but this gives me a second facade, I guess, that I can win or lose and I go after the match into dad mode,” Krueger said. “She’s only 15 months [old], so she doesn’t know what’s going on, she doesn’t care whether I’ve won or lost. So definitely that perspective has helped a lot.”
Camille has only been to a handful of tournaments this year, but has enjoyed her time on site, whether she has realised it or not.
“The first thing that people ask me about is where she is and they want to see her, if they haven’t met her yet, or even if they have, they want to see her,” Krueger said. “She’s definitely the life of the party wherever she goes. But she’s the most social baby I’ve ever seen. She waves to everyone and now she’s running or walking and running a lot. She’s all over the place, you put her down, and she’s just bouncing around to all the other people.”
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/28/03/00/krueger-us-open-2024-family.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Mitchell Krueger” />
While Camille has spent her father’s matches in the US Open nursery, Krueger has enjoyed one of the best tournaments of his career. He lost just one set in qualifying and now will play 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka to reach the third round of a major for the first time.
“Obviously it’s uncharted territory for me. I’ve made the second round here once and lost second round,” Krueger said. “So these are huge, important matches. But I just try to take it one at a time, not get too ahead of myself as far as what’s lying down the road.”
This time last year, Krueger was home in Dallas watching tennis. He had not made the cutoff for qualifying at Flushing Meadows. This is his first major since the 2023 Australian Open.
“That makes it even more special this year. I was close to getting into the US Open last year, [I was] one of the first Americans [who went] out [and] didn’t get in,” Krueger said. “This year it was similar, I ended up being, I think, two or three [matches won] out of French [Open] and Wimbledon qualifying. So I was right there on the bubble too. For this to be the first time I have played in almost two full calendar years made it more important for me. Doing how I’ve done so far is just the icing on the cake.”
Krueger, who has a career-high No. 135 in the PIF ATP Rankings, was No. 293 as recently as the first week of March. If the American beats Lehecka on Wednesday, he will crack the Top 130 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Krueger has claimed two ATP Challenger Tour crowns in 2024.
“It sounds stupid, but I felt like I was playing some of the best tennis in my career last year. But on paper, I had probably the worst year in my career, as far as ranking was [concerned],” Krueger said. “I feel like this year speaks to that, because it’s just a continuation, and the pieces are falling into place, and I’ve been really consistent with my results throughout the year on hard [court] and clay – not just one surface.
“I think I want to keep going, finish the year strong… Having big results like this just makes me hungrier for more at this level.”
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