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Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot! Millman’s Mid-Match Dash

Sep062018

Humid conditions mean change of clothing and a six-minute break in play

He grew up in Brisbane, so knows a thing or two about humidity. But on Wednesday night, the hot conditions at the US Open got too much for John Millman.

“I’m not normally like the biggest sweater,” said Millman. “But I was really sweating…”

With temperatures at a relatively cool 70ºF, but humidity above 80 per cent, the Australian was drenched in perspiration as he approached Novak Djokovic at the net at 2-2 in the second set.

“Can I go change my clothes now?” Millman asked Djokovic. “They are saying I can only change now.”

It was a win-win for both. Djokovic smiled, and could be heard saying, “I can take a little rest.” The Serbian soon took off his shirt at his courtside bench.

The chair umpire agreed, invoking the ‘Equipment Out of Adjustment’ provision in the ITF Duties and Procedures for Officials, due to Millman’s excessive sweating and the moisture it was leaving on the court.

“It was a tricky one coming off,” said Millman. “I didn’t really want to come off. Novak was making me run a bit too much, though… I had to change!”

Two-time former US Open champion Djokovic believes it’s the toughest US Open he has contested in the past decade.

The Serbian later admitted, “I personally have never sweat as much as I have here. [It’s] incredible. I have to take at least 10 shirts for every match. It’s literally after two games you’re soaking.”

A similar situation occurred on Tuesday night, between the fourth and fifth sets of Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem quarter-final, when Thiem was allowed to get new shoes from the locker room.

You May Also Like: Millman Out Of Magic, As Djokovic Keeps US Open QF Streak Alive

Djokovic beats Millman to reach US Open semi-final

Posted: Sep 06, 2018

2018 US Open
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 27 August-9 September Coverage: Live radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website

Novak Djokovic reached the US Open semi-finals after continuing his flawless record in the last eight with victory over Roger Federer’s conqueror John Millman.

The 31-year-old earned a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over the Australian world number 55.

The Serb, twice champion at Flushing Meadows, has now won all 11 of his quarter-final matches in New York.

He goes on to play Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the last four on Friday.

Djokovic missed last year’s tournament with an elbow injury but has now reached at least the semi-finals in every appearance at Flushing Meadows since 2007.

The victory was not as easy for the sixth seed as the scoreline suggested, Australian Millman providing stoic resistance before Djokovic came through to take his first match point after two hours 49 minutes, just before midnight local time.

Nishikori edges out Cilic in five sets
Murray reaches mixed doubles final
Keys & Osaka book semi-final place
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Djokovic moves closer to Sampras records

Djokovic has gone on to reach the final seven times from those 11 straight last-four appearances, and victory over Nishikori would move him alongside Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl’s record appearances total in the men’s showpiece.

A bigger piece of history awaits, however, if he can go all the way in New York – a 14th Grand Slam victory would rank him alongside Sampras, and behind only Federer (20) and Nadal (17), in major triumphs.

But first he had to get past the energetic Millman on another stuffy night on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Djokovic had breezed past the Australian on grass at Queen’s Club in June – their only previous meeting – dropping just three games.

This time he was made to work much harder.

The former world number one missed 16 of 20 break points, and was pegged back from 3-1 up in the third set, before winning 12 of the final 15 points to advance.

Heat causes more problems as Millman forced off court

A failure to convert break points was not the only problem faced by Djokovic.

Not for the first time at the tournament he struggled in the conditions which, although still hot and humid, appeared much easier than on previous nights.

He was given some tablets during the second set – but declined to say what they were when asked in his post-match media conference.

“I personally have never sweat as much as I have here. Incredible. I have to take at least 10 shirts for every match. It’s literally after two games and you’re soaking,” Djokovic said.

“I asked the chair umpire whether they are using some form of ventilation or air conditioning down at the court level, and he says that ‘he’s not aware of it’, that, you know, only what comes through the hallway type of thing.

“I think that this tournament needs to address this. I mean, because whether it’s night or day, we just don’t have air down there. It feels like sauna.”

Djokovic was also given time violations in successive points when serving at 3-2 in the third set, meaning he lost his first serve while break point down, and Millman duly capitalised.

The Australian also suffered with the heat, having to disappear off court at 2-2 in the second set to change his sweat-soaked kit.

“[In] these night matches, the humidity goes through the roof,” he said.

“It is tricky, but it’s the same for both people. You’re dripping. But, that’s no excuse or anything. I’d play in a swimming pool if I got to play a quarter-final every week at a Grand Slam.”

Ball boys and girls had to wipe the court with towels between games, and the USTA issued a statement afterwards confirming the chair umpire allowed Millman to leave the court after determining the surface was “dangerous”.

Millman leaves with reputation and ranking enhanced

Millman produced a big shock when he inflicted a four-set defeat on Swiss second seed Federer in the last 16, ending the possibility of a meeting between two of the game’s greats in the quarter-finals.

The affection of the New York crowd followed Millman into his match against Djokovic – and he thrived on the backing.

The 29-year-old, often chatting and interacting with his supporters in the stands, fed off the crowd’s energy as he continued to frustrate Djokovic.

He entertained them with some remarkable retrieving, in addition to clutch serving and the odd brilliant winner, on his way to seeing off 11 break points – between the ones Djokovic did convert for a 2-0 lead in the first set and a 5-4 advantage in the second.

But he was unable to test the Serb’s serve often and when he did, breaking back to level the third set at 3-3, Djokovic hit straight back.

Nevertheless he will leave New York with an enhanced reputation and a career-high ranking of 37 after reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent

Millman kept Djokovic on court for as long as he possibly could, and at times drove him to distraction with some breathtaking retrieving.

The Serb could only convert one of his first 13 break points, and again seemed to struggle in the high humidity. At one point he requested a nasal spray.

The frustration of being docked a first serve for slow play late in the match soon passed, and a straight-set victory is always gratefully accepted in a Grand Slam quarter-final. Djokovic won just before the stroke of midnight in less than three hours, a luxury not afforded to Rafael Nadal the previous night.

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Kei Hopes To Hit Rewind Against Novak

Sep062018

Nishikori to face Djokovic for spot in US Open final (again)

Four years ago in Flushing Meadows, Kei Nishikori earned perhaps the biggest win of his career, defeating top seed Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals to reach his first Grand Slam final.

“I forgot about it,” Nishikori said on Wednesday, smiling. “I always have good memories here. It was a tough battle against Novak. Yeah, for sure it’s going to give me good confidence, even though I didn’t remember. Maybe I will try to watch the match again, if he wins, and get more confidence.”

In the championship match, which lasted just one hour and 54 minutes, Marin Cilic cruised past the Japanese to lift his maiden major trophy. But now, it’s time to press rewind. Nishikori will try to upset Djokovic in another US Open semi-final. Will the script remain the same?

First thing’s first — the circumstances are different. Nishikori is no longer on the rise, but on the mend. The 28-year-old missed this tournament last year due to a right wrist injury, and he’d start his 2018 campaign by playing two ATP Challenger Tour events.

You May Also Like: Four Years On, Nishikori Battles Past Cilic In New York Thriller

But Nishikori is not satisfied having reached one major final and climbing as high as No. 4 in the ATP Rankings. While he’s not putting as much pressure on himself before his injury, he is ambitious. Nishikori doesn’t want to settle for making the semi-finals at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert worked with the Japanese from December of 2010 through the 2011 season, and he says he was a little bit surprised when he asked Nishikori about his goals seven years ago.

“I wasn’t sure. But it was to be Top 3 in the world, to win Slams, to compete in Slams,” Gilbert said. “Okay, sometimes you’re not sure and your people say it, but you don’t really believe it. But I think he really believed in it and expected it.”

And perhaps it is that belief that has aided his return to form. First it was a runner-up showing in Monte-Carlo, then his first quarter-final at Wimbledon, and now, after avenging the Cilic loss by ousting the Croatian on Wednesday, he has earned a spot in the US Open semi-finals.

“It’s almost like he willed that win. It was perseverance. It wasn’t pretty. It was brilliant at some times. But the biggest thing in tennis, they said the four most valuable words: game, set, match, Nishikori,” Gilbert said of Nishikori’s victory against Cilic. “That match had like seven, if it was wrestling, it would be reversals. He found a way to win the last point and that’s the only thing that matters in these majors.”

Nishikori didn’t have the best preparation for the US Open, losing three of four matches heading into the final Grand Slam of the year. But that hasn’t stopped him from battling match-in and match-out and, in the crucial moments, being unafraid of taking control and seizing the moment.

“I felt once we were getting into the rallies he was slightly more consistent, and he had in, most of the rallies — not most of them, but maybe 60 per cent of the rallies — that he was the one that was dictating and creating chances,” Cilic said. “I felt that once he had the ball in the middle of the court, he was controlling and playing well what he’s doing usually well.

“He’s playing really well. He’s in the semis, and with these kind of conditions, I think he dealt with it quite good today… I think for him is definitely good challenge coming back to the semis and creating another opportunity. I felt that he was hitting the ball really clean, really well, as he usually does.”

And the scary thing for the remaining field, is that Nishikori did not feel he was at his best against Cilic, who had made two of the past five Slam finals. “It wasn’t easy, and I didn’t feel like I was playing [my] best tennis today, but [I] fought through somehow and [that] gives me big confidence playing semis [in the] next round,” he said.

Nishikori has shown an even higher level this tournament, which is impressive considering he defeated Cilic. The No. 21 seed dominated veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber in the fourth round, a match that Gilbert commentated on.

“I thought he played excellent. He played great in that match,” Gilbert said. “The amazing thing about tennis is sometimes you don’t have to be great to win. Sometimes you can just be ordinary, but you’ve got to win. I don’t think he played that well today, but more importantly, sometimes you can play really well and lose. They said game, set, match, Nishikori. He’s moving on.“

There’s no doubting that Nishikori’s wrist injury was a significant hurdle to leap over. Missing the end of the 2017 season following Montreal, he’d eventually drop to World No. 39 this April, his lowest placement in the rankings since he was 21 years old. But now, Nishikori is working back toward his peak again and into contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in November.

“In tennis, if you don’t get better, you get worse. And he’s been getting better. He’s had lots of injuries to deal with. But all you can do sometimes is ask yourself and put yourself in the position,” Gilbert said. “He’s put himself in position and now… he’s just got to play the opponent and not the situation.”

All Nishikori has to do is check out video of the last time he played Djokovic in Arthur Ashe Stadium. While he may or may not remember it, the film doesn’t lie: Nishikori’s done it before, and there’s no reason he can’t do it again.

2018 US Open

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 27 August-9 September Coverage: Live radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website

Williams’ route to the semi-final
First round: Beat Magda Linette 6-4 6-0
Second round: Beat Carina Witthoeft 6-2 6-2
Third round: Beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-1
Fourth round: Beat Kaia Kanepi 6-0 4-6 6-3
Quarter-final: Beat Karolina Pliskova 6-4 6-3

Williams’ route to the semi-final

First round: Beat Magda Linette 6-4 6-0

Second round: Beat Carina Witthoeft 6-2 6-2

Third round: Beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-1

Fourth round: Beat Kaia Kanepi 6-0 4-6 6-3

Quarter-final: Beat Karolina Pliskova 6-4 6-3

2018 US Open

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 27 August-9 September Coverage: Live radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website

GB's Hewett sleeps on floor as travel chaos disrupts flights to New York

Posted: Sep 06, 2018

British wheelchair player Alfie Hewett slept on an airport floor as he endured a “horrible experience” travelling to the US Open.

The 20-year-old, who won the men’s doubles title with Gordon Reid last year, began his journey on Monday from St Louis but arrived in New York on Tuesday evening.

“I don’t have injuries but I’m going to feel very stiff sitting in a chair for 26 hours and then the floor,” he said.

It was a horrible experience. When something like that happens you don’t feel like they look after you

Alfie Hewett

“It has messed up my lower body.”

The Norwich player beat world number one Shingo Kunieda in the final of the US Open warm-up event in St Louis, Missouri, before heading to the airport.

His travel problems started when he landed in Chicago to find his American Airlines connecting flight first delayed by problems in New York and then a thunderstorm, before being cancelled.

A second United Airlines flight on Monday night was also cancelled, and he was forced to remain at O’Hare International Airport while he waited for his bags, including his racquets and tennis chair, before being put on a flight to New York early on Tuesday morning.

“They wouldn’t put me up in accommodation,” added Hewett. “I asked if there was an airport hotel, they said no, there was one half an hour away. It was about midnight and I realised I had to be at the airport in four and a half hours anyway.

“I asked where my bags were, they didn’t know. They looked, they were still in the airport but they were going to JFK [New York]. I wasn’t going to JFK any more and they wouldn’t re-route them. The only option I had was to stay in the airport for another two hours to collect them – it was my racquets, chairs, everything.

“So I slept on the floor for about 45 minutes, went to get my bags, then by the time I’d done that and got to the other terminal, it was practically time to check in again.

“It was a horrible experience. When something like that happens you don’t feel like they look after you. I explained my situation but there were lots of other people who needed to be in different places for business meetings and family reasons, so I was just another one.”

Hewett and compatriot Reid begin the defence of their doubles title in the semi-final against Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina and Japan’s Kunieda.

Lucy Shuker takes on South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane in the women’s singles while Andy Lapthorne will be in action in the quad division.

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Four Years On, Nishikori Battles Past Cilic In New York Thriller

Sep052018

Japanese star to meet Djokovic or Millman in final four

In 2014, Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori contested a surprise US Open final after stunning Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively in the semi-finals.

Four years after their breakthrough runs to the championship match, Nishikori avenged his final loss, recovering from 2-6, 2-4 down to beat Cilic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4. The 2014 runner-up withstood 57 winners and saved seven of 13 break points to advance to his first major semi-final in two years after four hours and eight minutes. Nishikori remains unbeaten in quarter-final clashes at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (3-0).

“He started very well… I didn’t feel like I was playing great. I had to stay tough, especially in the second set,” said Nishikori. “I started playing better from 4-2. I tried to swing a little more, play aggressive and start working better from 4-2 down.

“I am really happy to win and to go through matches like this. It wasn’t easy and I didn’t feel like I was playing my best tennis today, but I fought through somehow and it gives me big confidence.”

The 28-year-old has reached three tour-level semi-finals this season and improves to 23-8 in Flushing Meadows. With his second win in four meetings against Cilic in New York, Nishikori extends his overall FedEx ATP Head2Head lead against the 2014 champion to 9-6.

“I came out in the match great, 6-2, 4-2 serving, and everything was going great,” said Cilic. “[There was] just a little bit of a shift of the momentum there. Kei started to hit a little bit better. He broke me. He won six games in a row there, converted three of three break points and just put me back a bit on my back foot.

“From that point on, I felt the match was quite even… I felt that I created enough chances to even maybe win earlier, win that second set and I had some chances, as well, in the third. [It is] unfortunate to lose that. With a great, quality player like Kei, he also had his chances, and he made it… [the match] came down to couple points.”

Nishikori

Nishikori, bidding to reach his second US Open final, will face two-time champion Novak Djokovic or John Millman of Australia in the semi-finals. Nishikori trails Djokovic 2-14 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but remains undefeated against Millman in two FedEx ATP Head2Head encounters.

“I don’t have a great record against Novak, but it’s always been a tough match in the past couple of years… [I am] always excited to play Novak, because it’s a great challenge for me. It is always exciting to play him,” said Nishikori.

“If he wins, it’s going to be tough, but John is playing great. Either one is going to be tough. I will try to be aggressive and positive out there and hope I can play good tennis in the next round.”

Cilic started well, extracting backhand errors from his opponent by being aggressive on his forehand to move into a 3-1 lead. The Australian Open finalist increased the pressure on Nishikori with comfortable service holds and moved into a one-set lead with a second break of serve in the eighth game.

Appearing in his third Grand Slam quarter-final of the season, Cilic appeared to be striding towards a two-set advantage with another break of serve at 3-2. But Nishikori immediately pegged back his 6’6″ opponent, capitalising on multiple forehand errors to break to love. Following a comfortable service hold, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters runner-up, once again, took advantage of nervy play from Cilic to take a 5-4 lead. The 29-year-old hit back-to-back groundstroke errors before conceding the break with his second double fault.

“I felt once we were getting into the rallies he was slightly more consistent, and in… maybe 60 per cent of the rallies that he was the one that was dictating and creating chances,” said Cilic.

Cilic

Nishikori continued to find success at the start of the third set, firing a pinpoint backhand down the line to secure his third consecutive service break. Despite visible frustration at being unable to break serve, Cilic soon found his range on his forehand and forced Nishikori into forehand errors to level the score at 4-4.

After trading a series of mini-breaks early in the tie-break, Cilic hit back-to-back double faults to hand Nishikori a 5/4 lead. The World No. 19 may have been unable to contain Cilic’s forehand in the following point, but soon grabbed a two-set lead with a perfectly-timed backhand return winner. After racing out to 0/40 on Nishikori’s serve at 3-3, Cilic made the first move in the fourth set with a series of powerful forehand blows. The one break was all that was needed, with Cilic forcing a decider with a service hold to 30.

“I tried to refocus after losing the fourth set,” said Nishikori. “He was starting to play better again, and I almost lost confidence during the fourth set, but I tried to focus again in the fifth set… It wasn’t easy, but I tried to stay calm and I really focused, especially in the last game.”

Nishikori raced out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set, with a crucial break of serve in the fourth game supported by three routine service holds. The 2014 finalist almost doubled his advantage two games later, and held two game points for 5-2 lead, before Cilic battled his way back into the match, winning three straight games. But Nishikori held firm, holding serve before firing a forehand cross-court return winner to advance.

Cilic was bidding to advance to his second major semi-final of the season after falling to Roger Federer in five sets at the Australian Open in January. The World No. 7, who lifted his 18th tour-level title at the Fever Tree Championships in June, drops to 33-9 this season.

Did You Know?
Cilic and Nishikori’s 2014 US Open final meeting was the first Grand Slam final since the 2005 Australian Open not to feature Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.

2018 US Open

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 27 August-9 September Coverage: Live radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra; live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website