Bryans Eager To Put Heartbreak Behind Them
Bryans Eager To Put Heartbreak Behind Them
Sep062017
| US Open |
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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Andy Murray says he will “most likely” miss the rest of the season because of his ongoing hip injury.
The British world number two, 30, pulled out of the US Open two days before the tournament began and has not played since Wimbledon in July.
He has withdrawn from October’s ATP Tour events in Beijing and Shanghai and will likely miss the events in Vienna and Paris later that month.
“This is the best decision for my long-term future,” said the Scot.
In a statement posted on social media, Murray said he will begin his 2018 season at the Brisbane International, starting on 1 January, in preparation for the Australian Open, which begins on 15 January, following a “frustrating year on court for many reasons”.
“I’m confident after this extended period of rest and rehabilitation I will be able to reach my best level again and be competing for Grand Slam titles next season,” he said.
“I have a fantastic team working alongside me to help me through this process and appreciate the support from them and all of my fans over this difficult period.”
The three-time Grand Slam champion travelled to New York with the expectation of playing the US Open and practised all week before withdrawing on 26 August.
On Wednesday, he said he had consulted with several leading hip specialists and his own team before reaching the decision not to defend his China Open and Shanghai Masters titles.
Murray is also the reigning Vienna Open and Paris Masters champion, having moved to world number one by reaching the final of the latter in November, before he was overtaken in the rankings by Spain’s Rafael Nadal in August.
He revealed during Wimbledon that he had suffered with a sore hip at times since his early twenties, but it became more significant following his French Open semi-final defeat by Stan Wawrinka in June.
Murray’s preparation for Wimbledon was cut back and he was hampered by the injury during his five-set defeat by Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
Murray’s last match was at Wimbledon on 12 July, and so by signalling his season is most likely over, he is allowing himself virtually six months free of competitive action.
This is in an attempt to heal a chronic hip problem, which has been an issue intermittently for many years and returned during June’s French Open semi-final.
Surgery, tellingly, has not been mentioned. The back operation Murray had four years ago was a success but it took him a year to return to his best, and with the benefits of hip surgery far from guaranteed, rest and rehabilitation is the chosen course.
Murray is still hoping to play his charity exhibition match with Roger Federer in the week before the ATP Finals.
He will not be able to defend his title at London’s O2 Arena as he is not among the year’s top eight players. When the US Open points are formally added on, he will be outside the eight qualifying positions.
In theory, he could return and win the Paris Masters to qualify but that is highly unlikely.
The hope is that – after a winter training block – he will be fully fit by the time he arrives in Brisbane.
Match fitness will take longer to achieve, but Murray may be in good company in Australia in January.
Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori have already called time on 2017, which could lead to some high-profile clashes in the first week of the Australian Open.
Murray, for example, may not even be among the top 16 seeds.
| US Open |
|---|
| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Petra Kvitova hopes expectations will ease after her “amazing” run to the US Open quarter-finals.
The Czech, 27, lost 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2) to Venus Williams – just nine months after a knife attack at her home left her requiring surgery to her hand.
It was her 21st match since returning to competitive action in May.
“After this great run here, I hope it will be a little bit easier for me to breathe and play well, and no expectation again,” said Kvitova.
The two-time Wimbledon champion beat 18th seed Caroline Garcia and third seed Garbine Muguruza on her way to the last eight, her best performance at a Grand Slam for two years.
That was despite her revealing earlier in the tournament that her playing hand had still not fully recovered from the attack.
“It’s tough to say right now but overall, I think it’s amazing [to reach the quarter-finals],” she said. “I didn’t really think that I could come so far.
“I’m just glad that I could show it here, that there is a way to play well again. So from my side, in a couple of days, I hope that I will say, good job. But not just now.”
“I’m getting there slowly,” Kvitova said on the eve of the tournament when asked if things were “back to normal”.
Despite the familiarity of the surroundings and the overwhelming amount of good wishes from fellow players and supporters, her return to the tennis spotlight has been a huge challenge over many weeks and months.
The attack took place at Kvitova’s apartment in Prostejov on 20 December, and the same evening she had a four-hour operation.
The surgeon, Dr Radek Kebrle, described the injury as “horrific”, adding: “The chances of Petra’s hand healing well enough for her to be able to play tennis again were very low.”
All five fingers on her playing hand suffered lacerations, two of them digital nerve damage.
For a player who had taken six weeks off in 2015 as she struggled for motivation, there were naturally questions about whether she would want to come back, even if she could.
The following weeks and months would test her passion for the sport, and the psychological effect of the attack lingers.
“Life is still a little bit strange, but it’s getting better as well,” she admitted this week. “Hopefully one day will be better.”
A protective splint was required for eight weeks but therapy began immediately, at first simply gripping a glass or a soft ball, then progressing to holding a tennis racquet, but only for a minute at a time.
Physical work could begin on the bike and Kvitova would play table tennis or badminton with her right hand, until she was finally able to hit tennis balls with her left hand after three months.
Even then it was only backhands at first, with serves and forehands too painful.
“I was surprised by how well she responded and how motivated she was to come back,” said her coach, Jiri Vanek. “Her motivation was huge.”
By the time she began to practise on clay in Monaco at the start of May, Dr Kebrle gave the go-ahead for her to return to competition at the French Open later that month.
Kvitova signalled just a month into her comeback that she was still capable of playing at the top level when she won the WTA title in Birmingham, a victory she said on Tuesday had “put a little bit pressure on” in terms of expectations.
It was not until Flushing Meadows that we saw the best of her again, and at a venue where she has often struggled.
The sweeping forehand winners and swinging lefty serves derailed the hopes of number-one-in-waiting Muguruza, and almost got her past the in-form Williams.
“It was pretty close but pretty far, as well,” said Kvitova.
“It wasn’t enough, right? Well, what can I say? I feel very tired right now. Of course, as a loser, it’s more tiring than as a winner.”
The ‘Asian swing’ now beckons and trips to Tokyo, Wuhan, Beijing and Tianjin, an experience the home-loving Czech freely admits she does not “really love”, but her parting words at Flushing Meadows signalled her desire to be out on court.
With her ranking set to move up to around 12th, she is on course to qualify for the WTA Elite Trophy, a secondary end-of-season event that Kvitova would not normally expect to be involved in.
“I just asked my PR manager if I do have a chance for Zhuhai,” she said on Tuesday night.
“I didn’t really think about the Asia swing so far, but I will need to in a couple days, and, yeah, the season, it’s getting to the finish. Yeah, it will be nice.”
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| US Open |
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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
South Africa’s Kevin Anderson ended American hopes in the men’s singles as he beat Sam Querrey to reach the US Open semi-finals.
Anderson won 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (9-11) 6-3 7-6 (9-7) at Flushing Meadows to reach his first major semi-final.
The 28th seed will take on Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the last four after the 12th seed beat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-4 6-2.
“Incredible. It’s something I always dreamed of,” said Carreno Busta, 26.
“I tried to be focused all the time, play aggressive. I am very excited to be in the semi-finals.”
Anderson, 6ft 8in, and Querrey, 6ft 6in, met in the tallest Grand Slam quarter-final, semi-final or final of the Open era.
Not surprisingly, the pair shared 42 aces between them (Anderson 22, Querrey 20) and three tie-breaks, with Anderson coming back from 2-5 down to win the first and 17th seed Querrey levelling in a thrilling second-set decider.
It was Anderson who prevailed in the third with a solitary break of serve, and he clinched victory after three hours and 26 minutes in another gripping tie-break.
He becomes the first South African to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Wayne Ferreira at the 2003 Australian Open.
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A first US Open semi-final berth on the line; for Kevin Anderson, a maiden Grand Slam semi-final spot up for grabs. On Tuesday, it was the South African who made the breakthrough with a 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-6(7) triumph over the American.
What a resurregence it has been. An injury-ravaged 2016 saw the 31 year old start the season at No. 80 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. His frustrations would not end there with hip, leg and right elbow problems stunting him at various points of the season.
Querrey led the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-6, with contests split 1-1 in 2017. He won a five-set thriller to stop the South African in the fourth round at Wimbledon before Anderson exacted revenge in a routine victory at the Coupe Rogers leading in. In their 14 prior matches, Querrey led 7-6 in tie-breaks played between the pair. After Tuesday’s showdown, that would stand at 8-8.
As the first South African since Wayne Ferreira (Australian Open 2003) through to a Grand Slam semi-final, the No. 28 seed will next take on No.12 seed Pablo Carreno Busta. One of them will reach their first Grand Slam final.
On Tuesday, in a battle between two of the biggest servers on tour there were no breaks through the first set, with the pair entering all-too-familiar tie-break territory. Trailing 2/5, Anderson reeled off five straight points to hold a one-set advantage.
With a tie-break again required to separate the two in set No. 2, it was Querrey who surged to the early lead. Staring down five set points at 1/6, Anderson was not about to go quietly, though. He survived three set points before saving a fourth with his 12th ace.
Pressure was beginning to weigh on the home hope. A first double fault of the match drew scores level at 6/6 and the pair traded set-point opportunities before Querrey finally went on to lock it up on his eighth opportunity.
Casting aside the disappointment, Anderson maintained his energy to break for 3-2 in the third. A set point missed on the American’s serve mattered little as he edged to a two-sets-to-one lead with a monster forehand winner down the line.
The 6’6” Querrey and 6’8” Anderson were meeting in the tallest Grand Slam quarter-final, semi-final or final of the Open Era. And for the American, a second straight Grand Slam semi-final beckoned after his Wimbledon run.
If he was to pull off a repeat, he would again have to get past Anderson in five sets to get there. After nearly 3.5 hours and closing in on 2am, it proved a bridge too far.
A 22nd ace would bring up match point for Anderson at 6/5 in the fourth-set tie-break. Querrey stayed alive and held a set point of his own before the South African would clinch the semi-final berth on a Querrey forehand long.
| US Open |
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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Venus Williams reached her 23rd Grand Slam semi-final with a thrilling win over Petra Kvitova in a final-set tie-break.
The 37-year-old American won 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2) in front of a rapturous night-session crowd in New York.
“I was so fortunate to win that match,” said Williams. “It came down to the wire and I’m hoping we have more matches like that.”
She next faces Sloane Stephens, with all-American semi-finals possible.
Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe will try to join their compatriots in the last four when they play their quarter-finals on Wednesday.
“I would love the top four, five to be that (American) again,” added Williams. “That would be huge.”
Kvitova, 27, missed out on a first US Open semi-final, ending a remarkable run just nine months since she suffered a knife attack at her home, which left her requiring surgery to her playing hand.
“Everything she has gone through is unbelievable,” said Williams.
“It’s wonderful to see her back and playing. I was so excited to see her playing well, to be able to play her. I hope we have more matches like that.”
Given primetime billing in the opening night session slot, the match began with errors from both women and ended in a gripping finale.
The pair had met five times before and each time they had needed three sets, twice a final set tie-break, and once again there was nothing between them.
A weather warning in the second set saw a delay of 10 minutes as the roof was brought across, and it intensified the atmosphere as the noise built from 23,000 spectators.
Williams gave up the first break of serve at 3-1 with three double faults, before reeling off five straight games as Kvitova racked up the errors.
A loose Williams game early in the second offered Kvitova the lifeline she needed, and she clung on through several edgy service games.
The Kvitova celebratory scream was now regularly reverberating around the stadium as every game seemed to throw up mini-crises, saving five break points on her way to clinching the set.
Two brilliant cross-court backhands gave Kvitova an early break in the third but Williams recovered from 3-1 down, levelling when the Czech double-faulted.
The scrappy play of earlier was long forgotten as the pair now traded service games, with Williams coming through a 10-minute game at 4-4 as Kvitova pressed hard.
It came down to a tie-break and a brilliant return at 1-1 was enough to give Williams the momentum in the decisive shoot-out.
Roared on by the New York crowd, the 2000 and 2001 champion powered 6-1 clear, enough breathing space to cope with a double fault on her first match point before converting her second.
“I have to say I felt every single one of you guys behind me, all 23,000,” Williams told the crowd. “I didn’t want to let you guys down.”
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Kontinen/Peers advance, defending champions beaten
Mike Bryan celebrated a special milestone on Tuesday at the US Open as he and twin brother Bob Bryan defeated Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
The result sees Mike Bryan move ahead of Daniel Nestor as the player with most doubles match wins with 1052 victories to his name. Nestor has 1051, while Bob Bryan has 1038.
“It’s a cool milestone,” Mike said. “Obviously it’s going to feel sweeter when we do it together, but for a few weeks I’m going to be the No. 1 guy, he’ll be the No. 3. It’s a lot of matches, what can I say?
“It’s 19 years on tour. To pass our good friend Nesty – he just turned 45 – we’ve got a lot of respect for him. Hopefully we can notch another one in the semis.”
Bob was forthcoming when explaining how the pair did not share an identical win-loss record. The momentary split in schedules came about 15 years ago.
“I think I’m 13 or 14 matches back from this guy. He’s got 1,052, whatever that is,” Bob laughed. “2002 I played some singles qualifying at the Slams and he went out there and played four tournaments. I think he went semis, final, win, win so he claims he’s the greatest of all time. He has a good record without me but he still needs that lefty serve.”
“You’re never gonna catch me,” Mike said.
“Anyway yeah, I’ll never catch him,” Bob added. “Zimonjic has been hitting me up, emailing and texting me saying you’ve gotta catch this guy … Yeah I’m gonna take him out.”
The Bryans are hoping to win their first Grand Slam championship in three years, since raising the 2014 US Open trophy. The 39-year-old twins are currently fifth in the Emirates ATP Doubles Race To London, having finished runners-up at the Australian Open and won titles in Eastbourne and Atlanta.
Match point for ?? @Bryanbros & @bryanbrothers as they win in two sets, 6-3, 7-5. Welcome to the SFs! #USOpen @MBUSA pic.twitter.com/VY5Jf7AGg4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2017
The Bryans will face 11th-seeded Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, who were 6-4, 7-5 winners over Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop. Lopez and Lopez are looking to win their second Grand Slam championship together, following victory at Roland Garros last year.
Top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers booked their semi-final spot with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nicholas Monroe and John-Patrick Smith. The victory comes one day after Kontinen and Peers became the second team to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in London at the end of the year.
The Finnish/Australian duo, who won the year-end championships at The O2 last year, are chasing their second major title of the season after lifting the trophy at the Australian Open in January (d. Bryans).
Kontinen and Peers will challenge Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau after the 12th seeds upset defending champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-1, 6-2 in just 62 minutes. Rojer and Tecau have now claimed eight wins in a row, having come into the US Open on the back of victory at the Winston-Salem Open (d. Peralta/Zeballos) – their third ATP World Tour title of the season.
| US Open |
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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares’ defence of their US Open men’s doubles title ended in a heavy quarter-final defeat by Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.
The British-Brazilian fourth seeds were beaten 6-1 6-2 in only 62 minutes.
Dutchman Rojer and Romanian Tecau broke serve at the first opportunity and made only five unforced errors overall.
Murray plays alongside Martina Hingis in the mixed doubles last eight later, against Abigail Spears and Juan Sebastian Cabal.
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Spaniard yet to drop a set
With his fifth straight-sets win in a row, Pablo Carreno Busta surged into his first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open. The 12th-seeded Spaniard was too good for Diego Schwartzman, beating the Argentine 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday at Flushing Meadows.
Carreno Busta is yet to drop a set in New York. He defeated four qualifiers to open his campaign – Evan King, Cameron Norrie, Nicolas Mahut and Denis Shapovalov – and will now face either Sam Querrey or Kevin Anderson as he looks to continue his dream run.
“It’s incredible,” Carreno Busta told ESPN in his on-court interview. “It’s something that I always dreamed of, but never thought I could arrive here. I’m very excited to be in the semi-finals in this tournament.
“It was a very good match today. I tried to be focussed all the time. Diego is a fighter. You need to play aggressive and try to dominate the points, otherwise for sure Diego will beat you.”
More soon…