Home advantage has worked wonders for the American women this tournament and there is still the possibility of an all American…
IMG-Reliance, the right holders of the tournament along with Government of Maharashtra and Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA), made the announcement on Wednesday, revealing Pune to be the new city to host the 2018 edition of the ATP World Tour 250 event. It will now be called the Maharashtra Open.
“We welcome the world-class ATP tournament to our state,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. “We are happy to host the Maharashtra Open and are sure that we will take it to newer heights by bringing in an elite field every year.”
The Chennai Open became an important fixture on India’s international sporting calendar, drawing top players from across the world for 21 long years. Rafael Nadal had often spoken about the event’s importance in his journey to World No. 1, with many players making it their first stop each year.
“We would like to thank everyone in Tamil Nadu, especially our innumerable fans, the Tamil Nadu government and the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association for making the Chennai Open such a grand success,” IMG-Reliance’s spokesperson said.
“We look forward to similar love from tennis fans not just in Pune and Maharashtra but in every part of the country. We have created a tennis legacy and have also provided our young players the opportunity to not only play against the best but to also pick up crucial points in the world ranking system.”
MSLTA’s Hon Sec Sunder Iyer and Tournament Director Prashant Sutar were equally ecstatic at the prospect of hosting the ATP tournament. “We have the best tennis infrastructure in the country. We will strive our best to make the world’s best players and our own, feel at home,” they said.
India’s Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi forged their formidable partnership at the Chennai Open. Stan Wawrinka and Maric Cilic were among the past singles champions.
| US Open |
|---|
| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
| BBC coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches every day. |
Juan Martin del Potro came back from two sets down and saved two match points to beat sixth seed Dominic Thiem in a raucous US Open classic.
The 24th seed, cheered on by a large Argentine contingent on the Grandstand court, won 1-6 2-6 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.
Despite feeling ill and requiring treatment, he came through in three hours and 35 minutes to set up a quarter-final against Roger Federer.
The Swiss third seed beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 7-5.
Federer, 36, struggled with a back injury in the build-up to the tournament and left the court after the second set for a medical timeout.
“I just needed a bit of a rub on my back. Or my… bottom,” he said on court afterwards.
He later added: “I just felt something, sort of my muscle being tight at the back. Sort of my quad, I guess.
“I just didn’t want Philipp to wait. It was more precaution. It’s all good. No problems there. I’m not worried about it. I’m sorry I had to do it.”
The five-time champion produced another impressive performance, but for once the spotlight was elsewhere as Del Potro’s comeback gripped Flushing Meadows.
The noise from the 8,000-seater Grandstand court outstripped that from the 24,000 spectators on Arthur Ashe Stadium as Del Potro saved two match points with thumping aces, on his way to setting up a rematch of the 2009 final he won against Federer.
“I played one of the epic matches of my career here at the US Open, which is my favourite tournament, in front of a great crowd,” the Argentine said.
“I was thinking to retire in the middle of second set because I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move well, and Dominic was dominating the match so easy.”
The 28-year-old was broken in the first game and seemed to be struggling with his eyesight.
Having lost the first set in 36 minutes, and after receiving medical treatment, the former champion trailed 6-1 3-0 and finally hit his first winner in the 12th game, but then wasted three break point opportunities.
The third set was far more competitive, as Del Potro appeared to be buoyed by medication and a partisan crowd. He broke Thiem in the second game and raced clear to take the set.
The 24th seed saved two match points in the fourth with aces and the crowd went wild when Del Potro won the resulting tie-break to take it to a decider.
There was more drama when Del Potro failed to convert three break points while 3-2, 0-40 up in the fifth, but an hour after facing match points, the Argentine completed the unlikely comeback as Thiem served a double fault.
After needing five sets to win his first two matches in New York, Federer made it back-to-back three-set wins.
The 19-time Grand Slam champion did not face a single break point over the course of one hour and 50 minutes.
He took control in the seventh game with the first of four breaks, dominating the second set and clinching victory in game 12 of the third as a tie-break loomed.
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The last time Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro dueled on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it was the 2009 final. Del Potro claimed a five-set thriller for his lone Grand Slam title and eight years later, Federer will finally have his shot at revenge at the US Open.
“I think we’re different players today,” Federer reflected. “We both play differently. Because of his surgery, I think his backhand has changed. He uses his slice much more. Just alone because of that, the game would be different.
“I’m playing more aggressive, as well, on the return. I play shorter points. I don’t use my slice as much, whereas he does now. It’s a bit of a change. We did play each other in Miami, so I did get a sense of how it is to play him now. But the forehand and the serve is still identical, in my opinion.
“He maybe even created more power by now just because years went by, better technology has come around. I think we’re both more laid back today. It won’t be a final, it will be a quarter-final. Obviously not as much riding on this match like it was in 2009.”
The five-time champion set the highly anticipated showdown after dismissing Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 on Monday night. He fired 39 winners, including 11 aces, while converting four of seven break points under the lights on Ashe.
Federer will feature in the quarter-finals in New York for the 12th time in his past 13 appearances, dating back to his maiden title in 2004. The third seed is in fine form after survivng a pair of five-setters to open the tournament, having been pushed the distance by Frances Tiafoe and Mikhail Youzhny. He has since rebounded nicely, not dropping a set in ousting Feliciano Lopez and Kohlschreiber.
Federer did not face a break point during his one-hour and 49-minute victory over Kohlschreiber. They remained on serve through the first six games of the opening set, before Federer broke for 4-3. He would take the opener after 38 minutes and converted two more break chances in the second set. Another break would prove decisive at 5-all in the third, connecting on a backhand winner, and he sealed the win in just under two hours.
After extending his FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage over Youzhny to 17-0 and to 13-0 over Lopez, Federer moved to an impressive 12-0 vs. Kohlschreiber. Against del Potro, he leads 16-5, with their most recent clash having come at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami earlier this year. The 36 year old prevailed 6-3, 6-4. Federer will have the fatigue advantage over Del Potro in their quarter-final clash, following the Argentine’s stunning five-set, three-hour and 34-minute victory over Dominic Thiem.
“It probably feels like one of those matches I would like to play over again,” Federer said about the 2009 final. “I feel like I would probably win it somehow because I should have been up maybe two sets to love or should have been up two sets to one. I don’t remember what it was. I just had all these chances in multiple moments. The only time when he was really better, in my opinion, was the fifth set. Obviously that was good enough to beat me that day.
“It was a good match. A lot of back and forth. Crowd was really into it. Started in the day, finished in the night. I mean, look, I was not too disappointed I don’t think because I had a great run, you know, winning I think the French, Wimbledon and then the birth of my girls. Making the finals here was actually a good run. But it ended my five-year reign here in New York. I guess I was a bit disappointed. But Juan Martin did play extremely well. He beat Rafa and me back-to-back, so I felt like he deserved it at the end.”
The time looked right for the American men to make a charge at a grand slam but that has not come to fruition with only Sam Querrey…
Roger Federer looks to continue to improve on his stunning 2017 by moving one step closer to a third grand slam, a feat he achieved…
| 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 reached the US Open men’s doubles quarter-finals with victory over Robert Lindstedt and Jordan Thompson.
The defending champions beat the Swedish-Australian pair 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 13 minutes.
Briton Murray and Brazilian Soares have yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows this year.
The fourth seeds will play Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and Romanian Horia Tecau in the next round.
Asked how it felt to return as defending champions, Murray said: “Its awesome, I’ve been walking around with a strut, shoulders back, and enjoying it.
“It’s not like you win Grand Slams every day – fortunately we had a great run last year and at the Australian Open. We’re having a great fortnight so far and taking it match by match.”
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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. |
Russian teenager Andrey Rublev knocked out Belgian ninth seed David Goffin to set up a US Open quarter-final with Rafael Nadal.
Rublev, 19, won 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to become the youngest man to reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows since Andy Roddick in 2001.
Nadal, 31, saw off Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2 6-4 6-1 in just one hour and 41 minutes in New York.
The Spaniard returns to the last eight for the first time in four years.
He will face one of the sport’s rising stars in Rublev, who only broke into the top 100 in June and the top 50 in July.
The Russian, now ranked 53rd after peaking at 49th last month, had beaten seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.
He saw off Goffin in two hours and five minutes, with the Belgian hampered by a knee injury.
“I’m a little bit lucky to be in the quarter-final but of course I’m enjoying it, and I will try to do my best in the next match,” said Rublev.
“Rafa is the real champion and I’m just going to try to enjoy it – this is the quarter-final and I have nothing to lose.”
Nadal has practised with Rublev in Majorca, describing him as a “great guy”, but he did not accept that the teenager would be free of pressure when they meet.
“Of course he’s young, but at the same time, he’s in the quarter-finals,” said Nadal.
“He has a chance to be in the semi-finals for the first time of his career, and I have been there a couple of times.
“So of course he has things to lose. And of course I have things to lose and things to win.
“But I tell you one thing, this sport is about victory. This is not about defeats. At the end of your career, nobody remember your defeats, your losses. People remember the victories.
“For everybody it’s everything to win, you know. And that’s it.”
Dolgopolov, ranked 64th, had won two of his previous three matches against Nadal, but rarely threatened in New York.
The Spaniard fired 11 forehand winners off his dominant side, while Dolgopolov made 39 errors as his game grew increasingly wayward.
A double-fault and a forehand error gave up the first break of serve in game three, and Nadal came through the only testing moment by saving two break points in game six.
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A brilliant backhand cross-court winner gave the Spaniard a double break, and soon after the set, before Dolgopolov’s hopes effectively ended midway though the second set.
Two errors gave up the crucial break at 4-4 and Nadal rolled through nine of the last 10 games to complete a comfortable afternoon’s work.
Looking ahead to the quarter-final, and an opponent who was four years old when the Spaniard turned professional, Nadal said: “Of course, it’s better to be 19 than 31.
“I always wanted to be young. Even when I was eight years old, I was not very happy when it was my birthday to be nine. Still the same – I am 31, and I am not happy when my birthday going to be 32.
“I am happy being young, no? I don’t want to get older.”
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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 28 Aug-10 Sept |
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The only Grand Slam champions left in the women’s draw will meet when Venus Williams plays Petra Kvitova in the US Open quarter-finals on day nine.
American ninth seed Williams and Czech 13th seed Kvitova open the night session at 00:00 BST on Wednesday.
Williams is the only former US Open winner in the last eight and looking for her first major win in nine years.
“I’ll take any advantage I can get, let’s face it,” said the 37-year-old, who was champion in 2000 and 2001.
“But at the end of the day when I go out there and someone’s across the net from me, they’re playing well. They’re not going to give you any matches.”
The pair will be followed onto Arthur Ashe Stadium by American 17th seed Sam Querrey and 28th seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
Williams has reached the finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, and is in contention to win a third US Open 20 years after making the final on her debut.
The seven-time major champion has overcome injuries and illness in recent years, while Kvitova faces a Grand Slam quarter-final nine months after suffering a knife attack.
The Czech, 27, required surgery on her playing hand and only returned to the sport in May.
“What she’s gone through is unimaginable, unreasonable. The world we live in is just shocking,” added Williams.
“So for her, I think to be playing well is such a blessing. To be able to come out here and do what she needs to do, to clear her head, it’s such a beautiful thing to see.”
Kvitova, who leads their head-to-head record 4-1, said: “We always had tough battles but I will try my best.
“She’s a big server of course. She has something special which the other players doesn’t have.”
Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, the 29th seed, open play on Ashe at 17:00 on Tuesday.
Unseeded American Sloane Stephens then takes on Latvian 16th seed Anastasia Sevastova, who overcame Maria Sharapova to reach the last eight.
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