Tennis News

Djokovic calls Olympic gold his 'greatest achievement'

The last time Novak Djokovic was in action, many of his colleagues said he “completed tennis”. The Serbian claimed the men’s singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics, earning the one big title he had not yet captured.

Ahead of the US Open, the 37-year-old made a bold statement regarding how highly that accomplishment ranks among his long list of accolades.

“Just kind of sharing my thoughts, my emotions and experiences of reflection on what is for me, I think now when I look back, the greatest achievement and greatest highlight of my career overall, winning the gold for Serbia,” Djokovic said. “Had some heartbreaking losses at the Olympic Games, worked very hard to try to get myself in a position to fight for gold. And at 37 I thought, I don’t know, could this be the last chance? Maybe. So I had to push more than ever, than I have ever done.”

Djokovic explained that his effort in Paris was one of the best performances, throughout the entire tournament, he had produced in years.

“Of course in the finals against Carlos, it was kind of a dream scenario really having my wife and children there, the entire nation watching. Just a very proud moment of experiencing the golden medal around my neck with Serbian anthem and Serbian flag. Very, very special. Probably the most intense emotions I have ever had on a tennis court,” Djokovic said. “I was saying that carrying the flag, being a flagbearer for my country, opening [the Olympic] Games in 2012 in London at the Olympic Games, was the best feeling I had overall in my professional career, surpassed every Slam that I won, until I won the gold medal.

“I think the moment of when I achieved it, how I achieved it, after years of trying, the journey, that was the way it was, I think makes it even more unique.”

Djokovic has not played since his memorable triumph in Paris, but he will try to hit the ground running in New York, where he is defending champion. The four-time US Open titlist is trying to become the first man to successfully defend the Flushing Meadows trophy since Roger Federer won it in five consecutive years from 2004 through 2008.

“I didn’t know about that. I knew it was probably the case for five, ten years, but I didn’t know it was that long. Hopefully that changes this year. I mean, that’s the goal. The goal is always for me to try to go all the way to the finals and fight for the trophy. That kind of mindset or approach is no different for me this year,” Djokovic said. “People would ask me, now that you have basically won everything with the gold medal, what else is there to win?

“I still feel the drive. I still have the competitive spirit. I still want to make more history and enjoy myself on the Tour. I still hope to inspire many young people to watch tennis, play tennis.
Those are some of the reasons why I still keep on going. Grand Slams are the pillars of our sport. They are the most important historical tennis events that we have. So if you don’t get pumped and inspired to play your best tennis at Grand Slams, it’s hard to do that anywhere else.”

The 99-time tour-level titlist feels good about his game and what he has achieved in recent years, but admitted he needs to be “a bit more selective” about his scheduling.

“I have to be a bit more selective in my strategy of calendar and how I pick and choose events and where I want to be at my prime and play the best tennis,” Djokovic said. :So when it comes to that, it’s Grand Slams and representing my country. That’s what actually motivates me the most. That’s what drives me the most still. Yeah, that’s related to the on-court, I guess, competition-driven motivation.”

There is no doubt the Serbian will be motivated to earn his 25th major over the coming fortnight in New York. Djokovic has won at least one Grand Slam tournament in 12 of the past 13 years and is trying to make it 13 of 14. He will face Moldovan Radu Albot on opening night Monday.

“US Open is a slam that holds the biggest tennis court in the world, tennis stadium. Night sessions at US Open are very famous, most famous in our sport,” Djokovic said. “I’m going to play my first match here Monday night, so I can’t wait to be under the lights. The noise, the energy of the stadium is just different from anything else. I look forward to it.”

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Raducanu doing things 'a little bit differently' before US Open

Emma Raducanu says she will always do things “a little bit differently” as she prepares for just her second US Open match since winning the title as a teenage qualifier in 2021.

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Alcaraz calms ankle concerns at US Open

Word spread quickly Saturday on the grounds of the US Open that Carlos Alcaraz had cut his training session short because of a turned ankle. Would the freak accident jeopardise his US Open hopes?

Alcaraz put those concerns to bed quickly later in the day during his pre-tournament press conference.

“I wasn’t worried at all for my US Open participation. Obviously I was angry because I don’t want to stop the practice, just to respect [Francisco] Cerundolo, as well. I don’t want to stop any practice. I want to practise, I want to get better, I want to get ready for the tournament,” Alcaraz said. “But honestly with the ankle, I wasn’t worried about that. So I’m sure that tomorrow or in two days I’m going to be at my 100 per cent, for sure. It’s about time.”

The Spaniard, who will begin his tournament on Tuesday against Li Tu of Australia explained that he only stopped his practice as a precaution.

“I didn’t feel comfortable enough to keep practising just in case if everything is going to be worse,” Alcaraz said. “But after a few hours later, I’m still feeling good, my feet, so tomorrow I will try to be practising again 100 per cent without thinking about it. But today I’ll take care [of] it.”

The third seed has happy memories in New York, where he claimed his first major title in 2022. That year, by lifting the trophy, he became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings.

Now Alcaraz is a four-time Grand Slam champion who this year has emerged victorious at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The only blemish for him in recent months was at the Paris Olympics, where the 21-year-old suffered a devastating defeat in the gold-medal match to Novak Djokovic.

“This was one of the most important finals of my career, of my life,” Alcaraz said. “I know that the Olympic Games is every four years, so I don’t know if I’m going to have another chance to win the gold. I’m going to fight for it, for sure, the next Olympics Games. But it was a difficult moment to deal for me, losing the gold medal in a really close match that I had opportunities.”

In his only tournament since that match, Alcaraz lost his opening match at the Cincinnati Open to Gael Monfils. Is the Spaniard worried about his lack of hard-court reps entering Flushing Meadows?

“It doesn’t matter for me. Obviously I [would] have loved to have more matches on my belt on hard court before the US Open. But it doesn’t affect me at all,” Alcaraz said. “If I look back a little bit, for example, [entering] Roland Garros, I [didn’t have] too [many] matches on clay, and it was a pretty good result. And then in Wimbledon, same thing. So I don’t want to think that it’s going to be the same [as] the previous two Grand Slams, but I’m not worried about not having too many matches on hard court.”

Alcaraz this year has proven he loves the big stage, shining brightest at the majors. The 15-time tour-level titlist explained to the media why he feels he causes so many problems for his opponents.

“I think I’m always pushing my opponents to the limit. I’m trying to be aggressive all the time, just to play different shots,” Alcaraz said. “I think that I’m going to say the worst thing for my opponent, they are not going to know what’s going to be next. They have to be aggressive. They have to defend well if they want to be alive in the point. I think I’m going to say that’s the worst thing for my opponents about my game.”

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Lammons and Withrow successfully defend their Winston-Salem crown

Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow won their second consecutive Winston-Salem Open title with a 6-4, 6-3 victory Saturday over Julian Cash and Robert Galloway.

The Americans, who are ranked No. 9 in the PIF ATP Doubles Team Rankings, converted three of four break point chances according to Infosys ATP Stats. They sealed victory in 56 minutes to take their Lexus ATP Head2HEAD to 3-0 against their opponents.

“I think they kind of said it last night with feeling a little added pressure knowing that you played well here last year and having an expectation,” Withrow said after the match. “But at the same time I think we feel comfortable here.”

“It’s another great time of the year for us when we feel like we play our best tennis back in the States, we feel comfortable at home. We feel like we’re a part of this Wake community and it’s always exciting to be coming back here.”

[ATP APP]

Lammons talked about the pair improving as they advanced throughout the tournament: “You get kind of the emotional rollercoaster in the first two rounds with the ten point busters and sneaking out of those was great. We kind of played ourselves into the event finally and then it was the semis and the final.”

“I think you can’t take a negative away from it; we played a lot of matches and that was the main point.”

This is the pair’s third title of the North American summer swing in 2024 following their victories at the Atlanta Open and the Mubadala Citi DC Open. 

Lammons and Withrow became the second pair to retain the doubles title in Winston-Salem after Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau in 2017-18. They defeated the British pairing of Lloyd Glasspool and Neal Skupski 6-3, 6-4 in last year’s final.

By capturing their fourth title this year, the Americans have tied Marcelo Arevalo, Mate Pavic and Jordan Thompson for the most doubles titles this season on the ATP Tour. The Americans clinched their ninth overall ATP Tour title as a pair. 

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Sonego surges to Winston-Salem Open title

Lorenzo Sonego captured his first title in almost two years Saturday after dominating American teen Alex Michelsen from start to finish to claim a resounding 6-0, 6-3 win in a 64-minute Winston-Salem Open final.

Anchored by his ferocious forehand and effective serve, Sonego produced one of his best performances of the season while Michelsen played far below the form that saw him crack the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Live Rankings for the first time this week.

“It’s a crazy week for me, for my team for my family,” Sonego said. “I brought my game every day. I’m really proud of myself.

“I will enjoy this moment with my team and then I’ll start to think about the US Open.”

The 29-year-old Italian becomes just the 11th active player to have won a title on outdoor hard, indoor hard, clay and grass. It is his fourth title and first since Metz in September 2022.

Sonego had not won consecutive matches on hard court this year coming into Winston-Salem, but produced some of his best tennis en route to the trophy. He claimed the title without dropping a set and having dropped serve just once. In the final he dropped just nine points on serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Michelsen won just 44 per cent of points behind his first serve.

Michelsen, who turns 20 Sunday, showed fight at the end of the match when he fought off three championship points to hold serve for 3-5. But it was too little, too late.
Michelsen, who is second in the PIF ATP Race to Jeddah, dropped to 0-3 in ATP Tour finals, having finished runner-up the past two years in Newport.

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Radu Albot's 'take your daughter to work day'… against Novak Djokovic

When Radu Albot was on the way back to his hotel after his US Open final-round qualifying win Thursday against Shintaro Mochizuki, his wife, Doina, was scrolling through the draw on her phone to see if qualifiers had been placed.

Doina needed to scroll for quite a while — to the very bottom of the 128-player draw, in fact. The Moldovan had been slotted to face 24-time Grand Slam champion and second seed Novak Djokovic.

“My reaction was that I never played him, so it’s interesting, it will be interesting to do that, but also at the same you expect when you qualify to get an easier draw, of course, than to play against the second seed,” Albot told ATPTour.com. “I practised with Rafa, practised together with Roger, but I never practised with Djokovic and it’s going to be the first time that we’ll play on the same court.”

The experience will be made more special by having his wife and daughter, Adeline, with him. Adeline went with her mother into Arthur Ashe Stadium to take a photo in the world’s biggest tennis-only stadium not knowing her father would soon play there.

The four-year-old has in her time on Tour met the likes of Federer, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Perhaps her most special encounter came earlier this week in the US Open’s player dining area. Adeline met the venue’s namesake: Billie Jean King.

“It’s actually cool. I think two years ago we were getting these little toys, dolls, they were plastic. And it was also [Billie Jean King] with the tennis racquet in hand,” Albot said. “And she was playing all the time with this little toy, with the racquet and now she actually met in person, the real person of that toy.”

Albot added: “For me, seeing her and my wife in the stands is something special. You play all your life, and at one moment, you have an extra supporter in your team, a little one, so this is really interesting to feel.”

This will be the 34-year-old’s 30th major main draw appearance, but the first time he faces a Slam champion at a major.

“Of course, I’m not going to be crying and be like, ‘Oh, I’m unlucky’. Of course. I’m looking forward to this challenge, and I would like to see what I can do, how I can play, and how the match is going to be, especially that it’s going to be on a big court with a full house,” Albot said. “It’s going to be all over the world on TV. I already got so many messages from back home about wishing me luck and beating Novak that I don’t have anything else to do, just to go there and to do my best, to compete at my best.

“I know if I play good, I’ll be happy. Of course, I go on the court to win. But we know who Djokovic is. We know his records. We know his achievements. We know his confidence, especially after winning the Olympics now recently. So I’ll just go there and try to focus on myself, and if I play well, I think I’ll be happy with that.”

The No. 138 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will be able to rely on previous meetings against an all-time great. He twice played Roger Federer, including a clash in Miami five years ago, when Albot won the first set before succumbing in a tight three sets.

“I think it helps. I think it helps also what to expect from the crowd and I think it also helps the experience of what to expect from one of the greatest of all time as well,” Albot said. “When I was playing against Roger, I was going to the court only with the idea to win the match. I was not thinking, ‘Oh, I wish I take a game’, or, ‘I wish I take a set’, or something like that. No, I was going just to win.”

The nine-time ATP Challenger Tour champion explained that maintaining that mentality helped him against Federer, but facing Djokovic will be different.

“Novak is more complex. He has great physical [attributes], of course. He is moving great. He has great shots from both wings, forehand and backhand and serve and at the net, he’s good as well. So from this experience that I have from the previous matches playing Roger, Andy and other big guys, it will help me for sure the next match,” Albot said. “Just on the court, especially in a five-setter, it’s a little bit different, because a lot of things can happen during the match. It’s a long match, and I just have to be prepared mentally and to make the correct adjustments during the match.”

A decade ago, Albot qualified for a major main draw for the first time at Flushing Meadows. He has since reached World No. 39 and won an ATP Tour title in Delray Beach, but the Moldovan this week was thinking about that moment.

“It’s not so easy to play tennis at all. It’s not easy,” Albot said. “But to be here, and to be here alone, and to play three matches, and to win all three in a Grand Slam and to qualify for the big event, especially when you’re coming from a small country where there is no no financial support, there is no staff support, there is nothing — you’re doing this by yourself in an event like this — that is huge.”

Ten years later, Albot will compete in the US Open main draw for the 10th time. The Moldovan, who will play four-time tournament winner Djokovic Monday evening on Opening Night inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, is excited for the platform.

“I’m very proud that I can represent the country because in the U.S., not everybody knows about small European countries. I’m coming from a small country that is not very popular at all. I would like them to know that I am from Moldova,” Albot said. “Second of all, I would like all the people to know that I’m on the court, me, myself and my team, and you can say all my friends, and all my country, they’re on the court too, to compete and to win.

“Third of all, I would like them to know that everything is possible, even if you’re coming from a country where you have not so many chances in your life, or so many possibilities… You can still make it to the big tour.”

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Wu Yibing is back! Chinese star wins Challenger title in second outing of year

Wu Yibing capped a dream comeback week Saturday when he was crowned champion at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Jinan, China.

Playing in just his second tournament since last year’s US Open and first since the ATP 250 in Houston more than four months ago, Wu built upon his level each match.

He began the week down 0-4 to Stefanos Sakellaridis in the first round, but the home favourite found greater consistency to eventually claim his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title. The 24-year-old defeated Japan’s Rio Noguchi 7-5, 6-3 in the 2024 Jinan Open final.

“That was my goal before coming here,” the wild card Wu said of winning the trophy. “I have high expectations of myself and also my team, we all work hard for it. It’s been more than [four] months since my last tournament. We all gave our best, tried to do everything the correct way and I think I deserved to win this tournament.

“I feel happy. It’s the first step of coming back. And hopefully more to come.”

What it means 🫶#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/UT4b5AR7BR

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 24, 2024

In 2023, Wu became China’s first ATP Tour titlist when he won the Dallas Open. He ascended to a career-high No. 54 in the PIF ATP Rankings a few months later. But injuries have since hindered the Hangzhou native. Wu looks forward to continuing his return during the Asian hard-court swing.

“Hopefully the more I play and the more rhythm I get, I can play my top level, which hopefully comes soon,” said Wu.

In other Challenger action, Argentine Juan Bautista Torres captured his second title at that level at the IZIDA Cup in Dobrich, Bulgaria. The 22-year-old rallied past Ivan Gakhov 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 in a two-hour, 27-minute title match. 

The Buenos Aires native earned a decisive break at 5-5 in the final set before closing out the championship on his serve. Torres, who won his first Challenger title in June 2022 in Troyes, needed a deciding set in three of his five matches on the Bulgarian clay.

Did You Know?
Former Top 5 stars Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic will be competing this upcoming week on the ATP Challenger Tour. Nishikori is playing in Como, Italy, where main-draw action begins 26 August. Cilic makes his return from injury at the Manacor Challenger, held at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar. Main draw begins 27 August.

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Fritz eyes return to form at US Open

Taylor Fritz is hoping that a return to the Grand Slam stage will be just the catalyst he needs to shrug of back-to-back early defeats at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati.

Making his ninth main draw appearance at the US Open, Fritz is excited to be back in New York and the Grand Slam stage, on which he has enjoyed consistent success this year, reaching quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and the fourth round of Roland Garros.

The California native and recent winner of the double bronze medal at the Paris Olympics (with Tommy Paul) is currently the highest-ranked American in the PIF ATP Rankings, sitting at No. 12. Despite winning just one match during Montreal and Cincinnati with defeats to compatriots Brandon Nakashima and Sebastian Korda, Fritz is “hoping to have a big week” at the US Open.

“Obviously really excited to be here. It’s, like, the biggest week for the U.S. players,” said last year’s US Open quarter-finalist during his pre-tournament press conference Friday.

“Yeah, it was my first slam, quarter-final here. It’s just a good feeling. I think last year I was coming in here, just felt like I just needed a result at a slam, because the slam results were just really poor last year. So I felt like I needed a good result.

“This year, the slam results have been pretty solid. I feel like I’ve been performing well at the slams, playing three-out-of-five sets.

“I’m feeling good, I’m feeling, I guess, pretty confident about just playing in the big tournaments right now.”

Fritz’s run to the quarter-final last year was halted by the eventual champion Novak Djokovic who claimed a record 24th Grand Slam singles title on the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“It’s crazy to win that many, and be that consistently just good,” Fritz said. “Like your just baseline average level just has to be so much better than everyone else’s. It speaks to how much better someone is than everyone else (smiling). Because there are so many people just trying to get that one, trying to get one or two, a couple.

“It’s amazing, and obviously the discipline throughout the year is to never be satisfied and always want more is also just extremely impressive in itself,” he said about the four-time US Open champion.

The former Top 5 player is seeded to face No. 8 seed Norwegian Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. He is also drawn to play 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in the second round.

Fritz opens his US Open campaign against Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli on Monday.

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Schwartzman approaching 'new life', excited for last hurrah at US Open

The smile on Diego Schwartzman’s face said it all Thursday afternoon. The Argentine had just successfully battled through qualifying into the US Open main draw, the first time he has won through major qualifying since 2014 at Roland Garros.

The emotion on the 32-year-old’s face as he held his arms in the air was reminiscent of when he won his four ATP Tour titles more than someone qualifying for a tournament. But there was a reason why.

This US Open will be Schwartzman’s final Grand Slam tournament and he is eager to make it a special one.

“Some games during the match, I [was] feeling like, ‘This is the last time, so okay, be quiet and just enjoy’, not feeling like the way that a competitor is supposed to be in the match,” Schwartzman said. “I think I did very well the last three matches, and that’s why I won. At the end, you have to play much better than than the opponent. And I think I did. I did great. I found a way to to play with [those] emotions.”

In May, Schwartzman announced his plan to retire in Argentina next February. It will bring to a close a memorable career in which the Argentine has won 250 tour-level matches, competed in the Nitto ATP Finals in 2020 and ascended to No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“How many moments I never imagined, how many anecdotes I never dreamed of, how many people I met who helped me grow, who taught me so much, who made me a much better player and person than anyone ever thought I would be, including me,” Schwartzman wrote on social media at the time of his announcement. “Every corner of the court, every second training, every point competing, every moment I was immensely happy. I lived it with such intensity that today it is difficult for me to maintain it.”

Schwartzman reiterated that Thursday, when he explained that he has given everything during his career. He does not regret his decision and is happy to be leaving the sport on his own terms.

“I’m making the decision to stop,” Schwartzman said. “I’m very happy with that. No injury, no nothing. Okay, I decided to because I’m tired, because I’m feeling like I cannot be the competitor I’ve been before. And for me, it’s great.

“Now playing the main draw in the last Grand Slam, after three qualies I lost this year in the Grand Slams, it’s good.”

Flushing Meadows has been “a great place” for Schwartzman over the years. The 5’7” right-hander made the quarter-finals in 2017 and 2019. He has earned wins in New York against stars including 2014 champion Marin Cilic and finalists Kevin Anderson and Alexander Zverev.

It has been an unusual experience for Schwartzman, who had not played qualifying at the US Open since 2013. But he is enjoying every moment regardless.

“My mom is here. She was here when I did quarters,” Schwartzman said. “It’s a different way, coming to qualies, going to the bus… with a lot of people, it’s different, being honest. Less people in the qualies watching you.

“But at the same time, players [have been] coming to me saying, ‘It’s your Grand Slam, let’s go. Keep pushing’. And it was good. I feel like, for me, it’s one more. But at the same time, sometimes in a different time of the same day, I’m feeling, ‘Okay, it’s the last’. So it’s weird. But I’m feeling okay. I’m enjoying [it].”

Before qualifiers were placed in the draw, the former World No. 8 was clear with his hopes. He wanted a fun matchup.

“I hope to play on a big court,” Schwartzman said with a smile.

While he does not yet know which court he will compete on, his opponent will be another former Top 10 player, Gael Monfils. It is one of the most tantalising matchups of the first round, with both men gritty competitors who leave everything on the court to thrill the fans.

“It’s going to be super fun. A match that i wanted to have for sure to enjoy in a big stadium,” Schwartzman said. “Gael is one of the best and for sure the showman that anyone wants to play. Hope to have a great match and enjoy with him and the crowd every single point.”

It will be another opportunity for Schwartzman to show why he has become a crowd favourite over the years.

“For me, it was special, receiving a lot of messages and good things about me,” Schwartzman said of fans’ response to his retirement announcement. “It’s different, [the] ways that I felt the last few months. But for me, I think I made the right decision. I’m happy with the decision so far.”

Recently engaged to Eugenia De Martino, Schwartzman is heading towards a new chapter on and off the court.

“New life! New life is coming,” Schwartzman said. “Coming with a lot of emotions. So, yeah, going to the 35 I hope to also have family and everything. So it’s a new life.”

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Michelsen cracks Top 50, meets Sonego in Winston-Salem final

American Alex Michelsen will hope to celebrate the passing of his teenage years a day early on Saturday when he plays for his first ATP Tour title in the final of the Winston-Salem Open.

The #NextGenATP star, who turns 20 on Sunday, was leading Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(5), 2-1 when the Spaniard retired.

“Really unfortunate. I know he has been struggling with injuries for a couple of years. He is a great player, [former] Top 10, and I thought he was playing at a pretty good level today,” Michelsen said.

Michelsen, who was the beaten finalist in Newport the past two years, cracked the Top 50 by reaching the championship match in North Carolina, rising to a career-high No. 49 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

“It’s not the way I wanted to get to the final, I wanted to win it the right way,” said Michelsen, who will meet Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the final.

In a gruelling first set that lasted an hour, Carreno Busta started strong and raced to a 5-2 lead with Michelsen struggling on his second serve. The Spaniard’s powerful hitting built pressure but when the new balls came out, Michelsen played more aggressively and took the attack to Carreno Busta.

The American completed his comeback and claimed the first set in a tie-break after winning 70 per cent of his first serves. He then broke Carreno Busta to lead 2-1 in the second set.

“I had a little mindset change at 5-2 to play on my terms and once I did that, I was doing a lot better.”

Earlier in the day Sonego defeated David Goffin 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first final since lifting the 2022 Metz title. The 10th seed looked for early opportunities to be aggressive in rallies and broke Goffin in the Belgian’s opening service game of each set. The 29-year-old is the first Italian finalist in Winston-Salem tournament history.

“I served really well today,” said Sonego, who did not face a break point. “I improved my serve this year… I returned really well on second serves, [and then] I can play more free. I played my perfect match today and I’m really proud of myself.”

Sonego is the sixth different Italian ATP Tour finalist in 2024, the most for Italy in Open Era: Jannik Sinner, Luciano Darderi, Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti and Flavio Cobolli.

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