Emma Raducanu set to be best-paid British sportswoman
The teenage tennis star’s potential earnings skyrocket as she reaches the US Open final.
The teenage tennis star’s potential earnings skyrocket as she reaches the US Open final.
Jo Durie and Naomi Broady speak to BBC Breakfast about British teenager Emma Raducanu reaching the US Open tennis final in New York.
As British teenager Emma Raducanu reached the US Open final, BBC Sport charts her rapid rise – with the help of a host of experts.
British teenager Emma Raducanu says reaching her first Grand Slam final at the US Open feels “crazy, cool and absolutely mind-blowing”.
Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez shocks Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka to reach the US Open final – where she could face 18-year-old Briton Emma Raducanu.
Former World No. 7 David Goffin announced on Instagram Thursday that he will miss the rest of 2021 due to a knee injury.
“Unfortunately I won’t be able to compete again this year in 2021. It’s been a tough year with some injuries with my ankle earlier this year and my knee is bothering me for too long now,” Goffin said in a video. “So I took the decision not to play again, not to compete this year. I will take the time now for my body. It’s important to take the time to fully recover.
“I need it, my body needs it. I think those four months will be necessary to come back stronger in 2022.”
The Belgian finishes his season with a 14-15 record. Goffin lifted his fifth ATP Tour trophy in February at Montpellier, where he defeated Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in a three-set final.
Keeping points short and sweet has made Felix Auger-Aliassime’s performance a treat at this US Open.
The Canadian star is into his first major semi-final at Flushing Meadows and the 21-year-old has made his impressive run in large part by dominating the short rallies in New York.
Auger-Aliassime has won 56 per cent (391/698) of rallies between zero and four shots thanks to his strong work with his first serve at the season’s final major. The eight-time ATP Tour finalist entered this event winning 76 per cent of his first-serve points this year, and has claimed 81 per cent of his first-serve points at the US Open.
Felix has delivered 85 aces compared to 30 double faults — hitting eight double faults in two different matches.
Felix’s Serving Stats – Pre-2021 US Open vs. US Open
| Stat | Pre-2021 US Open | US Open |
| 1st-Serve Pts Won | 76% | 81% |
| 2nd-Serve Pts Won | 52% | 52% |
| Service Games Won | 84% | 92% |
The 12th seed will have to continue playing his aggressive first-strike tennis against two-time major finalist and second seed Daniil Medvedev.
“I also need to step up and be confident in myself. I need to serve well. I need to play a great match, be solid from every aspect of my game,” Auger-Aliassime said. “At the same time I need to try to put pressure on him. But it’s going to be tough. I need to be ready for his best.”
What makes it tricky for Auger-Aliassime is that Medvedev has been even more dominant on the shortest points. The second seed has won nearly 63 per cent of rallies between zero and four shots and lost serve just five times in five matches.
The difference is that while Medvedev has also done well in longer rallies, Auger-Aliassime has not. The first-time major semi-finalist has won 50 per cent of points (151/300) between five and eight shots and just 46 per cent of rallies (61/143) of nine shots or more.
Felix & Daniil’s Rally Stats – 2021 US Open
| Rally Length | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Daniil Medvedev |
| 0-4 Shots | 56% (391/698) | 63% (304/486) |
| 5-8 Shots | 50% (151/300) | 56% (118/212) |
| 9+ Shots | 43% (61/143) | 53% (83/157) |
Medvedev, however, has been in the green in both categories. That will make it even more imperative for Auger-Aliassime to keep points short.
Medvedev spoke to the media before Auger-Aliassime and Alcaraz played their quarter-final and said that he believes they are similar players, and that it would be important to prevent them from playing their game.
“[You] should try to not give them all the time they want,” Medvedev said. “Otherwise, they are going to destroy you.”
The average rally length in Medvedev’s matches has been 5.3 strokes, while Auger-Aliassime’s has been 4.2. Will Felix continue firing early and often to control rallies with his serve and first-shot power, or will Daniil drag the Canadian deeper into rallies and drown him with his consistency?
Auger-Aliassime will hope that keeping it short and sweet will pay dividends once more and yield his first berth in a major final.
Nine times during his quest to complete the Grand Slam this year Novak Djokovic has dropped the first set. And nine times he has rallied to win. It’s a statistic without precedent in Grand Slam history, but it hasn’t been achieved through happenstance.
After dropping a gruelling 78-minute first set against Matteo Berrettini in their late-night quarter-final at Flushing Meadows Wednesday, there was no panic in the Djokovic camp. There was no sense that the finish line looked a deflating distance away.
The Serbian knows that he is perhaps the fittest and most finely tuned athlete in the history of the sport. And so do his opponents. He’s the best player in the world, but the best-of-five format at the majors amplifies his dominance and is a key reason why he’s won eight of the past 12 Slams. Like a casino, the longer someone plays, the greater the odds tilt towards the house.
Make it 8️⃣0️⃣ wins in New York for the legend, Novak Djokovic. pic.twitter.com/zcfVXsh1Fx
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2021
“I know what my strengths are. I stick to them,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference after beating Berrettini. “I’ve worked over the years to perfect my game so that my game can have literally no flaws. Every player has some weaknesses in his game.
“There’s always something you can improve. I want to have as complete of an all-around game as I possibly can so that when I’m playing someone I can adjust on any surface, I can come up with different styles of play, I can tactically implement the game that I need for that particular match in order to win.”
Earlier this year at Roland Garros, Djokovic rallied from two sets down to beat Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round and against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Djokovic has won 25 of his past 26 Grand Slam matches decided in four or five sets (with the only blemish being a 7-5 fifth-set loss to Dominic Thiem in the 2019 Roland Garros semi-finals). That’s not something lost on his opponents, especially when they struggle to build on early success they may have earned in a match.
“I want my opponents to feel that I can get any ball, that I can play comfortably from the back of the court, on the net, serving, returning,” Djokovic said. “Over the years working on perfecting the game has really helped me I think just be very adaptable to anybody’s game and to any surface.
“My kind of constitution of the body, I guess my work on the court and also fitness-wise, has always been based on equally paying attention to every aspect of my physical abilities, whether it’s strength, flexibility, agility, speed. I always want to have everything on a satisfying level so that I could always come up with the element I need in that particular moment.”
As Alexander Zverev looks to take the confidence of his 16-match winning streak and Olympics victory over Djokovic into Friday’s semi-finals, he’ll also be mindful of their Australian Open meeting in February. After Djokovic dropped the first set, he fought back to win 7-6 in the fourth. That was the first of his nine victories coming from a set down this year at the majors.
Djokovic’s Record When Losing 1st Set At Majors
| Year | W-L |
| 2005 | 1-3 |
| 2006 | 2-4 |
| 2007 | 1-3 |
| 2008 | 4-3 |
| 2009 | 2-3 |
| 2010 | 3-3 |
| 2011 | 1-1 |
| 2012 | 4-3 |
| 2013 | 4-3 |
| 2014 | 1-1 |
| 2015 | 1-0 |
| 2016 | 2-1 |
| 2017 | 1-3 |
| 2018 | 2-2 |
| 2019 | 0-2 |
| 2020 | 2-1 |
| 2021 | 9-0 |
– With statistical assistance from Greg Sharko
British duo Joe Salisbury and Jamie Murray meet in the final of the men’s doubles at the US Open after winning their semi-finals.
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury won a final-set tie-break in their third-round match before saving four match points in a two-hour, 58-minute quarter-final marathon at the US Open. The American-British duo bounced back well on Thursday when they defeated Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach the final at Flushing Meadows.
“I don’t know if it frees us up, but certainly you feel match-tough,” Ram said. “You feel like you’re ready to handle whatever is going to come your way.”
The fourth seeds, who lifted the trophy in Toronto last month and emerged victorious at the 2020 Australian Open, did not face a break point and converted their only opportunity to triumph after one hour and 18 minutes.
“Obviously excited to come through,” Salisbury said. “We knew it was going to be a tough match. Very dangerous team. Both have got big games, so if they play well, then it can kind of take it out of your hands. Just happy how we stayed focussed on what we do well.”
Ram and Salisbury have made the semi-finals in five of the past seven majors. This will be their third Grand Slam championship match as a team.
“It helps a lot,” Ram said of their experience deep in majors. “We are feeling like in these positions we have been there before, and now it’s going to be our third final together. I think experience never hurts when you feel like you can draw on something that’s happened before.”
They will next play seventh seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, who battled past eighth seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. This is Soares’ first tournament since Wimbledon, as the Brazilian underwent surgery to remove his appendix upon arriving at the Tokyo Olympics.
Murray and Soares lifted major trophies together at the Australian Open and US Open in 2016. Soares was also victorious at Flushing Meadows last year alongside Mate Pavic.
This is the first time in the Open Era that two Britons will meet in a major men’s doubles final. Ram and Salisbury beat Murray and Soares in their only previous ATP Head2Head meeting earlier this year in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Did You Know?
Salisbury is trying to become the first man to win men’s doubles and mixed doubles titles in the same year at the US Open since 2010, when Bob Bryan accomplished the feat.