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Zverev Aiming To Carry Momentum Into US Open

  • Posted: Aug 28, 2021

Alexander Zverev is feeling confident ahead of the US Open as he arrives in New York on an 11-match winning streak.

The fourth seed captured the Tokyo Olympics gold medal in the beginning of August, before winning his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati last week. The German is hoping to carry his form into the final major of the year.

“It has been a pretty incredible month for me,” Zverev said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Obviously winning the gold medal is something that you don’t even dream about as a tennis player because it’s just so surreal in a way.

“It’s incredible. I mean, the feeling that gave me, and also the Cincinnati week has been pretty good. I feel well. I hope I continue this wave here in New York and we’ll see how it goes.”

Zverev enjoyed a run to the championship match at the US Open last year and came within two points of capturing his first major trophy, falling to Austrian Dominic Thiem in the fifth-set tie-break. The 17-time tour-level titlist believes that experience will give him further motivation at Flushing Meadows this year.

“I think in a way it fuelled gas into the fire a little bit because I was two points away from winning it,” Zverev said. “I practised on centre court now a few times. There are still memories there. I still remember it, and I still have that in the back of my mind.

“I’m very motivated. I’m very much looking forward to getting back on that court and starting to compete because I was not far away last year. I feel like I’m playing great tennis this year”

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will be targeting a record-breaking 21st major in the next fortnight at the US Open as he aims to become just the second male player in the Open Era alongside Rod Laver to complete the Grand Slam. His two closest rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are not competing in New York due to injuries.

Despite their absence, Zverev, who faces American Sam Querrey in the first round, thinks he along with other top five stars such as Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas can provide the fans with entertaining matches at Flushing Meadows.

“I think the Cincinnati tournament, other tournaments this year, showed the competition and the rivalry that we have with the younger guys,” Zverev added. “I think the Top five guys with Medvedev, Tsitsipas, myself, Rublev and Berrettini, we’re having great battles, we’re having very entertaining matches.

“I think a lot of tennis fans are also looking forward to those matchups. I think in the future this will be no different. I think in major finals and major semi-finals, those matchups will [happen] more often and [be] more common. I think it’s also exciting to watch that.”

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Arevalo/Middelkoop Capture Winston-Salem Trophy

  • Posted: Aug 28, 2021

Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop battled back to defeat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-7(5), 7-5, 10-6 Friday at the Winston-Salem Open to clinch their first title as a team this season.

Arevelo of El Salvador and Middelkoop of the Netherlands were competing in their maiden final of the year as a team, having reached semi-finals in Marbella in April and Rome in May. The unseeded pair won 84 per cent (46/55) of their first-serve points and saved both breaks point they faced to secure their victory in one hour and 53 minutes.

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“It is amazing, I am still processing the match,” Middelkoop said. “It is my 10th title, second title for Arevalo and first as a team. We struggled throughout the whole week, but managed to win the tournament, so it shows how we can bounce back. The future looks very bright.”

Arevelo and Middelkoop, who made their team debut in 2020 at the Rolex Paris Masters, saved three match points in their first-round match and one match point in their quarter-final victory en route to the trophy.

”We trusted each other since the first match,” Arevalo added. “We faced a lot of tough moments, match points down in the opening matches. We complement each other in the important moments. Sometimes Middelkoop is playing better, sometimes I am playing better. We are a tough team.”

It is the second final Middelkoop has competed in this year, after enjoying a run to the championship match in Kitzbühel with Roman Jebavy in July. Arevalo reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati last week with Italy’s Fabio Fognini.

Dodig and Krajicek were teaming for the first time this week. The Croatian-American tandem did not drop a set en route to the championship match, upsetting top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the semi-finals.

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Djokovic Seeks 'Guiding Star' To Grand Slam History

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2021

Novak Djokovic can make history over the coming fortnight at the US Open, where a title would give him a record-breaking 21 majors and the Grand Slam, having already won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year. The World No. 1 is not allowing the pressure of the opportunity to get to him, though. Instead, the 34-year-old is embracing it.

“Obviously I know how big of an opportunity is in front of me here in New York, where historically I’ve played really well over the years. It’s probably the most entertaining tennis court that we have. [The] crowd will be back [in the] stadium,” Djokovic said. “I can’t wait. Honestly I’m very motivated to play my best tennis. But I have to hit one ball at a time, try to be in the moment, have a guiding star in a way, a dream to win a Slam here, which would obviously complete the calendar Slam.

“I’m hugely inspired and motivated by that, no doubt. But at the same time, I know how to balance things out mentally, with lots of expectations around. My participation here, without Rafa and Roger participating, I feel it. I know there are a lot of people who are going to be watching my matches and expecting me to do well and fight for a Slam.”

Djokovic added that even without 20-time major winners Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer competing at Flushing Meadows, there will be plenty of tough challengers. Daniil Medvedev triumphed in Toronto, Alexander Zverev won the Tokyo Olympics and Cincinnati, and Stefanos Tsitsipas is second in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin.

“You still have tremendous quality tennis players that are right now on hot streaks, like Zverev, Medvedev [and] Tsitsipas. Those are the three top contenders I see for the title.
But a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam. It’s a two-week-long event, best-of-five [sets]. Everyone wants to do well at the Grand Slams. Anything can really happen,” Djokovic said. “Of course the top seeds are the top favourites to go far and go deep in the tournament, but I’ve been in this situation numerous times in my life.

“There is a slight difference in terms of what’s at stake and the feeling towards that, but I don’t give it too big of a significance on a daily basis because I’m trying to be in the present moment.”

Djokovic has not competed since the Tokyo Olympics. But the Serbian said that his preparation for the season’s final major has gone well.

“I feel good on the court. I took [a] little bit of additional time off after [the] Olympics. [I] have not played Cincinnati, which was previously planned, because I just felt exhausted in every sense after that long summer, which was very successful,” Djokovic said. “[At the] Olympics [I] unfortunately didn’t end up with a medal. It was a great experience of sharing the Village and the dining room with 10-plus-thousand athletes. It’s a very unique experience that you remember forever.

“You take a lot of positives out of it, putting aside the tennis performance, just in general. I think you can learn a lot, you speak life, you speak sports. I really value that experience a lot.”

Djokovic has great memories in New York, where he has lifted the US Open trophy three times and made the final on another five occasions. The Serbian owns a 75-12 record on the Flushing Meadows hard courts.

The top seed will play a qualifier in his opening match, and the highest-ranked player in his quarter of the draw is Italian Matteo Berrettini, whom he defeated in the Wimbledon final. More than anything, Djokovic is excited to get started as he attempts to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the Grand Slam.

“I’m very inspired to play my best tennis here. I don’t want to say it’s now or never for me because I think I’m going to have more opportunities in my life to win Slams. I don’t know if I’m going to be having more opportunities to win Calendar Slams,” Djokovic said. “That’s why it’s a very unique opportunity. At the same time, I don’t need to put any additional pressure to what I already have, which is pretty big from my own self and from of course people around me.

“But I thrive under pressure, as well. I’ve done that many times in my career. Pressure is a privilege, it truly is. This is what you work for day-in, day-out, all your life, to put yourself in a unique position to win Grand Slams and to make history. At the end of the day, I’m a big tennis fan, [a] fan of history. I admire this sport. I love it. I have this chance, and I’m going to try to use it.”

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Favourite Or Villain, Medvedev Just Happy To Have Fans Back At US Open

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2021

Second seed Daniil Medvedev is excited that fans will once again be in attendance at the US Open this year, having enjoyed an evolving relationship with them on his run to the 2019 final.

The Russian ‘energised’ fans at times two years ago in New York, crediting them with his success after matches in which they had cheered against the 25-year-old during his fiery run.

However, Medvedev’s battling performance against Rafael Nadal in the championship match, in which he rallied from two sets down to force a fifth set, won him admiration and support from the crowd, leaving people with a soft spot for the World No. 2 as it came full circle. With these memories in Medvedev’s head, he is eager to see the reaction he will get this year.

“[I’m] really happy that there is going to be full crowd capacity in New York,” Medvedev said in his pre-tournament press conference. “That’s just huge. That’s cool. Actually, it’s funny because I don’t know, it’s tough to say if it’s going to be the same people or [if] nobody remembers two years ago.

“I just hope, because it finished on a good note, it’s going to continue the same way. I love a New York crowd. It was an amazing experience in 2019 in every aspect. I’m just curious to see what it’s going to be like again on my first match. I’m going to try just the best I can to show a good level of tennis and by this way to make fans support me.”

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is aiming to overtake Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, all tied on 20 majors, by triumphing in New York to clinch a record-breaking 21st major title. With victory, the 34-year-old will also become just the second man in the Open Era alongside Rod Laver to complete a Grand Slam at the US Open.

Although Medvedev is full of respect for the Serbian, whom he fell to in the Australian Open final in February, he is determined to stop Djokovic from creating more history over the next fortnight.

“He [Djokovic] is just amazing,” Medvedev said. “I want to say I’m going to try my best to keep it at 20 for all of them. I’m sure Novak wants 45 slams, playing until he is 55. But we’re here to try to keep up his level and to beat him.

“We’re here to not let him win the US Open. If I talk just for myself, I want to win the US Open. I don’t care if it’s in the final against a qualifier or against Novak. I just want to win this tournament.”

Medvedev arrives in New York in strong form. He captured his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and also reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati. The Russian, who faces Richard Gasquet in the first round, is fully focused on maintaining this level at the US Open as he targets his first major title.

“Now I have two finals, [I] need to win, to make a better result at a Slam,” Medvedev said. “I was playing well in both Toronto and Cincinnati, quite similar conditions, hot, humid. I just want to continue [at] this level. When I play well, I know that I can cause trouble to my opponents. That’s the most important.”

To achieve success at Flushing Meadows, Medvedev is aiming to tactically out-think his opponents, comparing the sport to chess as he manoeuvres players around the court with his variety of shots.

“Since I was young, I was always hearing about other players, top players before, that tennis is similar to chess. So, when I’m on the court I never think about chess, but I’m thinking, which shot do I do next to make my opponent in trouble? That’s what you do in chess. You think about three shots in advance. I think that’s a little bit tougher in tennis because it goes so much faster.

“I think that’s a little bit tougher in tennis because, well, it goes so much faster. It’s not like your opponent made a shot and you are there for two minutes saying, ‘okay, where do I go next?’ But you do this in practice. You work with your coach. You play two cross-courts, one down the line, your opponents go cross, you try to hit it down the line, you go to the net, whatever. These things, they become automatic for you on the court.”

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#NextGenATP Alcaraz Eyes First Hard-Court Final In Winston-Salem

  • Posted: Aug 27, 2021

#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz reiterated his intentions to add a second ATP Tour title to his resume after he dismissed American Marcos Giron in straight sets in the Winston-Salem Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

The 18-year-old advanced to his third tour-level semi-final and first on hard courts with a 7-6(2), 6-2 victory over the No. 65 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The one-hour, 40-minute victory booked a showdown with Mikael Ymer, following the Swede’s 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3 trumph over 13th seed Frances Tiafoe.

Alcaraz is the last seed standin and makes no secret of his desire to clinch the title. After falling in his first tour-level semi-final in Marbella (l. to Munar), he went all the way in Umag.

“I thought that I’m able to win the tournament in the first round. I think I have the game, I’m playing really, really well,” Alcaraz said. “I’m feeling really comfortable on court.”

The Spaniard fell to Ymer in the pair’s only prior ATP Head2Head meeting in the second round of this year’s Australian Open. But the teenager felt he had grown as a player in the time since and favoured his chances against the 22-year-old.

“I’m really happy to make my first ATP semi-final on hard court, really excited to play,” Alcaraz said. “I played him once in Australia. He beat me… I think I’m ready and I’m hoping to be able to get the win.

“Everybody knows he’s a great player, really tough but I’m ready for this battle. I played him in Australia but I’m more ready than I was in Australia,” he added in his on-court interview.

Alcaraz won 73 per cent of first-serve points and 70 per cent on second serves against Giron. He broke just once from six chances.

Earlier, Ymer pulled off a come-from-behind victory to improve his ATP Head2Head record against Tiafoe to 2-1. Despite having the shots to hurt his opponent throughout, Tiafoe was unable to inflict any doubt on the Swede, who refused to be fazed.

The American lost the rhythm and patience he displayed in the opening set as increasingly overplayed in the final set. Ymer fended off five break points in the opening game of the third set alone.

“I feel good. It’s fun playing a tournament again after a couple of weeks off training in Stockholm,” Ymer said. “I think it was important today to stay composed. Frances is obviously very talented and can come up with great shots and good variety in his game. Staying composed and just waiting for an opening was a very important task today.”

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