Explore Business Standard
Tennis
Jannik Sinner got broken for the first time in Week 1 of the U.S. Open. Dropped the opening set, even. Fell way behind in the third set, too. I'm not a machine, you know, he said with the hint of a smile Saturday. I also struggle, sometimes. Hmmm. Sure, Jannik, maybe so. Still, Sinner is the No. 1-ranked player in men's tennis and has won the past three Grand Slam tournaments played on hard courts, so no one was surprised when he set aside some lapses and emerged to beat No. 27 Denis Shapovalov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 Saturday to take his title defense at Flushing Meadows to the fourth round. That I have pressure and tension is normal. I've had that for a year, and you need to handle it, the Italian said. Either you handle it or you don't. ... It's better to have to deal with that than not. On Monday, Sinner will face No. 23 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for a place in the quarterfinals. Bublik beat No. 14 Tommy Paul of the United States 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in a 3 ...
It's a given that much of the coverage and attention devoted to Venus Williams' return to the U.S. Open, where play begins Sunday, has focused and will focus on how old she is. The American is, after all, 45, an age at which no one has competed in singles in New York since 1981. That, in and of itself, is noteworthy. And yet there is plenty more that is significant about her first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament in two full years, regardless of how Williams plays in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night when meets Karolina Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up and a two-time semifinalist in New York. All of this is happening shortly after Williams made it back to the tour at all, 16 months after playing an official match anywhere and less than a year after she had surgery for uterine fibroids. Venus Williams is at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in 2 years. It's just really, I would say, inspiring, said Naomi Osaka, 27, a four-time Grand Slam champion. My only th
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will face potential difficult American opponents when they begin their quest for another U.S. Open title. Venus Williams, meanwhile, returns to the event at age 45 against No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova, a past French Open finalist who has reached the semifinals in New York the past two years. That was one of the early highlight matches after the draws were conducted Thursday for the men's and women's singles tournaments. Those begin Sunday, a day earlier than in the past, and a pair of recent U.S. Open champions could be tested early. Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, starts against Reilly Opelka. Opelka, a former top-20 player before injuries, is 6-foot-11 with a powerful serve that he rode to the fourth round in New York in 2021. Alcaraz won his lone U.S. Open title the following year and has gone on to add four more Grand Slam titles. Djokovic owns a men's record 24 of them, including four at the U.S. Open. Seeded seventh, he will face Learner Tien, a .