Page 11 - Tennis

US Open 2024: Jessica Pegula sets final date with Aryna Sabalenka in final

Jessica Pegula shrugged off a sluggish start and came back from a set and a break down at the U.S. Open to defeat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 for a berth in her first Grand Slam final. The No. 6-seeded Pegula, a 30-year-old from New York, has won 15 of her past 16 matches and will meet No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka for the title on Saturday. Sabalenka, last year's runner-up to Coco Gauff at Flushing Meadows, returned to the championship match by holding off a late push to beat No. 13 Emma Navarro of the U.S. 6-3, 7-6 (2). Things did not look promising for Pegula early: Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up but unseeded after missing about 10 months because of wrist surgery, employed every ounce of her versatility and creativity, the traits that make her so hard to deal with on any surface. The slices. The touch at the net. The serve-and-volleying. Ten of the match's first 12 winners came off her racket. The first set lasted 28 minutes, and Muchova won 30 of its 44 points. Muchova gra

Jessica Pegula upsets No. 1 Iga Swiatek to reach first Grand Slam semifinal

The questions wouldn't stop for Jessica Pegula: Why was she 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals heading into her U.S. Open matchup against No. 1 Iga Swiatek? What could Pegula do to change that? Came up during her on-court interview after winning in the previous round. And again at the news conference that followed. And again during a brief TV interview right before striding onto the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night. If that all weighed on Pegula, the 30-year-old American hid it well, pulling off a big upset by easily beating Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 at Flushing Meadows and earning a debut trip to the semifinals at a major. There have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing, said Pegula, who has won 14 of her past 15 matches, all on hard courts. "I know everyone keeps asking me about it, but I was like, I don't know what else to do. I just need to get there again and, like, win the match.' So thank God I was able to do it. And finally finally! I can say, ...

US Open 2024: Tiafoe, Fritz, Pegula and Navarro advance to semifinals

To hear Frances Tiafoe tell it, Taylor Fritz predicted this sort of moment for the two of them. And for American men's tennis. It was during an early morning plane ride together a few years ago that the conversation turned to the future and possibilities, Tiafoe recounted after setting up a U.S. Open semifinal on Friday against Fritz, another 26-year-old American, that guarantees the United States will have a man in a Grand Slam title match for the first time since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. He's a pretty to-himself kind of dude, and he's, like, Bro, I think me and you are going to be the 1-2 Americans and leading the way.' ... I was, like, 'Dang, dude, (it's) 6 a.m., I'm pretty tired, but let's do it.' Why not? He's kind of had that mindset, and he's pushed me a lot, you know what I mean? Tiafoe, who is from Maryland, said about the chat with longtime pal Fritz, a Californian. Times I'm playing really bad, or whatever the case may be, and he's doing i

US Open 2024: Jessica Pegula pulls another upset, beats Iga Swiatek in Q/F

The questions wouldn't stop for Jessica Pegula: Why was she 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals heading into her U.S. Open matchup against No. 1 Iga Swiatek? What could Pegula do to change that? Came up during her on-court interview after winning in the previous round. And again at the news conference that followed. And again during a brief TV interview right before striding onto the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night. If that all weighed on Pegula, the 30-year-old American hid it well, pulling off a big upset by easily beating Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 at Flushing Meadows and earning a debut trip to the semifinals at a major. There have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing, said Pegula, who has won 14 of her past 15 matches, all on hard courts. "I know everyone keeps asking me about it, but I was like, 'I don't know what else to do. I just need to get there again and, like, win the match.' So thank God I was able to do it. And finally finally! I can say, ...

US Open 2024: World number 1 Jannik Sinner beats Daniil Medvedev in Q/F

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time by getting past 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday night. Sinner, who took over as the title favorite after Week 1 exits by Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, is the only man remaining in the field with a Grand Slam trophy. He won his first at the Australian Open in January by beating Medvedev in the final in five sets after dropping the first two. As reflected by the accurate-as-can-be score, this matchup was unusually topsy-turvy as they took turns dominating a set at a time. First, it was Sinner who was superior. Then that role was played Medvedev. Then Sinner regained the upper hand in the third. In the fourth, from 3-all, Sinner surged, saving a pair of break points, then breaking Medvedev to lead 5-3. Sinner a 23-year-old from Italy who was cleared in a doping case less than a week before the U.S. Open started after testing positive twice for trace amounts of an anabolic ..

US Open: Mixed-doubles pair of Bopanna and Sutjiadi enters semifinals

Veteran Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna and his Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi entered the semifinals of the US Open mixed doubles with a hard-fought win over Australian Matthew Ebden and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic here. The eighth seeded Indian-Indonesian pair registered a 7-6(4) 2-6 10-7 win over fourth seeds Ebden and Krejcikova in the quarterfinal that lasted one hour and 33 minutes on Monday night. Bopanna and Sutjiadi had earlier defeated Australian duo of John Pears and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 0-6 7-6(5) 10-7 in a second-round match. Bopanna and Sutjiadi will play American pair of Donald Young and Taylor Townsend in the semifinals. The 44-year-old Bopanna had already crashed out of the men's doubles competition after he and his partner Ebden, seeded second, lost 1-6 5-7 to the 16th seed Argentine combination of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the third round.

US Open: World No 1 Iga Swiatek to face Jessica Pegula in quarterfinals

Jessica Pegula is back in the quarterfinals at the US Open after a 6-4 6-2 victory over Diana Shnaider, her seventh trip to that round at a Grand Slam tournament. Now comes the hard part: Pegula is 0-6 in major quarterfinals over her career and this next one will come against No 1 Iga Swiatek. The No. 6-seeded Pegula, an American whose parents own the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres, is on quite a run at the moment, having won 13 of her past 14 matches, all on hard courts. That included her second consecutive title in Canada and an appearance in the final at the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to No 2 Aryna Sabalenka. "I feel like there's been more pressure this year, because I did so well coming into this tournament," said the 30-year-old Pegula, the oldest woman left in the field on Monday. "I want to keep working my way and hopefully bringing my best tennis for the later rounds this time." Swiatek was tied at 4-all with No 16 Liudmila Samsonova on Monday night bef

US Open: Top-seed Jannik Sinner to face Daniil Medvedev in quarterfinals

Top-seeded Jannik Sinner reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals by shaking off a slow start and coming through in the clutch at the end of tiebreakers that decided the first two sets, then pulling away to get past No. 14 Tommy Paul 7-6(3) 7-6(5) 6-1. Two weeks removed from being cleared in a doping case stemming from two positive tests in March, Sinner moved into a showdown against 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev, the only past winner at Flushing Meadows still in the men's field. Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, claimed his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January by defeating Medvedev in five sets in the final after dropping the first two. They also met in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in July, and Medvedev won that one. "It's going to be a lot of running," Sinner said, "so hopefully (I'll) be ready physically." Against Paul on Monday night, Sinner was not at his best at the outset, falling behind by a double-break at 4-1 after 20 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium. "That's

Tennis star Rafael Nadal believes Jannik Sinner's doping was unintentional

Rafael Nadal told a Spanish television show that he doesn't think Jannik Sinner intended to use a banned substance and that the current No 1-ranked man didn't receive preferential treatment when he was cleared of doping after testing positive twice in March for trace amounts of an anabolic steroid. "I trust that he wasn't punished because those who judged this case determined quite clearly that there was nothing to punish. ... I don't believe the sentence has anything to do with him being No 1 in the world," 22-time major champion Nadal said in an interview with "El Hormiguero" on Monday. Sinner played Tommy Paul in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday night. The International Tennis Integrity Agency said on August 20 that it was determined the banned performance-enhancer entered Sinner's system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, and that is why the player was not suspended. Asked about the matter in New York before the US Open began, Novak Djokovic sa

US Open 2024: Men's doubles champions from last three editions eliminated

Three-time defending US Open men's doubles champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were eliminated in the third round by the 13th-seeded American duo of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 7-6(3) 6-3. Ram, who is from the US, and Salisbury, who is from Britain, had won 20 consecutive matches together at Flushing Meadows. They were seeded third this year. A year ago, they became the first men to win three US Open doubles titles in a row since Americans Tom Bundy and Maurice McLoughlin from 1912-14. In the quarterfinals, Lammons and Withrow will face the 11th-seeded pair of Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic. Koolhof and Mektic were the last team to defeat Ram and Salisbury in New York, doing so in the semifinals in 2020.

US Open 2024: France's Tiafoe beats Alexei Popyrin to enter quarterfinals

Frances Tiafoe returned to the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the third straight year, beating Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3. The No. 20 seed will attempt to match the best Grand Slam result of his career when he faces No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday for a berth in the semifinals. Tiafoe lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in that round in 2022, and was eliminated last year in the quarterfinals by Ben Shelton. Tiafoe is the first American man to reach three consecutive U.S. Open quarterfinals since Andy Roddick from 2006-08. He turned the match late in the second set, when Popyrin was serving with a 5-3 lead and was a point away from evening it at one set apiece. Tiafoe won the next five points to break, and quickly took control of the tiebreaker by jumping to a 4-1 lead. Popyrin, the No. 28 seed from Australia, upset defending champion Novak Djokovic on Friday to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

US Open 2024: Chair umpire gives a wrong call after video replay confusion

The U.S. Tennis Association acknowledged that the wrong call was made on an illegal shot during a third-round U.S. Open match between Anna Kalinskaya and Beatriz Haddad Maia a night earlier because the chair umpire was not shown the relevant replay by the video review official. After the review was complete, an additional angle was seen on the broadcast, USTA spokesman Brendan McIntyre said. The chair did not see this footage prior to making the call." McIntyre said the tournament referee's office has reinforced to the people who send replays to officials during a match that all applicable angles should be passed along. The point in question happened 11 minutes into the match Saturday night at Louis Armstrong Stadium, with the 15th-seeded Kalinskaya leading 2-0, and the 22nd-seeded Haddad Maia serving at deuce. Kalinskaya, a Russian, hit a drop shot that Haddad Maia, a Brazilian, ran forward to try to reach. She hit the ball just at about the same time as it was landing on the cour

US Open 2024: Bhambri, Bopanna enter pre-quarters with respective partners

India's Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti advanced to the men's doubles third round of the US Open with a hard-fought win over 15th seeds Austin Krajicek and Jean-Julien Roger here. The Indo-French pair defeated the USA-Dutch team 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the second round that lasted two hours and five minutes on Friday. This is only the second time that Bhambri has reached the third round at a Grand Slam, having reached the same stage at the Australian Open back in 2014. Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden also moved to third round with a 6-2 6-4 win over Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena and Federico Coria from Argentina. Bopanna also won in the mixed doubles with Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi. Seeded eighth, they won 7-6 (7) 7-6 (5) against Germany's Tim Puetz and Dutch player Demi Schuurs in the opening round. However, another Indian in the fray, N Sriram Balaji and his Argentine partner Guido Andreozzi exited the US Open after losing to Michael Venus of New Zealand and Neal

US Open 2024: Coco Gauff beats Elina Svitolina to enter pre-quarterfinals

Coco Gauff was not aware that she'd lost five consecutive matches against opponents ranked in the top 50. She was not sure exactly how many points in a row she'd dropped 11, it turns out to give away the first set against Elina Svitolina in the U.S. Open's third round on Friday. Here, then, is what was entirely clear to Gauff at that moment: I needed a reset. So before the second set, the 20-year-old from Florida went to the bathroom, changed part of her outfit and splashed water on her face. Then Gauff went back on court and extended the defense of her first Grand Slam title by turning things around to beat the 27th-seeded Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Felt like a new person coming out, the third-seeded Gauff said. I just didn't want to leave the court with any regrets. Novak Djokovic, the other defending champion, was shocked in the third round with a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 loss to 28th-seeded Alexei Popyrin. Popyrin will face No. 20 seed France Tiafoe, who outlasted 13th-seeded Ben ...

US Open 2024: Who is Alexei Popyrin, the man who beat Novak Djokovic?

Popyrin defeated Djokovic in a four-set marathon on Saturday

US Open: Carlos Alcaraz knocked out in round 2, grand slam streak ends

Carlos Alcaraz's 15-match Grand Slam unbeaten run ended at the U.S. Open with a sloppy 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 loss to 74th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. Alcaraz won the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July to raise his career total to four major championships, including taking the title at Flushing Meadows in 2022, and was the pre-tournament favorite to leave with the trophy again. But he never found his footing against van de Zandschulp, a 28-year-old from the Netherlands. Alcaraz was way off, repeatedly missing the sorts of shots he usually makes routinely. After double-faulting to fall behind two sets to none a deficit he's never overcome the No. 3-seeded Alcaraz slung his equipment bag over this shoulder and trudged toward the locker room. Glancing in the direction of his coach, 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz pointed his right index finger at his temple, then wagged that finger, as if to say, I'm not thinking straight. He might have b

US Open 2024: Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden advances to round three

) India's Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden moved into the second round of the US Open men's doubles competition with a win over Netherland's Sander Arends and Robin Haase. Bopanna and Ebden sailed past their Dutch opponents 6-3, 7-5 in a 64-minute opening round contest on Thursday night. Last edition's runner up, the Indo-Australian pair has arrived to the final Grand Slam of the season on the back of three consecutive losses but the duo backed itself and got the job done. Bopanna and Ebden initially struggled, losing their serve in the third game. However, they quickly regained their composure, breaking their opponents' serve twice to win the next four games. In the second set, they faced a similar challenge, falling behind but managing to equalise the set at 5-5. They then broke their opponents' serve once more to clinch the match. The second seeds, who are the current Australian Open champions, will face the unseeded pair of Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena

US Open: Defending champion Coco Gauff admits cyberbullying still a problem

Caroline Garcia, a U.S. Open semifinalist two years ago, drew attention Wednesday to the ever-present problem of cyberbullying in tennis, particularly by people who bet on matches, after her first-round loss at the Grand Slam tournament. Other players echoed Garcia's lament, including defending champion Coco Gauff, who said: You could be having a good day, and then somebody will literally tell you, Oh, go kill yourself.' You're, like, OK, thanks.' Garcia, a 30-year-old from France who has been ranked as high as No. 4, was seeded 28th at Flushing Meadows but was eliminated by Renata Zaraza 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday. Zaraza is ranked 92nd and is making her U.S. Open debut. Maybe you can think that it doesn't hurt us. But it does. We are humans, Garcia wrote on social media. And sometimes, when we receive (these) messages, we are already emotionally destroyed after a tough loss. And they can be damaging. Many before me have raised the subject. And still, no progress has been made." Garcia .

Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova knocked out of US Open in 2nd round

Frances Tiafoe is getting the rematch he wants, a second shot at Ben Shelton at the U.S. Open. But there won't be a second straight Grand Slam title for Barbora Krejcikova. The Wimbledon champion was knocked out of the U.S. Open in the second round on Wednesday, defeated by Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-4, 7-5. The No. 8-seeded Krejcikova won her second Grand Slam singles title this summer, but then she didn't play any matches after the Paris Olympics. She acknowledged last week not knowing where her level of play was. Turns out, it wasn't good enough. I mean, winning Wimbledon is amazing. It's a great, great, great result, I'm very proud about it and how I was able to handle everything there, said Krejcikova, who hadn't played a tournament on hard courts since February. I think I was playing quite well, definitely better than in the first match. I think my game was improving, but it just wasn't enough. No woman has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year since Serena Williams

Carlos Alcaraz wins opening match at US Open, extends winning streak to 15

Carlos Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 15 straight Grand Slam matches with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Li Tu on Tuesday night in the first round of the U.S. Open. The No. 3 seed from Spain won the French Open and Wimbledon titles earlier this year, giving him four major championships. If he can add another U.S. Open title to the one he captured in 2022, Alcaraz would join Rod Laver (1969) and Rafael Nadal (2010) as the only men to capture those three Grand Slam titles in the same year during the Open era. Alcaraz played just one match since losing to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics, then cut short a practice session before the U.S. Open as a precaution after twisting his right ankle. But he seemed to move fine over the final two sets against the qualifier from Australia and moved on to a second-round matchup Thursday against Botic van de Zandschulp.