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Tag: US Open

  • Nick Kyrgios explains his decision to skip Australian Open

    Nick Kyrgios explains his decision to skip Australian Open

    Nick Kyrgios won’t be able to play in the Australian Open for the second year in a row because he is still recovering from his injuries.

    In January, the Australian player couldn’t participate in the first big tournament of the year because he had surgery on his knee. He had to rest for five months after that.

    He missed the French Open because of a foot injury and couldn’t play in Wimbledon and the US Open because of a wrist problem.

    The 28-year-old only played one game in 2023 and was not chosen to play in the main competition in January.

    Kyrgios said on his Only Fans page that he won’t play in Melbourne in the New Year because he’s still recovering from injuries.

    Kyrgios said he is sad that he can’t play in the 2024 Australian Open.

    Certainly, very sad. I have a lot of great memories there, and I just want to get back to playing really well. I just need some more time.

    I almost won a Grand Slam. I want to make sure my body has enough time to recover, so please be patient with me.

    Kyrgios will probably be on TV next month, even though he can’t play. He may have a job talking about the games.

    Even though I won’t be playing in the competition this year, I will still be there to talk about and explain the matches. I have some exciting plans, so please get excited.

    Kyrgios has signed up to Only Fans, where he will have a free account and plans to show a new side to his fans.

    “He said there will be tennis balls, tips, tricks, and behind-the-scenes stuff. They will also get to see different sides of me. ”

    “I will share my love for gaming, tattoos, and my personal side with my fans. They can join me on this journey. ”

    Kyrgios did really well at the Australian Open in 2015. He got to the quarter-final. He also won the men’s doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis in 2022.

    Before getting hurt this year, he made it to the 2022 Wimbledon final where he lost to Novak Djokovic. It was his best finish so far.

    The Australian Open starts on January 14 and the men’s final will be on January 28.

  • ATP Finals: Djokovic confident he will be the man to beat in 2023

    Novak Djokovic has no doubt in his own mind he is the best tennis player in the world, regardless of what the rankings say.

    After clinching a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title by downing Casper Ruud in Turin, Djokovic reflected on a turbulent 2022 season in which he was unable to play in two of the four grand slam events.

    His refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination meant Djokovic was denied permission to compete at the Australian Open and US Open, while the various tennis authorities’ reaction to the Ukraine crisis meant no ranking points were on offer at Wimbledon.

    Indeed, Djokovic successfully defended his title at the All England Club, but in doing so he lost all of his 2,000 points for being the 2021 champion.

    As such, he entered the ATP Finals as the world number eight, with his unbeaten run at the tournament seeing him collect 1,500 points and jump up to fifth on the ATP ranking list.

    Carlos Alcaraz is the number one for now, after a stellar season for the 19-year-old Spaniard in which the highlight was his US Open victory, but Djokovic will be the favourite with many for the Australian Open, with authorities expected to allow him to play next year.

    Asked if he was the world’s best player, Djokovic said: “I’m not. I’m fifth.”

    That came with a smile from the Serbian, who added: “This week I probably am [the best]. Overall the rankings are showing who had the best year, and Alcaraz is the number one in the world. Not much to say about that.

    “But in my mind I always see myself as the best player in the world, of course. I have that kind of mentality and that kind of approach. Regardless of who is across the net, regardless of what the surface is, regardless of what season it is, what number of the professional season in my career we’re facing, I mean, it’s always the same. The ambitions are as high as possible.

    “That kind of approach, I feel it brought me to where I am sitting here today as a 35-year-old, holding one of the biggest trophies in the sport.”

    The 21-time grand slam winner, one behind Rafael Nadal on the men’s all-time singles list, said the prospects for future success come down to his “love and passion” for tennis.

    “As long as that’s there I’ll do anything in my power to challenge the young guys for the biggest trophies,” Djokovic said.

    “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that what I hold in my mind is a huge hunger still to win trophies, make history of this sport, compete on the highest level all around the world, bring good emotions to sports fans, tennis fans.”

    Djokovic was greeted after the final by Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another sporting evergreen at the age of 41, albeit very much in his career twilight.

    The same cannot be said yet for Djokovic, who may have several seasons left at this high level.

    His coach, former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, watched on admiringly as Djokovic won 7-5 6-3 in Turin against Ruud on Sunday.

    According to Croatian Ivanisevic, the key to Djokovic’s success in his mid-thirties is his relentless work rate.

    “He’s practising even harder than when he was 22,” said Ivanisevic. “That’s why he’s still so good and that’s why he’s still going to be even better.

    “The will to practise, the will to improve, the will to be better is amazing. He’s taking care of his body. In my time we stopped tennis at 30, 31. You were already an old guy ready to leave.

    “They all talk about, yes, young players are coming. It’s great for tennis. You have the youngest number one in the world who made unbelievable things this year, Carlos. But look at Novak. He’s still hungry, he’s still winning the tournament, playing unbelievable tennis. He’s still already thinking now about preparation for next season.

    “Till he’s like that, in his mind he’s going to be always competitive, favourite to win majors and the big tournaments.”

    Source: Livescore

     

     

  • Serena hints chances of tennis return are ‘very high’

    Serena Williams says the chances of her returning to the tennis court are “very high”.

    Recently, she declared her intention to step away from tennis before the US Open last month.

    Though she deliberately avoided saying she would retire prior to the tournament, instead saying she planned to “evolve” away from the sport, many believed Williams’ third-round exit at Flushing Meadows last month was the last time she would be seen playing competitive tennis.

    Her defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic was met with the kind of fanfare that suggested she was calling it a day on an illustrious career that included 23 grand slam titles, the second most in history behind Margaret Court.

    But Williams implied she could yet step on the court again when speaking at a TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco on Wednesday.

    In quotes collected by the San Francisco Standard, Williams said: “I am not retired.

    “The chances [of me returning] are very high. You can come to my house and [see] I have a court.”


    Source: Livescore

  • Swiatek storms home to lift eighth WTA title of the year with victory over Vekic

    World number one Iga Swiatek claimed her eighth WTA Tour title of the season, storming home to claim a three-set victory over Donna Vekic in the San Diego Open final on Sunday.

    Swiatek improved her record in the United States to 24-1 this season with the victory in one hour and 47 minutes, getting past the Croatian qualifier 6-3 3-6 6-0.

    The Pole previously won the US Open, along with the Indian Wells and Miami titles this season.

    Top seed Swiatek secured her 64th win of the season, which is the most since Serena Williams won 78 in 2013.

    Vekic ensured it was not easy for Swiatek, continuing her excellent week – knocking out Maria Sakkari, Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka and Danielle Collins – with a strong second set.

    The Croatian actually had to complete her semi-final earlier on Sunday after a rain-interrupted encounter with Collins, winning 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-2) after resuming 4-2 down in the third set, before taking on Swiatek.

    Swiatek’s dominance was felt, winning 82 per cent of her second-serve points, ruthlessly converting four of six break points as well.

    Vekic only generated one break point for the match but she took it, keeping the match alive in the second set where she was more aggressive.

    The 2022 US Open and French Open champion responded emphatically in the final frame, capitalising on three of four break points and winning 24 of the 29 points for the set to triumph.


    Source: Livescore

     

  • Gauff beats Montgomery in battle of American teenagers

    Coco Gauff won the battle of the American teenagers as she progressed into the San Diego Open second round with a 6-3 6-3 over Robin Montgomery on Wednesday.

    The 2022 French Open finalist beat fellow 18-year-old Montgomery in a rain-affected match in one hour and 23 minutes to clinch a last-16 clash with Bianca Andreescu.

    The match marked Gauff’s first game on tour since losing to Caroline Garcia in the US Open quarter-finals last month, although she had to endure an overnight rain delay, resuming on Wednesday up 6-3 3-2.

    Gauff only needed 20 minutes on Wednesday to close out the victory, finishing the match with 3-0 aces, winning 76 per cent on her first serve and converting four of seven break points.

    Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic continued her strong run with a 6-3 6-2 win over 2022 US Open quarter-finalist Karolina Pliskova. Vekic moved into the third round, having beaten Maria Sakkari in the first round too.

    Fourth seed Jessica Pegula eased her way into the third round with a 6-3 6-1 victory over wild card Coco Vandeweghe in only 69 minutes. Pegula can secure her first WTA Finals qualification this week.

    Danielle Collins was another American victor, triumphing 6-2 6-4 over Italy’s Martina Trevisan in one hour and 27 minutes, reaching her third quarter-final of the year.

    Source: Livescore

     

  • Korea Open: Emma Raducanu beats Moyuka Uchijima in first round in Seoul

    Britain’s Emma Raducanu overcame a late wobble to beat Japan‘s Moyuka Uchijima in the first round of the Korea Open in Seoul.

    Raducanu, 19, double-faulted on match point when holding a 5-0 lead in the second set before winning 6-2 6-4.

    Raducanu had been 10th in the world rankings in August but has dropped to 77th after losing in the US Open first round earlier this month.

    Uchijima, 21, who has never played a Grand Slam match and is 126th in the rankings, won four games in a row in the second set to peg Raducanu back to 5-4 before the Briton served out the victory after one hour 18 minutes.

    Wickmayer, 32, is a former world number 12 but is now 460th in the world rankings. She returned from maternity leave earlier this year after giving birth to her first child, Luana, in April 2021.

    Source: BBC

     

  • Swiatek wins US Open for second major title of 2022

    World number one Iga Swiatek capped a dominant season by beating Tunisian fifth seed Ons Jabeur at the US Open to win her second major title of 2022.

    Poland’s Swiatek, 21, won 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to secure the season’s final Grand Slam trophy on the New York hard courts.

    After a one-sided first set, 28-year-old Jabeur settled midway through the second but it was not enough to stop Swiatek clinching a third major title.

    Swiatek’s previous two wins both came on the clay at the French Open.

    Jabeur also lost in the Wimbledon final in July and her wait for one of the sport’s four most prestigious titles continues.

    The Flushing Meadows final was a meeting between the two leading players on the WTA Tour this year, but Swiatek demonstrated why there is such a big gap between her and the rest with a largely dominant performance.

    Swiatek remains the world number one, and would have done even if she had lost, with Jabeur moving up to a joint career-high ranking of second after reaching the final.

    Swiatek shows quality and resilience to underline dominance

    Following the retirement of Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty in March, Swiatek has seized her opportunity to take over as the tour’s dominant player.

    Earlier this year, she put together a 37-match winning streak that enabled her to claim six titles in a row – including the French Open at Roland Garros.

    After going through an understandable dip which resulted in the streak ending in the Wimbledon fourth round, Swiatek has slowly reasserted her authority in New York.

    Her best performance was saved for the final.

    “I wasn’t expecting a lot. Before this tournament it was such a challenging time,” said Swiatek, who admitted her dislike for the lighter balls used by the women at the US Open.

    Swiatek had won her nine previous finals without dropping a set – also including her maiden major win at the 2020 French Open – and set the platform for another victory with a confident start.

    But she also needed to show resilience at times in the second set.

    After being unable to convert either of two break points for a 4-0 lead, Swiatek suddenly found herself level at 4-4 and saved three break points to prevent Jabeur going 5-4 ahead.

    Scoreboard pressure started to tell on Jabeur in the 12th game, with the Tunisian falling 30-0 behind and handing over a first championship point with a loose forehand.

    Swiatek changed her racquet before sending a backhand long to miss the chance but she regained composure in the tie-break and sealed victory on her second championship point when Jabeur hit a forehand long.

    The pair shared a warm embrace in the middle of the court before Swiatek, who is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to win seven titles in a season, celebrated in front of her team.

    Jabeur ‘working hard’ to land first major

    By contrast, Jabeur looked emotional as she sat with her head in her hands as she processed a second successive defeat in a Grand Slam final.

    Going into the match, Jabeur said she felt she had learned lessons from July’s defeat at Wimbledon to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.

    There, she made a fast start before fading. Here, she paid the price for a slow start.

    Jabeur only landed 48% of her first serves in the first set and Swiatek – who has won more returning games than anyone else this year – pounced with relentless returning to clinch the opener after just 30 minutes.

    While Jabeur’s serving improved in the second set, the number of unforced errors mounted and she was unable to fully capitalise on Swiatek’s slight dip.

    “Iga didn’t make it easy for me. She deserved to win,” said Jabeur, who was the first African woman to reach US Open final in the Open era.

    “Winning or losing is part of tennis. I struggled to win my first WTA title. It took me time. So I believe this [winning a major] will take me time.

    “The most important thing is accepting it, learning from the finals that I lost.

    “Definitely I’m not someone that going to give up. I am sure I’m going to be in the final again. I will try my best to win it.”

    Source: BBC

  • Ons Jabeur, Iga Swiatek into US Open women’s final in New York

    Iga Swiatek will compete against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to retain her title as world number one for the US Open women’s singles title.

    Both athletes won their semi-finals on Thursday.

    Fifth seed Jabeur, 28, reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals by winning 6-1 6-3 against France’s Caroline Garcia.

    Poland’s two-time major winner Swiatek, 21, moved into her first US Open final with a 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory over Belarusian sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka.

    The final takes place in New York on Saturday (21:00 BST).

    Jabeur needed little more than an hour to beat 17th seed Garcia in the first semi-final and is now aiming for her first major title after losing July’s Wimbledon final to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.

    Top seed Swiatek, who has won both of her two Grand Slam titles on the French Open clay, fought back from 4-2 down in the deciding set to beat Sabalenka in the second semi-final.

    The final will be a match-up between the two most dominant players on the WTA Tour this year.

    Before the first of Thursday’s semi-finals there was a moment’s silence held on Arthur Ashe Stadium in memory of Queen Elizabeth II, who has died aged 96.

  • US Open: Tiafoe, Alcaraz, Casper Ruud & Khachanov aiming for final

    Frances Tiafoe will play Carlos Alcaraz in the last four in New York to reach the US Open final.

    If he does win, he will become the first American man to achieve such feat since 2006.

    Casper Ruud, of Norway, plays Russian Karen Khachanov in Friday’s first semi-final at Flushing Meadows (20:00 BST).

    A first-time Grand Slam champion is guaranteed in the men’s singles.

    It is also the first time there have been four new men’s semi-finalists at the US Open since the inaugural tournament in 1881.

    Spain’s Alcaraz, 19, and 23-year-old Ruud have a chance of becoming the world number one if they reach the final.

    Alcaraz faces Tiafoe on Arthur Ashe Stadium at 00:00 BST.

  • US Open: Aryna Sabalenka beats Karolina Pliskova to reach semi-finals

    Aryna Sabalenka reached the US Open semi-finals for the second consecutive year with a straight-set win over Karolina Pliskova in New York.

    Belarusian sixth seed Sabalenka produced a clinical display to beat the Czech 22nd seed 6-1 7-6 (7-4).

    It is Pliskova’s fourth quarter-final exit at Flushing Meadows since reaching the 2016 final.

    Sabalenka, 24, will face world number one Iga Swiatek or eighth seed Jessica Pegula for a place in Saturday’s final.

    Widely expected to be a blockbuster encounter between two big hitters, Sabalenka ultimately proved too strong for the former world number one as she kept alive her hopes of clinching a maiden Grand Slam singles title.

    Sabalenka got off to the ideal start, twice breaking Pliskova’s serve as she raced into a 4-0 lead before wrapping up the first set in just 28 minutes.

    While 30-year-old Pliskova improved in the second set to force a tie-break, Sabalenka refused to relent and secured her place in the last four after firing seven aces and 30 winners without facing a break point. 

    “I expected a great level with long rallies. I wanted to stay in the match and make her work,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.

    Sabalenka, searching for her first appearance in a Grand Slam singles final, will have the chance to avenge last year’s semi-final loss to Leylah Fernandez.

    However, the defeat ends a disappointing year in the majors for Pliskova, who suffered second-round exits at the French Open and Wimbledon after missing the Australian Open because of injury.

    Source: BBC

  • In pictures: Serena Williams’ final act

    Serena Williams is reminding the world why she just may be the greatest women’s tennis player of all time.

    The 40-year-old legend upset No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday, winning 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2.

    Williams, who has said she will “evolve away” from the sport after the tournament, turned in a vintage performance two days after she defeated Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 in her opening match.

    Over her career, Williams has won 23 grand slam singles titles, which is the most in the Open era and one behind the all-time record held by Margaret Court. She has also won four Olympic gold medals and over $94.5 million in prize money.

    She and her older sister, Venus, transformed the sport when they became professionals as teenage phenoms. They’ve teamed up for many grand slam doubles titles and will play together at this year’s Open. Their first match is on Thursday.

    Williams takes pictures with fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium after her win on Wednesday

    Williams returns a shot during Wednesday’s match

    Fans cheer on Williams on Wednesday

    Williams reaches for a shot

    Williams reacts after winning the first set tiebreaker

    Source; CNN sports

  • Tiger Woods to miss US Open to give himself time to ‘get stronger’

    Tiger Woods has confirmed he will not play at next week’s US Open, but still plans to compete at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews next month.

    It follows the 15-time major winner’s withdrawal from the US PGA Championship in May after three rounds.

    “I will not be competing in the US Open as my body needs more time to get stronger for major championship golf,” Woods, 46, said on Twitter.

    However, the event will include players from the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

    The US Open begins on 16 June in Brookline, Massachusetts.

    Woods added: “I do hope and plan to be ready to play in Ireland at the JP McManus Pro-Am and at The Open next month. I’m excited to get back out there soon.”

    The veteran American returned to competition at the Masters in April, 14 months after a serious car crash, from which he had to be “extricated from the wreck” by firefighters and paramedics.

    The severity of Woods’ injuries saw him embark on a long road to recovery and initially raised questions over whether he would even be able to compete again at the highest level.

    He played his third worst round in a major at the US PGA Championship last month, with a nine-over 79, that left him joint last on 12 over.

    He also made five consecutive bogeys for the first time in a major since turning professional in 1996.

    On Monday, Woods’ great rival Phil Mickelson was added to the field for the first event in the Greg Norman-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series, which takes place in Hertfordshire and starts on Thursday.

    In an interview with the Washington Post, Norman said Woods had been offered a “mind-blowingly enormous” deal to take part in the series.

    USGA allows LIV players to compete

    Players taking part in the LIV Golf Invitational will be allowed to take part in the US Open, the United States Golf Association (USGA) has ruled.

    There had been questions over the issue, as the PGA Tour has threatened sanctions and bans against players signing up for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.

    However, the majors are not run by the PGA Tour, with the US Open being staged by the USGA.

    The USGA said its qualification criteria was set prior to entries opening earlier this year and that it would not be appropriate or fair for those who have earned a spot to change those rules.

    It said: “Regarding players who may choose to play in London [at the LIV event] this week, we simply asked ourselves this question – should a player who had earned his way into the 2022 US Open, via our published field criteria, be pulled out of the field as a result of his decision to play in another event?

    “And we ultimately decided that they should not.”

    Source: BBC