Tennis
DJOKOVIC, WORLD NO. 1 TO PLAY AT U.S. OPEN
Novak Djokovic confirmed on Thursday (Aug 13) he will play at the US Open, ending speculation about his presence at the first Grand Slam tournament since the coronavirus restart.
“I’m happy to confirm that I’ll participate at #CincyTennis and #USOpen this year,” Djokovic tweeted.
“It was not an easy decision to make with all the obstacles and challenges on many sides, but the prospect of competing again makes me really excited,” the 17-time Grand Slam winner added.
The US Open is due to get underway behind closed doors in New York on August 31.
It is preceded by the Western and Southern Open, which is normally played in Cincinnati but has been moved to New York this year.
The 33-year-old’s decision to take part is a major boost for the US Open after a host of headline names pulled out.
The list of absentees includes four-time champion, Rafael Nadal and woman’s world No. 1, Ashleigh Barty and her fellow Australian, Nick Kyrgios.
Djokovic makes his competitive return after being heavily criticised for hosting a charity tennis event in the Balkans in June at which he and a raft of players tested positive for Covid-19.
Kyrgios was among those to serve up verbal volleys, describing Djokovic’s decision to put on the ill-fated Adria Tour as “boneheaded”.
Djokovic, president of the ATP Player Council, said he was “deeply sorry” and admitted he and the event’s organisers had been “wrong”.
His confirmation that he will appear at the US Open came after he initially expressed scepticism that the tournament will go ahead, describing limits on players’ entourages at the tournament as “extreme” and “impossible”.
In a statement on his website on Friday he wrote: “I am aware that this time around it will be very different with all the protocols and safety measures that are put in place to protect players and people of NY.
“Nevertheless, I have trained hard with my team and got my body in shape so I am ready to adapt to new conditions.”
He said he had completed “all the check-ups” and was fully recovered from coronavirus and was “ready to get back on court fully committed to playing my best tennis”.
The winner of a record eighth Australian Open before the season went into lockdown said he respected and appreciated the “time, effort, and energy” taken to put on the two events.
–AFP
Argentina’s 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti proved tennis dreams do not come with an expiration date when he became the oldest first-time tour-level finalist in the Open Era after beating the top seed at the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-finals in Marrakech on Saturday.
Trungelliti, who came through the tournament’s qualifiers, upset Italy’s defending champion Luciano Darderi 6-4 7-6(2) to break the previous record held by Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic, who reached his first final aged 34 years in 2015.
Darderi, ranked 19 in the world, was only six-years-old when Trungelliti turned pro in 2008. With the victory, Trungelliti secured just his second career top-20 win.
“Of course, I believed it, that’s one of the reasons that I’m here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible,” Trungelliti said in the on-court interview.
“I’ve worked a lot, me and my team and also my wife, my kid. We all believed in breaking the record basically and that’s exactly what we have done now.”
The milestone caps a remarkable journey for Trungelliti, who made his first ATP Tour semi-final in 2018 in Umag, Croatia – 402 weeks ago.
Having entered the tournament ranked 117 in the world, Trungelliti’s breakthrough week has already guaranteed he will crack the top 100 for the first time. He is currently ranked number 75 in the live rankings.
“It’s been happening the whole week, leaving the court with a victory,” added Trungelliti, who has dropped only one set at the tournament. “So hopefully (there) is one more to go.”
He will face Rafael Jodar on Sunday after the Spaniard prevented an all-Argentine final with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has been listed as eligible to return to tennis by the sport’s drug-testing body (ITIA) as of February 22, though it remains unclear whether the 23-time Grand Slam champion will make a stunning comeback to the women’s tour.
The 44-year-old raised eyebrows late last year after rejoining the tennis anti-doping testing pool, though she denied at the time the move signalled she was preparing to return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
She reignited speculation last month when she deflected questions about a possible return during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show.
The Women’s Tennis Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has re-entered the tennis anti-doping testing pool but the 23-times Grand Slam champion denied on Tuesday that the move had anything to do with her making a return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed to Reuters that Williams, who has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open, was among the list of players in its testing pool, which requires individuals to provide their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing
But as the story of 44-year-old Williams’ inclusion on the list, first reported earlier on Tuesday by The Athletic, gained traction and sparked talk about her potential return, the tennis great took to social media to deny a comeback was in her plans.
“Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy,” Williams wrote on X.
Her agent did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters asking why the player had re-entered the testing pool.
Williams’ name appears on the ITIA website’s list of retired players and would be able to return to a sanctioned event after making herself available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months.
Last week former world number one Williams posted a series of photos on Instagram showing herself on a tennis court with her youngest daughter, Adira River, whom she gave birth to in August 2023.
In August 2022, ahead of her final U.S. Open, Williams announced in a Vogue article that she was “evolving away from tennis.”
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, had been chasing an elusive 24th crown that would have drawn her level with Australian Margaret Court, who holds the record.
The American came tantalisingly close to achieving that feat, featuring in four major finals since giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017.
-Reuters
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