Tennis
DOMINIC THIEM TO MEET ALEXANDER ZVEREV IN US OPEN FINAL
Dominic Thiem of Austria defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to reach the final of the US Open on Friday (Sept 11).
The second seed beat the third seed 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) in 2hr 56min inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a meeting with Alexander Zverev.
In the earlier semi-final, Zverev recovered from two sets down to defeat Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in a scrappy encounter. The German fifth seed beat the 20th seed 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in 3hr 23min.
It marked the first time in the 23-year-old Zverev’s career that he came from two sets down to win.
“I actually looked at the scoreboard when I was down two sets to love,” he said.
“I was like, ‘I can’t believe it. I’m playing in a semi-final, I’m supposed to be the favourite and I have no chance, I’m playing that bad.’
“So I knew I had to come up with better tennis and I knew that I had to be more stable.”
He made 36 unforced errors in the first two sets compared to just 12 for Carreno Busta as the nerves of the occasion seemed to get the better of him.
Double fault followed double fault and a string of misplaced, nervous forehands allowed Carreno Busta to build a sizable lead.
But Zverev began to seriously cut down on his mistakes in the third set, upping his service game and taking control of rallies with more powerful, accurate groundstrokes.
It continued to be a nerve-wracking, error-strewn affair, though, with both players appearing overwhelmed at times with coming so close to reaching their first Grand Slam final.
Zverev hit eight double faults overall to Carreno Busta’s one. Zverev recorded 57 unforced errors to 44 for Carreno Busta.
But the tall German smashed way more winners, 71 to 37.
“I’m through to my first Grand Slam final and that’s all that matters,” Zverev said. “I couldn’t be happier, but there’s still one more step to go for me.”
He had reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open this year. He now becomes the first German man to reach the final of a tennis Grand Slam since Rainer Schuttler at the 2003 Australian Open.
This year’s US Open field has been depleted by the absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The tournament was blown wide open by the disqualification of world No. 1 and heavy favourite Novak Djokovic in the last 16 for hitting a line judge with the ball.
It means Sunday’s final will see a first-time Grand Slam champion for the first time since Croatian Marin Cilic won at Flushing Meadows in 2014.
It also means there will be a Grand Slam champion other than Djokovic, Nadal or Federer for the first time since Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka won the third of his Slams at the US Open in 2016.
-AFP/Reuters
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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