Tennis
Ruud into US Open final and brink of world top ranking
Casper Ruud reached the US Open final and closed in on the world number one ranking with a four-set victory over Karen Khachanov on Friday.
Ruud defeated the Russian 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in his semi-final and will face either Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz or Frances Tiafoe of the United States in Sunday’s championship match.
It will be world number seven Ruud’s second Grand Slam final of the season after finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal at the French Open in June.
Should Alcaraz lose his semi-final later Friday, the 23-year-old from Norway will become the new world number one next week.
“This match today was another great match from my side. I think we were both a bit nervous in the beginning, some breaks back and forth,” said Ruud who had never got past the third round in New York before this year.
“You have to take into account that this match was probably the biggest match for both of our careers and of course there will always be some nerves.”
Ruud and Khachanov, who knocked out Nick Kyrgios in a five-set quarter-final, exchanged a double break each in a scrappy opening set.
However, it ended with a lung-busting flourish when Ruud came out on top in a 55-shot rally to convert a third set point in the tiebreak.
The Norwegian raced to a double break in the third and fifth games of the second set, wrapping it up in just 33 minutes when Khachanov fired a forehand long.
Olympic silver medallist Khachanov hit back, moving to two set points in the 12th game of the third set, cutting the match deficit when Ruud buried a lazy forehand in the net.
It was a brief setback, however, for Ruud who broke in the fourth set to lead 2-1, thanks to a pinpoint forehand pass, and backed it up with another break for 4-1.
‘Humble enough’
The Norwegian moved to three match points and sealed victory courtesy of a sweetly-timed drop shot with Khachanov rooted at the back of the court.
“After Roland Garros, I was extremely happy but at the same time humble enough to think that could be my only final in a Grand Slam in my career,” said Ruud.
“They don’t come easy. So here I am a couple of months later – it feels beyond words to describe.”
-Straitstimes
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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