Djokovic romps past Ito into Aussie Open round three

MELBOURNE – Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic weathered a testing second set and breezy conditions to crush Japanese wildcard Tatsuma Ito and reach the Australian Open third round Wednesday.

The Serbian star gave up just seven games against the world number 146 in the 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 romp on Rod Laver Arena which lasted 95 minutes.

"Credit to him for fighting till the end, the second set was pretty close," said the reigning title-holder.

"They were tough conditions, pretty windy and it was hard to know where the balls were going. My serve helped a lot to get me out of trouble."

His reward is a clash against another Japanese, Yoshihito Nishioka, who beat Britain's Dan Evans in three sets.


It was Djokovic's 70th match win at Melbourne Park to only eight defeats, but one of those defeats was against a wildcard — Denis Istomin — in the second round three years ago.

With that in mind, he came out with all guns blazing, racing through the first set in just 22 minutes.

The 32-year-old dropped a set in a tough opening clash on Monday against German Jan-Lennard Struff, and against the odds Ito pressed hard to level the match in the second set.

The experienced Japanese, bidding to reach a Grand Slam third round for the first time, cut down on his error rate to push Djokovic around the court and get into the rallies.

But the Serb inevitably got the break he was chasing in game nine when Ito fluffed a forehand and he quickly served it out, blasting down an ace to go two sets ahead.

Djokovic, bidding for a 17th Grand Slam title, had never lost a Slam match to a player ranked as low as Ito and the Japanese couldn't sustain his level, leaking errors as the world number two galloped to the finish line.

Djokovic is seeking to become only the third man to win eight or more titles at the same Grand Slam after Rafael Nadal (12 at Roland Garros) and Roger Federer (eight at Wimbledon).

He is now on an eight-match win streak after leading Serbia to the ATP Cup title in Sydney ahead of the first Major of the year.

source: philstar.com

Nadal out of Shanghai Masters with wrist injury

SHANGHAI – Rafael Nadal pulled out of next week's Shanghai Masters on Friday saying he had failed to recover from a wrist injury.

Spain's world number two also withdrew from last month's Laver Cup.

It is the second year in a row that the 19-time Grand Slam champion will have failed to appear in Shanghai.

"As you all probably know, I had an inflammation on my left wrist during the Laver Cup and I haven't had the time to recover and practice to be ready for this amazing event," the 33-year-old said in a statement.

"I hope to be back in Shanghai for the 2020 tournament."

Tournament director Michael Luevano said: "We will obviously miss not having Rafa here at the Shanghai Masters. He has been an incredible supporter of the tournament and of tennis in China.

"Also, on a personal note, as well as speaking for the entire family at the Shanghai Masters, we wish Rafa and his fiance Maria Francisca all the very best for their upcoming wedding."

Reigning US Open champion Nadal is set to tie the knot on October 19.

source: philstar.com

Dimitrov stuns Federer to reach US Open semifinals

NEW YORK – Grigor Dimitrov rallied for a shocking upset of 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer at the US Open on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time), the lowest-ranked New York semifinalist in 28 years advancing to face Daniil Medvedev.

The 78th-ranked Bulgarian, who had dropped all seven prior meetings with Federer, made a dramatic fightback to defeat the Swiss third seed 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium and will face Russian fifth seed Medvedev in Friday's semis.

"I'm just happy," Dimitrov said. "The only thing I was telling myself was to stay in the match. Physically I was feeling pretty good. I was hitting some shots against him that were hard to hit."


Dimitrov reached his first US Open semifinal to match the deepest Slam runs of his career from Wimbledon in 2014 and the 2017 Australian Open.

Not since 174th-ranked Jimmy Connors reached the 1991 quarterfinals had New York seen so lowly a figure on the ATP ratings list reach the last four.


Dimitrov is also the lowest-ranked Slam semifinalist since 94th-rated Rainer Schuettler of Germany at Wimbledon in 2008.

Federer was denied on five break points in the 10th game of the fourth set and Dimitrov held to force a fifth set.

"I was trying to stay in that game and make him stay on the court as much as possible. After that he started slowing down a little bit," Dimitrov said.


"It's a best of five sets. Anything can happen."

Federer went off the court for a private medical timeout to treat his upper back near his neck.

"This is Grigor's moment, not my body's moment," Federer said.

Dimitrov broke Federer twice on the way to a 4-0 lead in the final set and the 38-year-old Swiss star had no effective reply, foiled by 61 unforced errors in falling after three hours and 12 minutes.

"It's OK. It's how it goes," Federer said. "I tried my best. I fought with what I had and that's it."

Federer, a five-time US Open champion who hasn't lifted the Flushing Meadows title since 2008, would have become the oldest Slam semifinalist since Jimmy Connors at age 39 at the 1991 US Open.

source: philstar.com

Nadal reigns in clash of former US Open champs as Zverev exits

NEW YORK – Rafael Nadal ramped up his quest for a fourth US Open title Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) with an impressive win over 2014 champion Marin Cilic to advance to the quarterfinals while Alexander Zverev slumped to a four-set defeat.

Second seed Nadal — the winner at Flushing Meadows in 2010, 2013 and 2017 — produced some electrifying moments of brilliance to end the challenge of Croatia's Marin Cilic 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

After barely breaking a sweat in reaching the last 16, a run that included a second-round walkover, Nadal stared down his stiffest test so far to surge into a quarterfinal meeting with Argentine 20th seed Diego Schwartzman.


The Spaniard exchanged the first two sets with Cilic but grasped control by breaking for 3-1 in the third, a series of dazzling winners drawing an animated fist-pump from golf legend Tiger Woods at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Nadal reeled off nine games in succession across the third and fourth sets and 12 of the final 15 to nail down a 40th Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance, nine of which have come at the US Open.

"The emotions I have when I play here are impossible to describe. I love the sport and feel very lucky to still be playing tennis here. Eight years ago I didn't think that would happen as my body was suffering badly," Nadal said.

"It's a huge honor playing in front of all of you and playing in front of Tiger is a very special thing. I always say I don't have big idols but one idol is him and I always try to follow him."

Nadal's path to the final sees him take on Schwartzman next after the 5ft 7in (1.70m) Argentine chopped down sixth seed Zverev.


"He is playing amazing, nothing new, he's one of the players with best talent on tour," the 18-time Grand Slam champion said of his upcoming opponent.

"It will be a big challenge. I have to play my best. I'm happy for him. He's a close friend and I hope to play a great match."

Berrettini, Monfils win

Zverev rolled through the opening set against Schwartzman under the roof on Ashe during a rainy afternoon session, but he lost his way to go down 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.

The German was enjoying his deepest run in New York but committed 17 double faults and 65 unforced errors and received a point penalty for swearing as Schwartzman advanced to a second US Open quarter-final in three years.

"Generally my season so far has not been the best," said Zverev, who has reached just two quarterfinals in 18 Grand Slam appearances.

Zverev said he was hindered a "very swollen" back and right hip following a fall in his previous match.

"I had a lot of chances which I didn't use early in the match. He kind of ran away with it."

Zverev lost his serve three times during the second set but appeared to have steadied himself when he moved a break ahead at 3-2 in the third, only for Schwartzman to wrest the momentum back in his favor after a lengthy sixth game.

"It was tough because I was feeling I had the chance to win this and I had a few break points I could not take," Schwartzman said. "He was up a break and then I recovered really quickly and I felt great after that."

Matteo Berrettini became just the second Italian man to progress to the US Open quarterfinals, 42 years after Corrado Barazzutti's run to the last four in New York.

Berrettini, the 24th seed, eased to a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) win over Russia's 43rd-ranked Andrey Rublev to reach the last eight at a Grand Slam for the first time.

"It's something really crazy. I cannot believe it right now. I need a few hours to understand what happened," said Berrettini, 23, who goes on to play French 13th seed Gael Monfils.

"I'm just happy. Seeing my team and family here and crying, for me it's unbelievable."

Berrettini went one step further than his run to the last 16 at Wimbledon in July, where he was beaten by Roger Federer.

Monfils, a 2016 US Open semifinalist, crushed the 33-year-old Andujar's bid to become the oldest player in the Open era to reach his first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 rout.

source: philstar.com

Early US Open struggles no concern for Federer

NEW YORK – Roger Federer suggested his sluggish display in Monday's (Tuesday, Manila time) first-round win over Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal at the US Open was "not a bad thing".

The Swiss third seed, a five-time champion in New York, produced 19 unforced errors to surprisingly drop the first set against a player ranked 190th and without a tour-level win.

The 38-year-old recovered to progress 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 and clinch his 1,224th career victory that set up a meeting with Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur.

"Maybe it's not a bad thing to go through a match like this. It was very similar at Wimbledon when I dropped the first set there, as well, in the first round," said Federer, who lost a five-set epic to Novak Djokovic in last month's final at the All England Club.

"At the end you look at the last three sets, and they were good. That's encouraging."

A dismal first set served as a wake-up call for Federer, who is now 62-0 in Grand Slam first rounds dating back to the 2003 French Open.

"I broke every time first game each set. That was good. I think trying to forget the first set is never sort of easy I guess in a first round, under the lights. People expect a different result. I expect something else," he said.

"I just wanted to pick up my game really, start to play better. I was able to do that. That was a relief, going up 3-0 in the second set, realizing that it is in my racquet, how I also felt it in the first set.


"The thing is I wasn't serving consistently enough. I was hitting double-faults that usually I don't do. Also I was just hitting too many unforced errors. I was in two minds, I guess."

Federer's victory saw him qualify for a record-extending 17th ATP Tour finals appearance, although he wobbled as he served for the match in the fourth set, a struggle reminiscent of last month's Wimbledon final when he squandered two championship points.

"I thought he was getting a bit down on himself naturally after set two and three. That's why it was key to stay ahead, and I did," Federer said.

"You have to get over the finish line. I got that the hard way in Wimbledon. He did a good job to stay with me. I had to close it out. That was a tough last game. Maybe exactly the kind of service game I needed to serve it out."

source: philstar.com

Top seed Nadal surges into ATP Montreal quarterfinals

MONTREAL, Canada – Spanish top seed Rafael Nadal defeated Guido Pella 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday (Friday, Manila time) to reach a second straight quarterfinal at the ATP Montreal Masters.

The Spaniard improved to 36-8 in Canada as he seeks his fifth title at the event.

Nadal will be competing in his ninth quarter-final in Canada after advancing on his fourth match point. Argentina's Pella saved three Nadal match-winners in the penultimate game.

source: philstar.com

Nadal races into third round at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS – World number two Rafael Nadal steamed into the third round of the ATP Indian Wells Masters on Sunday (Monday Manila time) with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over American Jared Donaldson.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion, who owns three Indian Wells titles, needed just 72 minutes to get past world number 192 Donaldson, who returned to the tour in February after six months sidelined by a knee injury.

The Spanish star is playing his third tournament of a year that opened with a runner-up finish to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.


He next faces Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Spain's Roberto Carbralles.

source: philstar.com

Djokovic claims record seventh Aussie Open crown

MELBOURNE, Australia – Novak Djokovic was so good, so relentless, so pretty much perfect, that Rafael Nadal never stood a chance.

Djokovic reduced one of the greats of the game to merely another outclassed opponent – just a guy, really – and one so out of sorts that Nadal even whiffed on one of his famous forehands entirely.

In a remarkably dominant and mistake-free performance that yielded a remarkably lopsided result, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic overwhelmed Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday night to win a record seventh Australian Open championship and a third consecutive Grand Slam title, raising his count to 15 overall.


“An amazing level of tennis,” Nadal acknowledged.

After dropping only four games in the semifinals, Djokovic spoke about being “in the zone.” Clearly, he did not budge from there, producing 34 winners and only nine unforced errors Sunday.

And this was against no slouch, of course: Nadal is ranked No. 2, owns 17 major trophies himself and hadn’t dropped a set in the tournament.

But Djokovic left Nadal smirking or gritting his teeth or punching his racket strings, unable to compete at all.

So Djokovic added to previous triumphs in Melbourne in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, along with four at Wimbledon, three at the US Open and one at the French Open.

He broke his tie with Roger Federer and Roy Emerson for most Australian Open men’s titles. He also broke a tie with Pete Sampras for third-most Grand Slam trophies; Djokovic only trails Federer, with 20, and Nadal.

And he is gaining on them.

A sore right elbow cost Djokovic the last half of 2017. It contributed to a fourth-round loss in Melbourne a year ago. He had surgery about 11 months ago. All that is in the past.

The 31-year-old Serb is once again at an elite level.

Djokovic and Nadal know each other, their styles and their patterns all too well. This was their 53rd meeting – more than any other pair of men in the half-century professional era – and record-equaling 15th at a Grand Slam tournament.     

source: philstar.com

Federer to make record-extending 15th semis appearance in ATP Finals

LONDON — Roger Federer is peaking at the right time — again.

The six-time champion advanced to the last four of the ATP Finals for a record-extending 15th time with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kevin Anderson on Thursday (Friday Manila time).

Federer, chasing the 100th title of his career, needed only a set to advance and produced his best performance at the season-ending tournament to end the round-robin stages with a 2-1 win-loss record.


"I've always tried to pace myself in a way ... that I would have something left in the tank," Federer said. "I'm happy that this is another week like this. (It) didn't look like it maybe 72 hours ago."

Dominic Thiem's 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kei Nishikori earlier had left Federer with a modest task and ensured that Anderson became the first South African ever to reach the semifinals.

Federer looked as if he was about to give up a break advantage for the second time in as many service games when he dropped to 0-40 attempting to close out the opening set at 5-4, but the 20-time Grand Slam champion found his first serve when it mattered most to hold.

Anderson hadn't faced a break point in winning his first two matches. Federer, though, broke him twice more in the second set to claim top spot in the group and likely avoid a semifinal meeting with top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

"That was a little bit disappointing because I felt like I played some really good tennis so far," Anderson said. "But the plus side is I'm through to the semis. That feels great."

Having struggled in an opening loss to Nishikori and relied mainly on his serve when defeating Thiem, Federer finally found some timing with his ground-strokes to apply consistent pressure on Anderson's serve.

The previously impenetrable Anderson serve wilted, with two double faults gifting Federer a 4-3 lead. Much to the surprise — and disappointment — of the partisan crowd at the O2 Arena, the Swiss great handed the break straight back with a series of errors.

However, Federer steadied himself and made a delicate drop volley to break once more in the following game, before eventually closing out the set to maintain his record of having only missed the semifinals once in 16 appearances at the tournament.

Federer lost just four points on serve in the second set. He used a backhand slice to break for 4-3 and the same shot brought up two match points at 3-5, 15-40.

"I think I had an aggressive-playing mindset," Federer said. "A good variation as well with my slice."

Having saved a match point on his way to securing a five-set quarterfinal victory over Federer at Wimbledon, Anderson threatened another comeback as he won a 21-shot rally to get back to deuce, but there was to be no repeat this time.

Two more Anderson forehand errors ended the match and Federer won the group by virtue of their head-to-head record.

With Djokovic clear favorite to top his group, which concludes Friday, Federer has boosted his chances of avoiding the in-form Serb until the finals.

source: philstar.com

Elina Svitolina cops biggest win ever

SINGAPORE –  Elina Svitolina secured the biggest title of her career on Sunday, becoming the first Ukrainian player to win the season-ending WTA Finals trophy.

No. 6-seeded Svitolina rebounded from a one-set deficit for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over fifth-seeded Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion.

Svitolina fell onto her back on the court in celebration, and then shared a hug with Stephens.

“I think I have nothing to prove anymore to anyone and it’s definitely a good statement for myself,” Svitolina said. “I think mental toughness is what I really had to show.

“I played great tennis and I worked my way into the tournament. It’s going to bring me lots of confidence.”


The Ukrainian raced to a 3-0 lead in the third set, but Stephens managed to secure a break in the fifth game.           

source: philstar.com

Osaka beats Strycova to reach semifinals at Pan Pacific Open

TOKYO — Naomi Osaka raised her game when she needed to, and it landed her a spot in the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open.

The US Open champion, who upset Serena Williams in the final in New York this month, won her ninth straight match Friday, beating Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-4.

“This was my third time playing her, and each time it was very close, so I knew she was very good,” said the third-seeded Osaka, the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Osaka will next face Camila Giorgi, who advanced after Victoria Azarenka retired from their match with a gastrointestinal illness in the first set. Giorgi was leading 5-3 when the match ended.

The 20-year-old Osaka converted all three of her break points and won 80 percent of points on her first serve. She hit 26 winners and had an equal number of unforced errors.

“I feel like I adjusted,” Osaka said. “I knew that I wasn’t playing that great today, but I still adjusted and I managed to win. I never know why certain things aren’t working, but I feel like it’s my job to make sure that I do the best that I can in that situation.”

Osaka broke the eighth-seeded Strycova to take a 3-1 lead in the first set but was soon broken back. Leading 4-3, that’s when Osaka took control. She immediately earned two break points, and Strycova double-faulted on the first one to put Osaka ahead 5-3.

In the second set, double-faults again cost Strycova, who was broken at 2-2.

Osaka has been in the spotlight both on and off the court since she arrived back in Japan following her victory in New York. Friday’s match at Tachikawa Arena was sold old and Osaka’s progress up the rankings has been the focus of Japanese talk shows.

She has received congratulatory messages from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and attended the ongoing sumo tournament in Tokyo.

Also Friday, fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova defeated Alison Riske 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4). She will next play Donna Vekic, who beat second-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-4.

source: philstar.com

Net gain: Williams into 9th US Open final, will face Osaka

NEW YORK — Serena Williams was a bit shaky at the start of her US Open semifinal.

For all of six minutes.

That’s how long it took her to drop the opening two games Thursday night (Friday in Manila). Williams spent the next hour playing flawlessly, particularly up at the net, grabbing 12 of 13 games to beat No. 19 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-0 and reach her ninth final at Flushing Meadows and 31st at all Grand Slam tournaments.

“I’ve been working hard on my volleys. I have won a few doubles championships, so I know how to volley,” Williams said with a laugh, before adding this punch line: “I just usually come in only to shake hands.”

With one more victory, Williams will earn her seventh US Open championship and her 24th major singles trophy, equaling Margaret Court for the most in tennis history. Williams already owns the mark for the most in the half-century professional era; Court won some of hers against amateur competition.

On Saturday, Williams will face No. 20 seed Naomi Osaka, a 20-year-old who is the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final.

Osaka saved all 13 break points she faced Thursday and defeated 2017 runner-up Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4.

Asked during her on-court interview how she managed to stave off all of those break chances, Osaka replied with a laugh, “This is going to sound really bad, but I was just thinking, ‘I really want to play Serena.’”

Why?

“Because she’s Serena,” Osaka said. “Like, what do you mean?”


Williams had lost in the semifinals in her previous two trips to New York — against Roberta Vinci in 2015 while bidding for a calendar-year Grand Slam, and against Karolina Pliskova in 2016.

A year ago, Williams missed the U.S. Open because she gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, during the tournament. She then dealt with complications related to blood clots.

The American returned to the tour in February and to Grand Slam action at the French Open in May, when she had to withdraw from the field with an injured chest muscle. At her second major back, Wimbledon, she was the runner-up.

Now comes a chance to take a title and become, a few weeks shy of turning 37, the oldest woman to win a Slam in singles.

“It’s honestly really incredible. A year ago, I was fighting for, literally, my life at the hospital after I had the baby,” Williams said, her voice wavering. “So every day I step out on this court, I am so grateful that I have an opportunity to play this sport, you know? So no matter what happens in any match — semis, finals — I just feel like I’ve already won.”

Sevastova was participating in a major semi for the first time at age 28. While she began the evening well enough in Arthur Ashe Stadium by turning in two error-free games for a quick 2-0 lead, that all soon changed.

The roof was closed hours earlier because of a forecast calling for rain and strong wind, and so the screams and applause reverberated through the place whenever spectators roared for Williams, during the pre-match introductions, when she stepped to the baseline to serve in the opening game, and then after nearly every point she won.

And there were plenty of those.

Total winners? Williams led 31-10 in that category. And Sevastova’s penchant for drop shots did not pay off: She lost three points in the first set alone with miscues that landed on the wrong side of the net.

“She got a little bit lucky, I think, on some breaks in the first set. Then she started feeling better. When she’s in front, it’s tough to play,” said Sevastova, who retired from tennis in 2013, then returned to the tour in 2015. “She stayed focused in the second set.”

The key for Williams, really, was something of a new wrinkle: moving forward as much as possible.

Sevastova changes speeds and angles a lot, which helped her eliminate defending champion Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals. In order to avoid too many lengthy exchanges from the baseline, Williams and her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, thought it made more sense to press Sevastova.

It worked. And how.

Williams won 24 of the 28 points when she went to the net. Add that to her usual powerful baseline game and always superb serve, which reached 120 mph (194 kph), and this really was no contest at all.


“To come this far, so fast,” Williams told the fans afterward, “I’m just beginning, you guys.”

Osaka is at the beginning of what could be a marvelous career. She is the youngest woman to reach a U.S. Open final since 2009 and only has one tour-level title so far, which came on a hard court this season.

She was born in Japan, but moved to New York at the age of 3 and is now based in Florida. Her coach is Sascha Bajin, who used to be Williams’ hitting partner.

“Mom, I did it. I love you. Thank you,” Osaka said during her interview. Up in the stands, her mother put two thumbs up and applauded.

Encouraged to direct a message to Williams, Osaka said, “I love you,” then giggled and covered her face, before adding, “I love everybody.”

source: philstar.com

Djokovic books 11th straight US Open semis appearance

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic put aside all of it, from his opponent’s unheard-of, middle-of-a-set chance to change out of sweat-soaked clothes and shoes, to consecutive time violations because he let the serve clock expire, to the 16 break points he wasted.

All that mattered, really, was that Djokovic managed to do what Roger Federer could not two nights earlier: beat 55th-ranked John Millman at the US Open.

Djokovic moved a step closer to a third championship at Flushing Meadows and 14th Grand Slam title overall by eliminating Millman 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to get to the tournament’s semifinals for an 11th appearance in a row. He sat out last year because of an injured right elbow.

The No. 6-seeded Djokovic, who won Wimbledon in July, had been drawn to face Federer in the quarterfinals. But Millman scuttled that showdown by stunning the 20-time Grand Slam champ in four sets in the fourth round on a hot and humid evening that Federer said sapped his energy and made it hard to breathe.

This night was cooler, as the temperature dipped into the 70s, but the humidity was above 80 percent, so with Millman drenched, he sought permission for a wardrobe change at 2-all in the second set. It was odd enough to see a player be allowed to do that during, instead of after, a set, but even odder for it to happen after an even number of games, rather than at an odd-game changeover.

“I was struggling. He was struggling. We were all sweating. Changing a lot of T-shirts, shorts,” said Djokovic, who will face 2014 US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori on Friday (Saturday Manila time). “Just trying to find a way to hang in there.”

When Millman apologized for leaving the court at that juncture, Djokovic replied, “I’m fine to have a little rest,” then sat down on his sideline bench without a shirt on and cooled off.

“Definitely not easy conditions to play in,” Djokovic said, “but same for both players.”

Widely considered the best returner in the game, he kept accumulating chances — and then failing to cash them in. Djokovic was able to only come through on four of his 20 break points.

There were other issues for him, too, including in the third set when, ahead by a break, he was called by the chair umpire for allowing the 25-second serve clock, making its Grand Slam debut at this tournament, run out on back-to-back points. After the first, he double-faulted, and he wound up getting broken there.

But he broke back in the match’s next-to-last game, then served out the victory at love.

Earlier Wednesday (Thursday Manila time), Nishikori defeated the man he lost to in the final four years ago, Marin Cilic, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4. Add that to No. 20 Naomi Osaka’s 6-1, 6-1 win over unseeded Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine, and Osaka and Nishikori give Japan semifinalists in both men’s and women’s singles at the same Grand Slam tournament for the first time in tennis history.

“It’s great to see,” said Nishikori, who is into his third major semifinal — all in New York — but is still in search of his initial Slam trophy.

For Osaka, who is 20, this is her first trip past the fourth round at a major. She purported to be “freaking out inside,” even if it certainly never showed.

She’ll face No. 14 Madison Keys of the US on Thursday night. Serena Williams plays No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the other semifinal.

Keys was one of four American women in the final four a year ago, when she was the runner-up to Sloane Stephens.

She’s the only member of that quartet who made it back.

Still in search of her first Grand Slam title, the Keys reached her third semifinal in the past five majors by using her big-strike game built on serves and forehands to overpower No. 30 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-4, 6-3.

Keys won all 10 of her service games, saving the only two break points she faced. One came in the last game as she served for the victory, but she erased it with a forehand winner, part of a 22-10 edge in that category.

Keys, who is 23, thinks she is more equipped than ever to deal with important moments on important stages.

“I’ve gotten a lot better managing my emotions once it gets to this part and knowing that everything is going to be probably more amped up,” she said. “And not shying away from those, but just really being honest about it and talking about it.”

source: philstar.com

'It's cruel, sometimes, tennis': Nadal tops Thiem at US Open

NEW YORK — Rafael Nadal began his US Open quarterfinal as poorly as possible, shut out in a set by a 6-0 score for only the fourth time in 282 career Grand Slam matches.

On the previous three such occasions, he'd lost. On this one, he managed to come back to win, although it took 4 hours, 49 minutes and never did get easy for him.

The defending champion and No. 1 seed at Flushing Meadows recovered from his disastrous start and other stumbles along the way to beat No. 9 Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) for a semifinal berth at a third consecutive Grand Slam tournament, winning a physical, back-and-forth tussle that concluded after 2 a.m. on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time).

"Very demanding, in all aspects," said Nadal, who will face 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro on Friday for a berth in the final. "A question of a little bit of luck at the end."

How tense and tight was this one? Not only was Nadal two points from losing at 5-all in the closing tiebreaker, but he finished with fewer total points, 171-166.

"It's cruel, sometimes, tennis," Thiem said, calling the loss "the first really epic match I've played."

When it ended, on an overhead by Thiem that sailed long, everyone in Nadal's guest box — a group that included actor Ben Stiller — leaped to their feet to celebrate. Nadal climbed over the net to hug his opponent, then whisper an apology and words of encouragement.

"I'm very sorry for Dominic," Nadal told a rowdy crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium. "He's a close friend on tour. He's a great guy. A great player."

Asked about that at his news conference, Thiem said with a chuckle: "Well, I don't think he's really sorry."

This rematch of the French Open final in June, won by Nadal, was his first match against a top-20 opponent at the US Open since 2013, when he beat then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final.

It sure seemed at the shocking outset as if Nadal was somehow unprepared for this step up in competition. Thiem collected 24 of the opening set's 31 points, thanks in large part to a 13-3 edge in winners.

Hard to not think back to 24 hours earlier, when Nadal's great rival, No. 2 seed Roger Federer, was upset in the fourth round during similarly muggy conditions. Nadal was sweating so much in the 90-degree heat and 50-percent humidity that a mountain of white towels formed next to his changeover bench.

Thiem made him work for this win. And how.

The depth and strength of Thiem's groundstrokes were doing what Nadal's shots usually do to opponents: robbing them of time and space. Plus, Thiem — an Austrian who turned 25 on Monday — was serving well, taking every point when he put a first serve in, and handling returns without a hitch.

"After that first set," Nadal said, "the match became more normal."

It took a while for Nadal to figure out what was wrong and become Thiem's equal in entertaining, body-punishing baseline exchanges that inspired loud gasps from spectators. Still, this whole contest was filled with challenges for Nadal.

He fell behind by a break in the third set before rebounding. He was two points from victory at 6-5, deuce, in the fourth as Thiem served, but flubbed a forehand volley, leaping for a ball that appeared to be sailing out and dumping it into the net. That mistake might have stayed in Nadal's head, because he played terribly in the ensuing tiebreaker.

In the fifth, Nadal held three break points at 5-all, love-40, but Thiem took the next five points told serve.

That, Nadal would say afterward, managed to "break my heart. But I just keep going."

He usually does.

When Nadal makes it this far in New York, he usually doesn't stumble. He has now won seven US Open quarterfinals in a row when he's made it that far; his only loss in that round came back in 2006.

He is bidding for a fourth title at Flushing Meadows and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall.

Del Potro, the No. 3 seed, got to the semifinals by defeating No. 11 John Isner 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

During that earlier quarterfinal, Isner doubled over and rested his elbows on his knees. He grimaced. He shook his head. He looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but where he was: falling further and further behind in energy-robbing heat.

"Whatever the humidity is on outer courts or in the city, I think it's amplified on center court," Isner said. "It's just very difficult to deal with. I have never seen Roger sweat ever. If he's sweating a lot and has to change clothes, then you know it's pretty humid out there."

Isner was bidding to become the first American man in a dozen years to get to the final four at Flushing Meadows.

But while Isner was playing before what could count as a home crowd, del Potro got all manner of support throughout, from the blue-and-white flags or soccer jerseys dotting the stands to the repeated singsong chants of his nickname, "Delpo," punctuated by clapping.

Those choruses resonated in the arena after key points, such as each time del Potro erased one of Isner's break chances, three in all. Still, it was Isner who struck first, closing the opening tiebreaker with a 132 mph (212 kph) ace down the middle. That was the first set dropped by del Potro in the tournament.

He managed to take the next three, though, and now meets Nadal for the 17th time on tour.

Nadal leads 11-5, including the past three, each at a Grand Slam tournament: in the semifinals of the US Open last year, followed by the semifinals of the French Open and a five-set thriller in the Wimbledon quarterfinals this year.

source: philstar.com

Federer out of US Open after stunning loss to 55th-ranked Millman

NEW YORK — Roger Federer served poorly. Closed poorly, too. And now he's gone, beaten at the US Open by an opponent ranked outside the top 50 for the first time in his career.

Looking slow and tired on a sweltering night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the No. 2-seeded Federer double-faulted 10 times, failed to convert a trio of set points and lost 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) in the fourth round to John Millman in a match that began Monday and concluded at nearly 1 a.m. on Tuesday.

It's only the second time in Federer's past 14 appearances at the US Open that he's lost before the quarterfinals. He is, after all, a five-time champion at the tournament, part of his men's-record haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.

"I have so much respect for Roger and everything he's done for the game. He's been a hero of mine, and today he was definitely not at his best," Millman said, "but, you know, I'll take it."

So much for that highly anticipated matchup between Federer and 13-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Instead, it'll be the 55th-ranked Millman, an Australian who had never made it past the third round at a Slam until last week, taking on No. 6 seed Djokovic.

Millman was adamant he would not be intimidated by Federer, and perhaps was helped by having spent time practicing together a few months ago ahead of the grass-court portion of this season.

Still, this was a stunner. Not simply because Federer lost — he entered the day 28-0 at the US Open, and 127-1 in all Grand Slam matches, against foes below No. 50 in the ATP rankings — but how he lost. Start with this: Federer held two set points while serving for the second at 5-4, 40-15 and did not pull through. Millman knew that was the turning point.

"I felt like a bit of a deer in headlights to begin with, to be honest with you. The feet weren't moving. Roger had me on a string. He was manipulating me around the court," Millman said.

"But I got out of a tough second set and really found my feet and started to be a little bit more aggressive."

Then Federer had a set point in the third at 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but again was stymied.

In the fourth set, he went up a break at 4-2, yelling "Come on!" and getting all of those rowdy spectators in their "RF" gear on their feet, prompting the chair umpire to repeatedly plead for silence. But Federer uncharacteristically got broken right back with a sloppy game, most egregiously when he slapped what should have been an easy putaway into the net.

And then there was his serve.

In the final tiebreaker, he double-faulted twice in a row.

The first obvious signs of trouble for Federer came far earlier, in the second game of the second set. He started that 15-minute struggle by missing 18 of his initial 20 first serves. While he eventually held there, he needed to save seven break points along the way. It was clear the 37-year-old Federer was not at his best.

Maybe the 75 percent humidity played a role. Millman's big rips on groundstrokes didn't help matters. As the unforced errors mounted — Federer would finish with 77, nearly three times as many as Millman's 28 — Federer's wife, Mirka, couldn't bear to look, placing her forehead on her hands in the guest box in the stands.

Federer hung his head at a changeover, a little black fan pointed right at his face, but nothing seemed to make him feel like himself.

Hours before, Djokovic left the court for a medical timeout — the second time during the tournament he's sought help from a doctor because of harsh weather — during what would become an otherwise straightforward 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over 68th-ranked Joao Sousa of Portugal.

"I'm not 21 anymore. That was 10 years ago. I still don't feel old. But at the same time, there is a little biological clock that is not really working in your favor," Djokovic told the crowd afterward. "Sometimes, you just have to survive."

He reached the quarterfinals for an 11th consecutive appearance in New York as he bids for a third US Open championship and 14th Grand Slam trophy.

The other quarterfinal on the bottom half of the draw will be a rematch of the 2014 US Open final: No. 7 Marin Cilic against No. 21 Kei Nishikori.

Cilic, who beat Nishikori four years ago for his only major title, was a 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 winner against No. 10 David Goffin, while Nishikori advanced by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

source: philstar.com

Serena Williams hits 18 aces in US Open win; Isner into quarters

NEW YORK — Serena Williams' yells of "Come on!" crescendoed right along with the tension in a fourth-round US Open match that began as a rout and suddenly became riveting.

When she ripped a backhand winner to claim the third set's opening game Sunday (Monday Manila time), Williams let out her loudest shout of the day, leaning forward and rocking both arms. This turned into a test, and she passed it.

Williams reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for a 10th consecutive appearance — she wasn't there last year because she gave birth to her daughter during the tournament — by picking her level up after a lull and using 18 aces to beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.

"It was a 'Serena scream.' I don't try to do it. It just comes out, and it's just emotions," said Williams, a six-time US Open champion who finished with more than twice as many winners as Kanepi, 47-22.

"This is my job and this is what I do. This is how I earn a living. I'm going to do it the best I can," she added. "Winning a big game and a very important game and a really tight game, I think it was just a relief."

This match was filled with big hitting by both women, along with all manner of shifts in momentum and quality of play. In the 18-minute shutout of the first set, Kanepi's strokes were off and Williams' were pretty much perfect as she grabbed 24 of 30 points.

But after compiling 14 winners and only two unforced errors in that set, Williams began making mistakes, becoming less and less comfortable as Kanepi grew increasingly so. Kanepi is ranked only 44th, but she's been a top-20 player in the past and has made it to Grand Slam quarterfinals a half-dozen times. Sure, that's nothing compared to Williams' 23 major titles, but it's something. Plus, it's worth remembering this: Kanepi eliminated No. 1 Simona Halep on Day 1 of this tournament.

In a blink, Williams had a match on her hands. Kanepi was matching Williams' power with booming groundstrokes of her own. She was getting better reads on Williams' serves. And Williams began making more and more mistakes.

When Williams shanked a backhand return of a 103 mph serve, the match was a little more than an hour old, and it was all tied at a set apiece. That was the first set she had lost against Kanepi of the 10 they'd played to that point, and the first set Williams had lost at the 2018 U.S. Open, a run that included a 6-1, 6-2 victory over her older sister Venus in the third round Friday night.

After that scream-inspiring hold to begin the final set, Williams broke right away to lead 2-0. She then faced a break point, but Kanepi wasted that chance by sending a backhand wide. From there, Williams smacked an ace at 118 mph, followed by a service winner at 113 mph to go up 3-0, and that essentially was that.

Kanepi's take on Wiliams' serve? "Unreturnable," she called it.

Next for the 36-year-old American comes a quarterfinal against 2016 runner-up Karolina Pliskova, who beat Williams in the US Open semifinals that year.

"I really was feeling great that year. I'm feeling great now, too. But it was a little bit different story, 2016. I was, like, a dark horse. Nobody was expecting me to get that far," Pliskova said after beating No. 18 Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-4.

"I know she was the best at that time, but I just wanted to win. So that's why I won, because I believed I have a chance," the No. 8-seeded Pliskova said. "I have a game to beat her."

The other quarterfinal on the top half of the draw will be defending champion Sloane Stephens of the US against No. 19 Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in a rematch from the same round last year.

Stephens got there by beating No. 15 Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 at night, while Sevastova defeated No. 7 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.

Recalling her 2017 quarterfinal victory over Sevastova, which was decided by a third-set tiebreaker, Stephens said: "I had to dig really deep."

The defending men's champion Rafael Nadal reached his fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season, and 36th of his career, by getting past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4, while No. 11 John Isner of the US made it that far at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2011. Isner defeated No. 25 Milos Raonic of Canada 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and now faces 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro who pounded 18 forehand winners in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 20 Borna Coric and hasn't dropped a set through four matches.

Nadal has been spending a lot more time on court, going four sets in each of his past two outings.

"Now is the moment to make the next step, step forward, play more aggressive. I did a lot of things well during the whole season. (It) is the moment to make it happen again," said the No. 1-ranked Nadal, who has won 26 of his past 27 matches. "I hope to be ready to make that happen."

He gets two days' rest before taking on No. 9 Dominic Thiem for a semifinal berth in what will be rematch of this year's French Open final, which Nadal won in straight sets.

Thiem prevented a rematch of last year's US Open final by eliminating 2017 runner-up and No. 5 seed Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2).

This will be Thiem's first quarterfinal at a major other than the French Open — and his first match against Nadal on a surface other than red clay.

"On clay, I think it's one of the biggest challenges in sports to beat this guy or to compete with this guy," Thiem said. "I hope that it's a little bit more comfortable on hard court, but I'm not sure."

source: philstar.com

Novak Djokovic survives steamy US Open

NEW YORK – His cheeks red, hair matted with sweat, Novak Djokovic appeared to be in such distress as he trudged to a changeover on a steamy US Open afternoon that someone suggested it would be a good idea to have a trash can at the ready, just in case he lost his lunch.

Djokovic sat down and removed his shirt. He guzzled water from a plastic bottle. He placed one cold towel around his neck, a second across his lap and a third between his bare upper back and the seat.

He was not even 1 1/2 hours into his first match at Flushing Meadows in two years, and while Djokovic eventually would get past Marton Fucsovics, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, Tuesday, it was a bit of an ordeal.

Djokovic is a popular pick to hoist the trophy again, coming off a Wimbledon title in July and a victory over Roger Federer in the final of the hard-court Cincinnati Masters in August. Federer was among those lucky enough to play a night match Tuesday, beating Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Federer’s third-round opponent could be the entertaining, if mercurial, Nick Kyrgios, the 30th-seeded Australian who had 25 aces and 14 double-faults while defeating Radu Albot, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In the last match on Ashe, 2017 runner-up Madison Keys advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 71st-ranked Pauline Parmentier of France. The final match of Day 2 was in Louis Armstrong Stadium, where five-time major champion Maria Sharapova got past 39-year-old Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-6 (6). Schnyder, who retired in 2011 but is now back on tour, was the oldest woman to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament.


With the temperature topping 95 degrees (33 Celsius) and the humidity approaching 50 percent – and that combination making it feel more like 105 (40 C) – nearly everything became a struggle for every player across the grounds on Day 2 of the US Open, so much so that no fewer than six quit their matches, with five citing cramps or heat exhaustion.

About two hours into the day’s schedule, the US Tennis Association decided to do something it never had at this tournament: offer men the chance to take a 10-minute break before the fourth set if a match went that far. That is similar to the existing rule for women, which allows for 10 minutes of rest before a third set when there is excessive heat.

The whole thing raised several questions: Should the genders have the same rules moving forward? Should the US Open avoid having matches during the hottest part of the day, not just for the players’ sake but also to help spectators? Should the men play best-of-three-set matches at majors, instead of best-of-five? Should the 25-second serve clock, making its Grand Slam debut here, be shut off to let players have more time to recover between points?

“At the end of the day, the ATP or a lot of the supervisors, they’re kind of sitting in their offices, where (there’s) an AC system on, where it’s cool. And we have to be out there. They tell us it’s fine; they’re not the ones playing,” said No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, who won in straight sets in the early evening, when it was far less harsh. “For sure, the rule should be more strict. There should be a certain temperature, certain conditions where we shouldn’t be playing.”

How bad was it out there at its worst Tuesday?

“Bloody hot,” said two-time major semifinalist Johanna Konta, who lost 6-2, 6-2 to No. 6 Caroline Garcia.

source: philstar.com

Greek teen upsets Djokovic in Rogers Cup

TORONTO — Greek teen Stefanos Tsitsipas upset Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 on Thursday in the Rogers Cup (Friday Manila time).

The 19-year-old Tsitsipas broke the ninth-seeded Serb's serve early in the third set and held serve from there to reach his first career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

"I feel very proud for me, myself, and my country. I'm putting Greece more deep into the map of tennis," Tsitsipas said. "I'm pretty sure I'm making my family proud, all of those people that are watching, my coach, my father. It was a very emotional win. I've never felt so many emotions after a victory."

Djokovic, a four-time Rogers Cup champion, faded late on a warm, breezy afternoon at Aviva Centre on the York University campus.

"Losing in this kind of tournament, it's not something I don't care about," Djokovic said. "It really frustrates me. But I have to accept it, deal with it, and move on. ... He just played better in the decisive moments. I had my chances to come back in the third set when I dropped my serve at 15-40. An easy forehand. I missed it, but that's sport. You have to deal with these kind of situations."


Tsitsipas set up match point with a scorching cross-court winner before completing the victory in 2 hours, 17 minutes.

"I knew he had some issues in some particular shots in his game, I would say. So I was waiting and I grabbed him like a bulldog and stuck there and executed, I executed my plan," Tsitsipas said. "I knew that at some point he's going to break, and I just patiently waited for this moment and it happened."

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal beat Swizterland's Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 7-6 (4) in a night match delayed by rain late in the first set. Nadal, playing his first event since losing to Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals, will face sixth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia.

"Very positive victory for me against a very tough opponent," Nadal. "That's what I needed, a match like this to be a little more confident. Just happy to be in the quarterfinals."

Cilic beat 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.

Tsitsipas will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany, the defending champion coming off a tournament victory last week in Washington that included a semifinal win over Tsitsipas. The 21-year-old Zverev beat Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 for seventh straight match win and tour-high 43rd of the year.

"I feel physically pretty well. I feel like I'm playing well," Zverev said. "I get into a rhythm of playing matches one after another, and right now, I'm in that rhythm."

Fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria set up another quarterfinal. Anderson topped qualifier Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 7-5, 6-3, and Dimitrov beat American Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (4).

In the other quarterfinal, Karen Khachanov of Russia will play Robin Haase of the Netherlands. Khachanov beat eighth-seeded John Isner of the United States 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), and Haase topped Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-2.

source: philstar.com

Murray edges Edmund at Citi Open; Zverev brothers to meet

WASHINGTON — Andy Murray is showing signs of returning to his old form, right down to the return winner he delivered on the last point of his first victory over a top-20 player in more than a year.

Murray took a more aggressive approach as he works his way back from hip surgery and moved into the third round at the Citi Open by beating No. 4 seed Kyle Edmund 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-4 on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).

Murray is a three-time major champion and former No. 1 who was sidelined for 11 months because of his right hip. He missed the second half of 2017, had an operation in January, then returned to the tour briefly in June. One of his three matches that month was a loss on a grass court to Edmund, the Australian Open semifinalist who has supplanted Murray as Britain’s highest-ranked man.

When they played last time, Murray, said, “Any time Kyle was dictating the points, I wasn’t tracking enough balls down. I felt a bit slow to the balls. Today, I was able to defend and dig up a few more shots and that made a big difference.”

There is still work to be done by Murray, of course. He is ranked 832nd, has played only five matches in 12 months, and needed three sets for each of his victories in Washington’s hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open.

Unlike in his opening match Monday, when he felt he was too defensive, Murray made a point of attacking more against Edmund.

“Regardless of the result, we wanted to at least be dictating more points, trying to use my forehand, be close to the baseline,” he said. “And I think I did that, especially in some of the important moments in the third set.”

He got the measure of Edmund’s serves late, earning two break points at 4-3. Another arrived at 5-4, thanks to a defensive lob that drew a long overhead from Edmund, followed by a double-fault. That brought match point, and Murray pounded a cross-court backhand winner off an 83 mph second serve, then let out a loud yell.

Also moving into the third round was No. 1 seed and defending champion Alexander Zverev, and his next matchup is a rare one: On Thursday, he’ll face his older brother, No. 15 seed Mischa. It’s their first meeting in an ATP main-draw match.

“It’s a special day, because not a lot of families can say two brothers played against each other on a such a high level, in one of the biggest tournaments in the world,” said Alexander, who finished off a rain-interrupted 6-2, 6-1 win against Malek Jaziri. “Obviously, we both want to win. We won’t give each other anything.”

The German siblings, who were taught tennis by their father, paired up Wednesday night as a doubles team.

Seeded players exiting the draw included No. 5 Nick Kyrgios, who withdrew with a hip injury, along with No. 12 Karen Khachanov and No. 14 Jeremy Chardy, who both lost. No. 9 Denis Shapovalov defeated Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; and No. 10 Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Jared Donaldson 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

In the women’s field, reigning U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens continued her tendency for all-or-nothing showings at tournaments, losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the second round to 91st-ranked Andrea Petkovic.

Stephens was seeded No. 2 at a tournament she won in 2015 for her first WTA title. Now she’ll want to get her game going in the right direction before she begins the defense of her first Grand Slam title on Aug. 27.

“Hopefully,” Stephens said, “some things connect in the next couple of weeks.”

Her best results this season were a runner-up finish at the French Open and a title at the Miami Open. But take away those tournaments, and the American is 10-11 in 2018, including first-round exits at Wimbledon last month and the Australian Open in January.

Against Petkovic, Stephens put only 59 percent of her first serves in play and was broken four times.

Stephens’ loss leaves the Citi Open women’s draw without either of its top two seeds; No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki withdrew Tuesday because of a leg injury.

source: philstar.com

Djokovic slams Wimbledon crowd after being booed

LONDON — Novak Djokovic shrugged off a bad call by the chair umpire that cost him a break in his Wimbledon win over home favorite Kyle Edmund on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

He was less forgiving when it came to the way he was treated by the crowd at the All England Club.

“There is a certain unwritten borderline where you feel that it’s a bit too much,” Djokovic said about being booed at times by the partisan crowd on Centre Court. “I didn’t deserve to be treated the way I was treated by certain individuals.”

Neither the crowd nor a big mistake by the umpire could unglue Djokovic, though, as the three-time champion won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the round of 16 for the 11th time at the All England Club.


He was robbed of a break at 3-3, 15-40 in the fourth set when the ball bounced twice before Edmund managed to return it over the net. Djokovic complained to the chair umpire but the call stood — even though TV replays also showed Edmund’s shot had actually landed wide.

Edmund ended up holding serve but Djokovic broke at his next opportunity to make sure there will be no British players in the second week of the tournament.

“I was 100 percent convinced it (bounced) twice,” Djokovic said.

“Anybody can make a mistake. That’s OK. But I don’t understand why he (the umpire) didn’t allow me to challenge the ball. I asked him. ... So, yes, it was quite a strange decision from (the) chair umpire, but it happens.”

That wasn’t the only point of contention in the match. Djokovic got into a bit of a two-sided argument with the crowd after he was booed following a time violation in the third set. He responded by blowing kisses into the stands.
“I thought the crowd’s reaction after that (time violation) was quite unnecessary. A couple (of) guys really, you know, pretending they were coughing and whistling while I was bouncing the ball more or less to the end of the match at that end where I received the time violation.

“Those are the things obviously that people don’t get to see or hear on the TV. I just think it’s not necessary. That’s what I didn’t like. ... My interaction with the crowd, I thought had good things and not great things. I just reacted the way I thought was fair, the way they reacted to me.”

Edmund, the last British player remaining in the tournament, said he didn’t notice anything disrespectful from the crowd, but acknowledged it was a Davis Cup-like atmosphere.

“It was a great atmosphere to be in,” Edmund said. “When you’re at Centre Court, to have the crowd behind you is a great thing.”

He also insisted he was unsure whether the ball actually bounced twice on the disputed call in the fourth set.

“If in real life it’s hard to tell, then it’s hard to tell for me when I’m scrambling,” he said. “We need the umpire to get off his chair and go to the TV monitor on the side.”

It was the third time Djokovic faced a British player at Wimbledon, losing to Andy Murray in the 2013 final and beating James Ward in 2016. But this was the first time he got a reaction like this from the crowd.

“The crowd was very fair when I played against Andy. Obviously they support their player,” he said. “But today there was just some people, especially behind that end where I got the time violation, they kept on going, they kept on going, provoking. That’s something that I can tolerate for a little bit, but I’m going to show that I’m present as well, that they can’t do whatever they feel like doing.”

source: philstar.com