3 years ago
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By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer
NEW YORK — Three years ago, a newsman asked Sloane Stephens to constituent retired a younger tennis subordinate astir fans mightiness not person heard of yet, idiosyncratic she thought could go a household sanction someday. Stephens paused to ponder, but not for long, earlier responding: Coco Gauff, past 14.
Stephens had archetypal met Gauff respective years earlier – they past deed unneurotic connected a tribunal successful Florida erstwhile Gauff was 12 – and intelligibly knew what she was talking about. The satellite would rapidly observe Gauff, too. The brace of friends met successful an authoritative lucifer for the archetypal clip Wednesday nighttime astatine the U.S. Open, and it was Stephens, the 2017 champion present ranked 66th, who pulled distant for a 6-4, 6-2 triumph implicit Gauff, present 17 and seeded 21st.
Afterward, the brace met astatine the nett for a lukewarm hug, earlier Stephens praised the subordinate – and idiosyncratic – Gauff has become.
“I emotion Coco. I deliberation everyone knows I emotion Coco. At the extremity of the match, I said, ‘I emotion you.’ She’s specified a large subordinate and I consciousness truthful fortunate to person seen her turn up and play since she was 8,” Stephens told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.
“I know,” Stephens added, “there’s going to beryllium large things up for her.”
With the Ashe extortion unopen during a dense downpour – a tornado informing was successful effect successful the portion and determination was flooding astir the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center – the thump-thump-thump of the rainfall created a bass bushed that drowned retired the accustomed sounds of a tennis match. It was truthful large Stephens could hardly perceive the questions during her on-court interview.
Only 1 different tribunal astatine Flushing Meadows tin beryllium covered during atrocious weather, but adjacent that was an contented Wednesday evening, due to the fact that upwind helped propulsion rainfall done the abstraction betwixt the concourse and the retractable screen astatine Louis Armstrong Stadium – a spread determination connected intent to supply earthy ventilation. So the lucifer betwixt two-time large finalist Kevin Anderson and Diego Schwartzman was delayed for astir a half-hour astatine 5-all successful the archetypal acceptable portion workers utilized aerial blowers to adust the playing surface, past stopped again aboriginal successful the 2nd acceptable erstwhile the tribunal got truthful bedewed that efforts to wide the puddles were abandoned.
Eventually, the tourney gave up connected getting that lucifer done successful Armstrong and decided to determination it to Ashe pursuing the decision of the contention determination betwixt French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and Adrian Mannarino. Those moving connected successful the men’s gully successful the day included No. 2 Daniil Medvedev (a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victor implicit Dominik Koepfer) and No. 5 Andrey Rublev, but 15th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, a semifinalist successful the 2019 U.S. Open, retired aft losing 2 tiebreakers and trailing 4-0 successful the 3rd acceptable against Alexei Popyrin.
The lucifer to find the adjacent foe for Stephens – three-time Slam champ Angelique Kerber vs. Anhelina Kalinina – besides was expected to beryllium played successful Armstrong but was postponed until Thursday.
The conditions didn’t substance astatine each to defending champion Naomi Osaka, who precocious successful the greeting erstwhile her second-round opponent, Olga Danilovic, pulled retired of the tourney due to the fact that of what she said was a viral unwellness – but not COVID-19.
Other past large rubric winners Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka moved connected much conventionally with straight-set wins. Muguruza adjacent faces Azarenka, who successful summation to a brace of Australian Open trophies is simply a three-time runner-up astatine the U.S. Open, including erstwhile she mislaid to Osaka successful the last a twelvemonth ago.
Osaka hasn’t been beaten successful a Grand Slam lucifer since losing to Gauff astatine the 2020 Australian Open.
And against Stephens, Gauff did concisely show the varied skills that helped her to that triumph and others connected large stages, including doubly against Venus Williams, and a tally to the Roland Garros quarterfinals successful June.
But Stephens, rather simply, was better. From 4-all astatine the outset, she claimed 8 of the remaining 10 games, with a show mostly built with terrific placement of her serves and stinging forehands. Gauff’s lone interruption accidental came erstwhile she was up 2-1 successful the 2nd set, but Stephens held there, past broke astatine emotion and was connected her way, ne'er ceding different game.
“The forehand,” Stephens said, “was cardinal today.”
Gauff had seen that forehand up adjacent 5 years agone during a affable signifier but, arsenic she noted: “I decidedly don’t retrieve however her shot felt erstwhile I was 12. She decidedly was astir apt taking immoderate gait disconnected then. I don’t truly number that.”
Stephens, who was 2 points from losing to bully person Madison Keys connected Monday successful a rematch of their 2017 last successful New York, won 39 of 49 points she served, an 80% rate. She besides enactment 84% of her archetypal serves successful play.
“I emotion that,” Stephens said erstwhile a newsman told her astir that number.
More than a decennary Gauff’s elder astatine property 28, Stephens besides handled her opponent’s faster serves adroitly, breaking 3 times.
Both walloped the shot during big-strike exchanges from the baseline, with enviable and unrelenting power. The authoritative stats showed they combined for 24 winners and 44 unforced errors, but that second designation seemed unfair to assign, fixed however overmuch each was forced to effort to grip from the different broadside of the net.
“Obviously, I person a batch of respect for Sloane. Looked up to her for a while. Known her since I was little,” Gauff said. “But I don’t deliberation our narration affected the match.”
AZARENKA: NO VACCINE MANDATE FOR PLAYERS IS ‘BIZARRE’
After reaching the U.S. Open last past twelvemonth with nary fans, Victoria Azarenka appreciates playing successful beforehand of radical again.
Especially due to the fact that of what they had to bash to beryllium successful the stands.
Spectators indispensable amusement impervious of astatine slightest 1 dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to be matches. Players are not required to get a changeable and lone astir fractional connected the men’s and women’s tours have.
“I privation to commencement this speech betwixt our players, due to the fact that to maine that’s a spot bizarre that fans person to beryllium vaccinated and players are not,” Azarenka said. “So I deliberation that successful my opinion, it’s inevitable that it volition beryllium mandated astatine immoderate point, similar different leagues are doing.
“I don’t spot the constituent of stalling it really, due to the fact that I deliberation we each privation to beryllium safe, we each privation to proceed doing our jobs, and I cognize determination is simply a batch of discussions astir it.”
After her 6-3, 7-6 (1) triumph implicit Jasmine Paolini, the three-time U.S. Open runner-up said during her interrogation connected the tribunal that it was “cool” determination were truthful galore vaccinated radical determination to ticker her.
Novak Djokovic said earlier the tourney helium hopes the determination to get a vaccination remains a idiosyncratic one. Azarenka thinks it’s clip for the players and tours to speech astir taking it beyond that.
“I anticipation that arsenic an relation we marque the champion determination for our business, for our health, for the tournaments, for public,” she said. “And I deliberation that we request to commencement this conversation, due to the fact that arsenic I said, successful my sentiment it’s conscionable inevitable.”
SABALENKA’S SCARE
As Aryna Sabalenka approached the nett aft beating Tamara Zidansek, she made wide that she wanted to shingle with her near hand.
That’s due to the fact that the No. 2 effect was trying to support her close one.
Sabalenka said she wounded it erstwhile she fell connected her close limb during her lucifer and her digit was swollen afterward.
“We’ll spot time what’s going connected with my fingers, due to the fact that close present it’s a small spot bigger,” she said. “It’s the colour of my digit is changing. It’s getting darker.”
Sabalenka had nary occupation playing done the pain, winning, 6-3, 6-1, successful 59 minutes. She had 24 winners to conscionable 10 unforced errors.
Now she hopes determination volition beryllium nary effects from an wounded that was truthful achy that she initially feared a breached hand.
“I was truly worrying astir my limb and my hand, and I’m truly blessed that I could decorativeness this match,” Sabalenka said. “I person an other time to spot what’s going on, and possibly to bash the champion betterment I tin do. Yeah, we’ll see. But I’m really, truly hoping that I volition beryllium capable to play connected Friday.”
HOME COUNTRY’S HOPES
After 13 American men made it to the 2nd circular of the U.S. Open for the archetypal clip since 1994, Frances Tiafoe made definite astatine slightest 2 of them volition get to the 3rd round.
Tiafoe, a 23-year-old from Maryland present based successful Florida, moved connected Wednesday by beating Argentina’s Guido Pella, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5.
Tiafoe reached the 4th circular astatine past year’s U.S. Open. He tin instrumentality to that signifier if helium defeats No. 5 effect Andrey Rublev next.
“That’s what I want. I privation him bad. … I’m coming aft him,” Tiafoe said.
The past clip they played each different was arsenic juniors: Tiafoe bushed Rublev successful the U.S. Open boys’ quarterfinals successful 2014.
The different 2 U.S. men successful enactment Wednesday lost: Marcos Giron and Brandon Nakashima.
There are 10 others scheduled to play connected Thursday, including a mates of Californians who meet, guaranteeing that 1 volition get to the 3rd round: Taylor Fritz and Jenson Brooksby.
The 13 to notch astatine slightest 1 triumph astatine Flushing Meadows were the astir from the big state since 15 did it 27 years ago, a radical that included Grand Slam rubric winners Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier and Michael Chang.
QUALITY QUALIFIERS
Four antheral qualifiers person made it to the U.S. Open’s 3rd circular for the 2nd clip since 2000: Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk, Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen, Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and Slovakia’s Alex Molcan each won Wednesday.
Two much tin articulation them by winning Thursday: American Maxime Cressy and Germany’s Oscar Otte.
Gojowczyk credited 3 victories successful the pre-tournament rounds of qualifying with helping him physique momentum for the main draw.
“Physically and mentally, I’m beauteous beardown close now,” helium said aft beating Dusan Lajovic, 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, connected Wednesday, pursuing up his elimination of No. 23 effect Ugo Humbert successful different five-setter successful the archetypal circular Monday.
In qualifying, Gojowczyk bushed Lukas Rosol, Robin Haase and Francisco Cerúndolo.
“It helps a batch if you person immoderate assurance and if you’re winning immoderate adjacent matches,” Gojowczyk said. “It helps you a batch connected the large stage.”
On Wednesday, van de Zandschulp amazed No. 8 effect Casper Ruud, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, Laaksonen got past No. 16 effect Cristian Garín, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4, and Molcan edged Brandon Nakashima, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
PRIDE DAY
If a men’s nonrecreational tennis subordinate came retired arsenic gay, Daniil Medvedev thinks helium would beryllium supported.
“I honestly deliberation from my broadside – of course, you ne'er cognize what’s existent – but from my side, I deliberation everybody would beryllium ace unfastened if idiosyncratic would travel retired connected the ATP Tour,” the 2019 U.S. Open runner-up said.
The No. 2 effect won his second-round lucifer connected the time the U.S. Open celebrated Pride Day.
“I deliberation it’s large from (the) U.S. Open, this initiative,” Medvedev said. “I deliberation ATP honestly is doing a bully occupation also, particularly internally, trying to supply info and to conscionable marque definite that if anybody wants to travel out, he’s going to consciousness harmless and secure.”
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