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USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center.
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Showing posts with label
USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center.
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NEW YORK - An ailing Juan Martin Del Potro came back from the brink of defeat to beat Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem 1-6 2-6 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 and reach the last eight of the U.S. Open on Monday.
Del Potro, the 2009 champion who will next face Roger Federer, saved two match points in the fourth set of what was arguably the best of the tournament so far.
"Oh my God, I don't know (I won). What can I say after a battle like this. I was sick the last two days and I just tried to improve game after game," 24th seed Del Potro, who took a pill near the end of the opening set, said on court.
"I fought like this because of you guys, so thank you very much," he added in reference to the noisy Argentine fans who had turned the Grandstand Arena into a raucous soccer-stadium like atmosphere.
"The crowd was on his side. But it was a great atmosphere," said Thiem. "I mean, we're not playing every day in an atmosphere like this."
Del Potro struggled early on, spraying the court with unforced errors and the Argentine called the doctor twice.
At 5-0, he took a tablet. He won one game and had two break points at 5-1 but Thiem, who was looking to book his spot in the last eight here for the first time, coolly closed out the set.
He raced to a 4-0 lead in the second as Del Potro looked completely out of sorts.
The 'Dominator' was in full control, dictating the play with deep forehands, and he sealed the set with a cracking backhand winner down the line.
The question was then whether Del Potro would retire.
But the Argentine found his range with his impressive wristy forehand. His opponent could not keep up the pace and Del Potro easily pulled one back.
The real fight started in the fourth set.
Del Potro broke for 2-1 but Thiem played tighter and broke immediately back. A delightful backhand winner earned him another break for 4-2 and the Austrian served for the set at 5-3.
He led 30-0 but lost his focus and scooped a forehand long to allow Del Potro back in the contest.
Thiem had two match points at 6-5 but Del Potro saved them with consecutive aces -- one of them at 204 kph.
In the resulting tiebreak, Thiem suffered a meltdown and Del Potro levelled with a gravity-defying crosscourt forehand winner.
The decider was tightly contested but Del Potro eventually had the last word. On the second match point, he challenged Thiem's second serve and was spot on as the ball was out, meaning the wiry Argentine got to fight another day.
(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK -- Defying an energy-sapping disease, Venus Williams has pushed herself farther than she ever imagined at age 37 to reach her 39th career Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open.
US ninth-seed Williams, seeking her eighth Grand Slam title and third US Open crown, defeated Spain's 35th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, Sunday.
She booked a Tuesday fight for a semi-final spot against Czech 13th-seed Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon winner who defeated Spanish third-seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Williams, this year's Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up and the oldest woman in this year's US Open draw, is only 1-4 against Kvitova, but she has grown accustomed to overcoming the odds.
In 2011, Williams was diagnosed with Sjogren's disease, which leaves her weakened and pushed her into a vegan diet to stay competitive and combat the illness.
"Over time I've learned that I can push myself a lot further than I thought I could," Williams said. "I do have to push myself a lot. I think that's the biggest thing that I've learned.
"In the beginning, when everything is easy, you're healthy, it's easy to play when you don't have those odds against you. But when you have the odds against you, it's hard to find that in yourself every day."
Williams, 19-3 in majors this year, said she wasn't sure how she was able to stay competitive over rivals sometimes half her age.
"I love the pressure and I need a challenge," Williams said. "I don't know (how I sustain it). If I could do it I would put it in a box and sell it."
Williams said health, fitness, skill and love for the competition all play a role.
"You do have to have a love because it's a lot of work," she said. "There are sacrifices you make with your family, your loved ones -- just doing normal things like sitting on your own couch that are taken for granted. You have to have the love to deal with the pressure as well."
Playing for 20 years at the US Open and winning five Wimbledon crowns has made her a target the moment she steps on the court.
"It's never easy to win a Slam. Now I'll play players who I've never seen or know their name and you can't let up one point," Williams said.
"Players come out with a lot more confidence now. Every time I step out on the court, that person is coming for me. It doesn't matter if I played for a year, not even if I'm ranked 100 or number whatever, they're coming for me. When I get to these majors, I know that's what it is.
"They're playing well. They're not going to give you any matches. In the case if they do, I will accept it as well if they don't play as well as they want. I'm accepting all major credit cards and unforced errors."
Williams could return to the world top five for the first time since January 2011 if she beats Kvitova and reach world number two if she takes the title, although she hasn't played three Slam finals in a year since 2002.
Her win also kept alive host-nation hopes for an all-American US Open women's semis, with Sloane Stephens, Jennifer Brady and Madison Keys also in contention.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Russian teen Andrey Rublev spent years beating his head on the walls of success before finding the door this year and smashing it down Thursday at the US Open.
The 19-year-old from Moscow advanced to a Grand Slam third round for the first time by shocking Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Rublev, ranked 53rd, advanced to a last-32 date with Bosnian Damir Dzumhur after dispatching a solid contender in Dimitrov, who was coming off his biggest career title two weeks ago at Cincinnati, for his first win over a top-10 rival.
It's a far cry from the kid who struggled in the junior ranks last year until tossing out his coach and support staff and starting over.
"The way I was working, it was not the way to be pro tennis player," Rublev said.
"I change the team completely. In that moment starts the real work. And now I improve in this year. I improve much more than in all my tennis career."
Rublev compared his efforts to finding a door to unlock progress after banging on walls in frustration.
"When I was junior, I was working hard. I was not doing some bad things. It's just this work was not for the pro," he said.
"Let's say you have a door and you can open the door and I was trying to open this door from the wall, you know? It was hitting the wall. You can work so hard like this, but you going to only get worse and worse."
"It was not that I was not working or I was lazy. It's just with this work is not going to come results. You going to only be worse and worse."
Rublev won his first ATP title in July at Umag, becoming the first lucky loser to capture a tour crown since Rajeev Ram in 2009 at Newport.
The Russian had lucky rituals in Croatia during his breakthrough week and has one this week in New York, eating at the same Japanese restaurant ahead of matches.
"We went to the same restaurant for dinner before first match and before this match. So two days in a row I went in the same restaurant," Rublev said.
"Tomorrow I'm not playing, so I can go somewhere else."
Rublev was down a break in each of the first two sets against Dimitrov but battled back to claim both.
"I was just thinking to try to focus, try to fight no matter even if I am losing with a break," Rublev said.
"And in the end, I was little bit lucky. I make a good few returns. I hit maybe few points close to the line.
"My style is just to play aggressive, try to play my rhythm because I have quite well rhythm that I can play, compete with many good guys."
He might just get his chance to find out with Belgian ninth seed David Goffin a possible fourth-round foe and top-ranked Rafael Nadal a potential quarter-final opponent.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
