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Novak Djokovic ‘not giving up on Grand Slams’ after US Open exit

Novak Djokovic vowed to “continue fighting” for Grand Slam titles after his US Open semi-final exit to Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.

Djokovic, whose dream of a record 25th Grand Slam title ended in a straight-sets loss to Alcaraz, pledged to keep playing next year.

“I’m not giving up on Grand Slams, I’m going to continue fighting,” the 38-year-old Serbian legend said after his 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 defeat.

“I still want to play a full Grand Slam season next year. They are just different from any other tournament. They are the pillars of our sport.”

Djokovic had warned before Friday’s semi-final that he would need to be in peak physical condition to stand a chance of toppling the 22-year-old Alcaraz.

The Spaniard has dominated men’s tennis alongside Italian world number one Jannik Sinner in recent seasons, with the duo splitting the last seven Grand Slam tournaments between them.

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However, Djokovic said he had faded after running Alcaraz close in the opening two sets in Friday’s semi-final.

“I ran out of gas after the second set,” he said. “I think I had enough energy to battle him and to keep up with his rhythm for two sets.”

“After that I was gassed out, and he kept going,” he added, stating that competing with his much younger rivals in future was only going to get more challenging.

“I’m happy with my level of tennis, but you know, it’s just the physicality of it,” Djokovic said.

“As I said after the quarter-finals, I’m going to do my very best to get my body in shape to sustain that level and that rhythm for as many hours as it’s needed, but it wasn’t enough.

“That’s something I, unfortunately, at this point in time in my career, can’t control.

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“I can do only as much as I can do. It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the Grand Slams.

“I think I have a better chance in best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough.”

Novak Djokovic, though, said he had no problem coming off second best to the duo who have collectively become known as “Sincaraz”.

“It’s never fun losing a tennis match, but at the same time, if I’m to lose to someone, I would lose to these two guys,” Djokovic said.

“I know that they are just better at the moment. You just have to hand it to them and say, ‘Well done.'”

READ: Carlos Alcaraz downs Novak Djokovic to punch US Open final ticket

Carlos Alcaraz downs Novak Djokovic to punch US Open final ticket

Carlos Alcaraz said he is increasingly learning what it takes to consistently play his best tennis as he dispatched Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Friday to reach a second US Open final.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz advanced to his third consecutive Grand Slam final with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory over 24-time major winner Djokovic.

The Spaniard has won 45 of his last 47 matches and made the final at eight straight tournaments, a run starting with his triumph in Monte Carlo in April.

“It’s something that I’m working on, just the consistency on the matches, on the tournaments, on the year in general. Just not having up-and-downs in the match,” said Alcaraz.

“Just the level that I start the match, just wanted to keep that level really high during the whole match.

“I’m thinking I’m doing that in this tournament, which I’m really proud about. I’m just getting mature. I’m just getting to know myself much better, what I need on and off the court.”

The Spaniard is seeking his sixth major and second in New York after winning the title in 2022.

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He will play reigning champion Jannik Sinner or Canadian 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday’s final after avenging a quarter-final loss to Djokovic at the Australian Open.

“Beating Novak is always special. But I don’t feel like I’ve won anything more than a Grand Slam semi-final. It was an important match, but it was just a ticket to the final,” said Alcaraz.

His only loss in his last 37 matches came against Sinner in the Wimbledon final.

“I am performing at a high level and sending a message to the people on the circuit that this is my level,” said Alcaraz.

“It is not something exceptional that has happened in one or two tournaments, but rather it is truly my level.

“It is not my maximum level; I still have room to improve, but it is a high level.”

Djokovic suffered his fourth straight semi-final loss at a Grand Slam and foiled the 38-year-old’s bid to become the oldest major champion.

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“It’s impressive what he has done this year in the Slams,” said Alcaraz.

“I told him he always looks like 25 a 25-year-old physically, so to maintain that level at 38, it’s impressive.”

It is the first time since 2017 that Djokovic has failed to reach a Grand Slam final.

His exit also means it is the first season since 2002 where one of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, or Roger Federer has not reached the final of a major.

“I lost three out of four Slams in semis against these guys (Alcaraz and Sinner), so they’re just too good, you know, playing on a really high level,” said Djokovic.

“It will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the Grand Slams.

“I think I have a better chance in best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough.”

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Gabriela Dabrowski, Erin Routliffe win US Open women’s doubles title

Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe won their second US Open women’s doubles title in three years on Friday after beating Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova in the final.

Canada’s Dabrowski and Routliffe of New Zealand downed the top seeds 6-4, 6-4 to add to their 2023 crown and avenge last year’s defeat by Townsend and Siniakova in the Wimbledon final.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will split the prize money of $1 million.

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American Townsend, who reached the last 16 in the singles, and Czech partner Siniakova were bidding for their third Grand Slam doubles title together, having also won this year’s Australian Open.

In the opening set, Routliffe gave her team the lead with a swift backhand volley at the net in the sixth game. However, the match became more intense when Townsend capitalized on her fourth break point opportunity, hitting a forehand winner in the ninth game.

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The Canadian-Kiwi pair quickly retaliated by converting a break point to win the first set. After holding serve at the start of the second set, their coach encouraged them to “stay relentless.”

Motivated by this advice, they managed to win the next two games. However, the tide turned when Gabriela Dabrowski, part of the third-seeded team, dropped her serve due to a double fault in the fifth game.

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Amanda Anisimova to play Aryna Sabalenka in US Open final

Amanda Anisimova beat Naomi Osaka in three sets on Thursday to set up a US Open final against reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Eighth seed Anisimova won 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 as the American reached her second successive Grand Slam final after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon in July.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka overcame Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a re-run of last year’s final and is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend the title in New York since Serena Williams in 2014.

The 27-year-old from Belarus is through to her third successive US Open final.

“It was a really tough match — she (Pegula) played incredible tennis as always, and I had to work really hard to get this win,” said Sabalenka.

“Just super happy to be back in the final and hopefully I can go all the way again.”

Sabalenka has now made the final at four of the last five Grand Slams but has not added to her haul of three majors since winning the 2024 US Open.

She finished runner-up at the Australian Open and Roland Garros earlier this year.

She landed the first blow in the sixth game against Pegula, who saved a pair of break points before the Belarusian’s persistence paid off as she surged into a 4-2 lead.

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A sloppy service game from Sabalenka allowed Pegula to respond immediately. The American then held the level at 4-4 and put the pressure right back on the top seed.

An error from Sabalenka gave Pegula another break for a 5-4 advantage and she served out to love to take the first set, to the delight of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

Sabalenka reset, though, and roared back to reel off the first three games of the second set, an early break the difference as she sent the match to a deciding set.

A break to open the third set saw Sabalenka edge 2-0 ahead. She scrambled to save three break points and stay in control at 4-2 in and fought off another in the eighth game to close in on victory.

Pegula held and forced Sabalenka to get over the line on her own serve. She eventually converted a third match point with a crunching forehand winner to her palpable relief.

Aryna Sabalenka will try to avenge her Wimbledon semi-final loss to Amanda Anisimova on Saturday.

The eighth-seeded Anisimova reached her second major final in a row after rallying to overcome Osaka 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in a match that stretched well past midnight in New York.

“I wasn’t sure I would make it past the finish line. I tried to dig deep. It was a huge fight out there,” said Anisimova.

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“It means the world. I’m trying to process that right now; it’s a dream come true. The hope is to be the champion, but I’m in the final now and I’m excited.”

Osaka, seeded 23rd, was enjoying her best Grand Slam run since winning her second Australian Open title in 2021 – the last of her four major crowns.

She looked on course to go a step further after taking the first set in a tie-break, boasting a 26-1 record at this level when doing so.

Four breaks in six games to begin the second set betrayed the nerves on both sides.

Anisimova broke for the third time to go 5-4 up, but as in the previous two instances, she then lost her own serve, double-faulting to keep Osaka in the set.

In a reversal of the first tie-break, Anisimova took charge of the second to level the contest.

Anisimova carried that momentum into the decider and broke for a 3-1 cushion as she continued to punish Osaka’s ineffective second serve.

Two comfortable service games moved Anisimova 5-2 clear. Osaka held before the American earned two match points in a dramatic final game.

Osaka saved both and carved out two break points only for Anisimova to cut short the comeback and secure victory at the third attempt.

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Jannik Sinner tames Lorenzo Musetti to march into US Open semi-finals

Reigning champion Jannik Sinner sailed into the US Open semi-finals on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti.

World number one Sinner swept aside Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the first all-Italian men’s quarter-final in Grand Slam history.

“We have to take the friendship away for the match, and when we shake hands, everything is fine again,” said Sinner, who is 16-0 against Italian players.

“It was a great performance, very solid. I started the match very well.”

He advances to a semi-final against Canadian 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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“Every player who is in the semis of a Grand Slam can say they’re playing their best tennis,” added Sinner.

Auger-Aliassime has won two of three previous meetings, but Sinner thrashed him for the loss of just two games in Cincinnati last month.

The 24-year-old Sinner also tied Nicola Pietrangeli for the most Grand Slam wins by an Italian man with his 86th victory.

Sinner is aiming to become the first man to successfully defend the US Open crown since Roger Federer won the last of five consecutive titles in 2008.

He has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this season but lost to Carlos Alcaraz in an epic five-set battle in the French Open final.

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Sinner sprang out of the blocks and nabbed the first five games against Musetti, bagging the first set in 27 minutes.

The second set was much closer, with a single break chance for both players before Musetti surrendered his serve with a double fault at 4-all.

Sinner pounced for a two-set lead and broke again to begin the third set.

Musetti had his opportunities with four break points in the next game and another two with Sinner serving at 3-2, but he couldn’t find a way through his rival’s defence.

Sinner broke again and wrapped up a commanding win, his 26th in a row at majors played on hard courts.

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Novak Djokovic sets up US Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic advanced to a blockbuster US Open showdown with Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday as reigning women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka vaulted into the semi-finals without having to lift her racquet.

Djokovic snuffed out Taylor Fritz’s hopes of becoming the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 2003 with a 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 quarter-final victory on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

The win sent the 38-year-old Serbian, chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam victory, into a mouthwatering semi-final against Spanish second seed Alcaraz on Friday.

Djokovic clinched victory when fourth seed Fritz double-faulted on match point in the 10th game of the final set and could not hide his relief at finally emerging victorious.

“In this kind of match, a few points on either side decide the winner,” he said. “It was an incredibly close match. It was really anybody’s match.”

Fritz was left ruing his failure to make the most of the opportunities that came his way, converting only two of 13 points during an absorbing three-hour 24-minute battle.

The American fourth seed squandered five break points in the opening set that would have made it 5-4, instead allowing Djokovic to wriggle off the hook and take a one-set lead.

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Then, after battling back to break Djokovic to get to 5-5 in the second, Fritz was broken immediately to surrender the initiative.

Djokovic duly held to take a two-set lead, and while Fritz hit back to take the third set, the veteran Serb regrouped to wrap up victory in the next set.

“I thought I was really lucky to save some crucial break points in the second set,” Djokovic said. “I think for most of the second and third sets he was the better player.”

Novak Djokovic will meet Carlos Alcaraz in the last four, with the 22-year-old Spaniard in blistering form.

The five-time Grand Slam champion needed just one hour and 56 minutes to seal a convincing 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Czech 20th seed Jiri Lehecka.

Alcaraz has not dropped a set during a relentless march into the semi-finals and was once again in complete control against Lehecka.

“I just played a really, or almost, perfect match,” said Alcaraz, who has won 35 of his last 36 matches since the start of the Italian Open in May.

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“It seems like, OK, just two more steps to do, and let’s see what happens. But yeah, I’m just feeling great and hungry to make it.”

In the women’s draw on Tuesday, world number one and defending champion Sabalenka moved into the semi-finals after Czech quarter-final opponent Marketa Vondrousova pulled out with a knee injury.

Sabalenka, bidding to become the first woman to successfully defend the US Open since Serena Williams completed a hat-trick of titles in 2014, extended sympathy to Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion.

The walkover sets up a repeat of last year’s US Open final in the last four, with Sabalenka facing American fourth seed Jessica Pegula on Thursday.

Pegula reached the semi-finals earlier on Tuesday after a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of unseeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova.

Pegula entered the US Open on the back of a dismal run of form that had seen her make early exits at WTA tournaments in Washington, Montreal, and Cincinnati.

But she has rediscovered her confidence while moving stealthily through the rounds at New York, albeit against a series of unseeded opponents.

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Sorana Cirstea seeks help over stolen trophy during US Open

Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea has requested the return of her trophy from last week’s WTA tournament in Cleveland.

The request was made after noticing it was missing from her hotel room during the US Open.

The 35-year-old Cirstea won the title at the US Open warm-up event by defeating American An Li in the Land tournament final last week.

She defeated the 6-2, 6-4 in the Cleveland final, marking third win in her career in WTA single title. Follower her victory, she jumped 41 places in the official Women’s Tennis Association which was played between August 16 and 23.

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However, she lost second round in New York this week, losing to 11th seed Karolina Muchova.

With the defeat, the disappearance of the Cleveland trophy- her first Harcourt singles title since 2008 added to her woes.

The trophy disappeared from her room in New York, and following that, she took to her social for a plea regarding the trophy.

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She was also competing in the women’s doubles but lost in the first round with partner Anna Kalinskaya.

“Whoever stole my Cleveland trophy from room 314 at the @fiftysonesta please give it back,” the world number 71 wrote on Instagram on Saturday.

“It has NO material value, just sentimental value. It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you,” she said.

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Novak Djokovic overcomes bad back to reach US Open fourth round

Novak Djokovic shook off a back problem to beat Britain’s Cam Norrie in four sets on Friday to become the oldest man to reach the US Open last 16 since Jimmy Connors in 1991.

The 38-year-old Djokovic defeated Norrie 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-3, staying in the hunt for an unprecedented 25th major title.

But the Serbian star admitted that whether his body can still withstand the grind of a two-week-long Grand Slam is potentially beyond his control.

“In terms of how I’m feeling, it really goes up and down, to be honest,” said Djokovic, who was compromised by injury at the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier this year.

“It’s frustrating for me, honestly, that I’m not able to feel 100% always like I have for 20-plus years.

“I guess the circumstances are quite different, and I have to get used to the fact that every match there’s something that might happen, as it has been the case this year, pretty much every Slam.”

Novak Djokovic earned a record 192nd Grand Slam match win on hard courts and also tied Roger Federer’s mark of last-16 appearances at the majors with 69.

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The four-time US Open champion has designs on going much further, though, health permitting.

“If the body doesn’t listen to me when I go deep in the Grand Slam tournaments, as it was kind of the case last few Slams, then that’s a hard one to swallow for me,” said Djokovic.

“I know the amount of hours I’m putting in daily to care for my body, but at the same time, you know, biological age is not something that I guess you can reverse.”

Djokovic has now defeated Norrie in all seven of their meetings and is through to the fourth round in New York for the 16th time.

On Sunday, he will play German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff, who has already knocked out two seeds in Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe.

A lone break of Norrie’s serve in the seventh game was enough for Djokovic to pocket the opening set, but not before he summoned the physio to work on his lower back.

Djokovic headed off court for a medical timeout and returned to serve out the first set.

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“I don’t know when it gets cold tomorrow, I’ll see what the reality is,” said Djokovic of the nature of his injury.

“I was lucky, lucky not to, you know, have that burden stay there. It was just there for a few games, and after that it was fine.”

He had the chance to make further inroads in the second set, but Norrie saved three break points and then pinched the tie-break from his rival, who double-faulted on set point.

Norrie took that momentum into the third set with an early break, drawing an emphatic response from Djokovic as he responded by winning four straight games.

Djokovic soon made the set his, and another break to start the fourth set gave him the cushion required to close out a milestone victory.

“These kinds of matches and performances always give me hope that I can go far, challenge the best players in the world,” said Djokovic.

READ: Aryna Sabalenka extends tie-break streak in win over Leylah Fernandez

Aryna Sabalenka extends tie-break streak in win over Leylah Fernandez

World number one Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the fourth round of the US Open on Friday after extending her remarkable streak of tie-break victories to defeat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.

Reigning champion Sabalenka punched her ticket to the last 16 after seeing off Fernandez 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) in one hour and 39 minutes on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Sabalenka’s decisive second-set victory was capped by her 18th consecutive tie-break win.

The victory was also sweet revenge for Sabalenka, who suffered an upset defeat to then-teenager Fernandez in the semi-finals of the 2021 US Open.

“I wanted this revenge badly,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “It was a tough lesson for me back then. Since then, we never played again.

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“I just wanted to prove to myself that the lesson was learned and that I developed as a player, and I could get this win.”

Sabalenka attributes her dominance of tie-breaks this season to a tougher mental approach.

“I definitely think that mentally I’m pretty strong, and I’m still growing, because I’m learning a lot of lessons, and all of those lessons are making me tougher, tougher, and tougher,” she said.

Asked if she believed her opponents were aware of her tie-break record, she replied: “I hope so. I’m not focusing on that during the match, obviously. But extra pressure on my opponents? I love that.”

The skilful Fernandez, the 31st seed, had started brightly, earning four break points on Sabalenka’s opening service game of the first set.

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Crucially, though, Aryna Sabalenka saved them all before holding, and then took advantage in the fourth game when Fernandez double-faulted to hand the Belarusian a break for a 3-1 lead.

That break was all Sabalenka needed to close out the set.

A tense second set saw Fernandez continue to cause problems for Sabalenka, who again was forced to fight off a break point in the sixth game.

But when the set went to a decisive tie-break, there only ever looked like being one winner, with Sabalenka scoring three mini-breaks in rapid succession to help open up a 4-1 lead.

That soon became 6-1, and Sabalenka sealed a win that sees her into a fourth-round showdown with unseeded Spaniard Cristina Bucsa.

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Daniil Medvedev fined after meltdown in US Open first-round loss

NEW YORK: Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev has been slapped with a hefty fine by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) following his fiery outburst during a five-set first-round loss to France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

Medvedev went down 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(5), 0-6, 6-4 in a dramatic clash on Sunday that saw tempers flare after a controversial call in the third set.

At 5-4 with Bonzi serving for the match, play was halted for nearly six minutes when a photographer disrupted a point.

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Chair umpire Greg Allensworth awarded Bonzi a first serve instead of a second, prompting a furious reaction from Daniil Medvedev, who ranted at the official and even addressed the TV cameras, quipping: “He wants to go home, guys. He doesn’t like to be here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”

The Russian, currently ranked world No.13, went on to smash his racket after the defeat, drawing further sanctions.

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Consequently, he was fined a total of $42,500. According to the USTA, $30,000 of the fine resulted from unsportsmanlike conduct, while $12,500 was due to racket abuse.

Despite earning $110,000 in prize money for his first-round appearance, the fines took a significant chunk out of his earnings.

After the match, Daniil Medvedev admitted he was bracing for punishment: “I’m getting a big enough fine, so if I speak, I’m in big trouble, so I’m not going to speak.”

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