The Spaniard’s victory at the US Open for his 16th grand slam title was a tribute to his enduring commitment and he reacted to the triumph with typical graceIn three words, Rafael Nadal captured the essence of his tennis career and his life: “Very happy, no?”It was getting late at Flushing Meadows, a place where the Spanish clay-court supremo was never supposed to thrive but where he has appeared in four finals, won three titles and won 53 of 64 matches. Only a few hours earlier, he had neutered the power of the big South African Kevin Anderson to take his tally of majors to 16, again only three behind Roger Federer. Related: The US Open showed black women have...
It’s not hyperbolic to say the game in the States is alive because of African American players like the Williams sisters and Sloane StephensThere’s been no shortage of anxiety over the future of American tennis over the last decade.Andy Roddick’s abrupt retirement during the 2012 US Open left the United States without an active men’s grand slam champion for the first time in 129 years, since the inception of what then was called the US National Championships. And while Venus and Serena Williams have combined for 30 major singles championship, 121 WTA titles and 173 finals appearances – and counting – the hand-wringing over their successor on the women’s side persisted. Related: Sloane Stephens’ win over Madison Keys warms hearts...
South African’s serve will be key weapon in his first slam final appearance as he looks to upset the odds against world No1If Rafael Nadal is to win his third US Open here on Sunday afternoon – which seems likely after his merciless crushing of Juan Martín del Potro – he will have to nullify the awesome serve of Kevin Anderson, the South African appearing in his first slam final at the 34th attempt.The Spaniard has been to this stage of tournaments 108 times previously, 22 of them in majors, in his trophy-heavy career. It is where he has played the overwhelming majority of his best tennis, in big-stage showdowns with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Only rarely...
The 24-year-old has bounced back from injury and disillusion to climb 900 ranking places within two months, a testament to her nous and upbeat approachShe is the unlikeliest player in a most improbable last four but Sloane Stephens’ run to the business end of this year’s US Open feels in many ways right on schedule. The 24-year-old is one of four American women through to Thursday night’s semi-finals after the top eight women’s seeds were eliminated by the quarters or earlier for the first time at a grand slam in the Open era. None of them, least of all the unseeded and unfancied Stephens, were favored to make it this far. Related: American women fill US Open semi-final spots after...
Argentina’s No24 seed dug deep to overcome Dominic Thiem, and hopes to ride the crowd’s love once again in his quarter-final against the SwissJuan Martín del Potro, who has lifted the 2017 US Open out of the mire with one heroic performance, is now expected to do it all again when he meets Roger Federer in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, and that is asking a lot of the ailing Argentinian with the big game and even bigger heart.If Del Potro, still struggling physically, somehow rises to the occasion a second time in three days, and if he repeats his win over the No3 seed that delivered him his only slam title here in 2009, he will have to ride the...