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...
The United States has four women in the US Open quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years – and none of them are named SerenaThe perpetual hand-wringing over the future of American women’s tennis can take pause, at least for a few days. The false dawns of the past decade have given way to hard-won dividends and the best could be yet to come.When Madison Keys pounded a backhand winner down the line at 11.41pm on Monday night to punctuate a gritty 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-4 comeback win over No4 seed Elina Svitolina, the 22-year-old gave the United States four women in the US Open quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years – and none of them are...
Swiss No3 seed happy despite taking five sets against an American teenager while Spain’s French Open champion is annoyed despite a much easier rideRoger Federer and Rafael Nadal have survived many crises in their parallel careers, and both are relieved to remain on schedule for a semi-final showdown at the 2017 US Open after dealing with contrasting challenges in the first round. However, the Swiss, who had to go five sets, seems considerably more content than the Spaniard, who was back in the locker room after only minor inconveniences in his match.The look on Federer’s face when the American teenager Frances Tiafoe stumbled inches from the line as he came within a few tantalising shots of what would have been the...