US Open LIVE: Novak Djokovic gets brutal reality check as Iga Swiatek breaks down in tears
An American will compete in the US Open men’s singles final for the first time since 2006 this year, after Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz both won their quarter-finals to set-up a last-four clash in New York.
Semi-final number two will be decided throughout the course of the next 24 hours, as Brit Jack Draper takes to the court for his quarter-final tie against Alex de Minaur.
In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka made it to back-to-back US Open semi-finals, but a familiar problem looks set to plague the Belarussian ace.
Whereas Emma Navarro capped off a stellar day for the home crowd favourites, with the American progressing into her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final.
Taylor Fritz declares ‘it’s my time’ after making history at US Open
Stick around as Express Sport brings you all the latest US Open news and action from Day 10 of the competition.
Alex de Minaur was full of praise for Jack Draper after losing to the Brit in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
He said: “I think Jack has continuously improved every time we’ve played. Every year he’s gotten better.
“He has the right work ethic. He’s a great guy, great competitor, and he’s doing the right things. He’s got weapons, he knows how to use those weapons effectively.
“And look, he’s yet to lose a set in this tournament, so he’s got to be doing something right.”
Draper issues emphatic declaration
Jack Draper has insisted that he knew his ‘time would come’ after reaching the semi-finals of the US Open.
“This is not kind of like an overnight thing for me,” he said.
“I’ve believed for a long time that I’ve been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come.
“I didn’t know when it would be, but hopefully from here I can do a lot of amazing things. I’m very proud of myself.
“I don’t feel kind of overawed by the situations I’ve been in. It’s not getting to me in any sort of way. In my quarter-final, honestly, there weren’t any nerves.”
Swiatek breaks down in tears
Iga Swiatek struggled to hide her disappointment following her defeat to Jessica Pegula.
After the match, she was spotted wiping away tears and taking deep breaths.
Swiatek was among the favourites to win the US Open but will instead be left to mull over what went wrong.
Djokovic gets brutal reality check
Martina Navratilova has suggested that Novak Djokovic’s age is catching up with him after his early US Open exit.
She said: “Father Time will catch up to him and maybe it already is a little bit, because he really wasn’t himself in that last match.
“It depends how much the fire is still burning. If it’s still burning, I’m never going to say ‘you shouldn’t play’, because he’s never going to tarnish his legacy, it’s ridiculously good.
“I’m sure his wife is saying: ‘It’s time to hang it up, how many more of these do you need?’.
“Maybe just one more but, then again, if he wins the Australian Open, he’s going to want to play Roland Garros and Wimbledon, right? He’s not going to quit then.
It’s up to him. Either way, you can’t criticise because what a fantastic career. I would probably hang it up but if he loves it, why not?”
Swiatek reacts to Pegula defeat
Iga Swiatek has insisted that she is not too worried about results after crashing out of the US Open.
The Pole was beaten by Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals, with the latter securing a 6-2 6-4 win in less than 90 minutes.
Speaking after the match, Swiatek said: “Everybody is always speaking about results straight away when you go to a tournament.
“They want to know what my goal is. I don’t know, winning the final, the semi-final, and it’s just not it, you know, these are not my goals when I go in a tournament.
“That’s my answer, kind of, because I want to explain that I don’t expect from myself the results.
“I’m more expecting that I’m going to work and I’m going to go through some problems and work on them, and that’s it.”
Draper opens up on Sinner friendship
Jack Draper has offered an insight into his friendship with Jannik Sinner ahead of their semi-final showdown.
The two players shared a doubles court earlier this year but will soon be going up against each other for a place in the US Open final.
“We’ve always kept in touch since I’ve been on tour the last couple of years,” said Draper after beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets.
“Jannik is a good friend, someone I’m definitely close to. You know, we send each other messages in good moments, bad moments. It’s a tough sport to play when you’re a young guy.
“You’re on the road, you’re playing such a relentlessly intense sport, both physically and emotionally.
It’s difficult, we haven’t got many friends, so to sort of have the support of someone who’s going through it themselves is really big.”
Djokovic at risk of missing ATP Finals
Novak Djokovic’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals have taken a hammer blow as a result of Taylor Fritz’s victory over Alexander Zverev.
The result saw Fritz move up to seventh in this year’s ATP Race, which calculates the ranking points from the calendar year.
It also bumped Djokovic outside the top eight, meaning he will not be involved at the ATP Finals unless he can pick up more ranking points.
The top eight players in the ATP Race rankings qualify for the ATP Finals, which will take place in November.
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Zverev are certain to qualify with Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev also ahead of Djokovic.
First up is home favourite Jessica Pegula against championship favourite Iga Swiatek.
And then it’s time for the men’s singles, with Jannik Sinner taking on Daniil Medvedev!
The winner of the latter tie will face Jack Draper in the semi-finals…
started running off court to use the toilet during changeovers. And she called the physio once she got a break in the second set, briefly leaving the court.
The physio and the doctor were back on a few moments later and the Czech star appeared to take some medication.
Then, with Haddad Maia serving to stay in the match, she rushed to the umpire’s chair and asked for the trainer to come to court.
The Brazilian eventually continued playing and won one last game before Muchova came through 6-1 6-4.
Karolina Muchova and Beatriz Haddad Maia both saw the physio (Image: Sky Sports)
18 hours ago18:04 Yasmin Syed
Star who pulled out of US Open announces tennis break
Emil Ruusuvuori pulled out of the US Open on the eve of the tournament. He had been set to face No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev.
After a season of highs and lows, he has now announced that he will be taking a break from tennis for the rest of the year.
“As you know, the past year has been challenging: I have achieved things I have dreamed of since I was a child, but the balance between work and recovery has not been right. Due to overloading, I have decided to take a break from tennis for the rest of the year and focus on my physical and mental health,” the 25-year-old wrote on social media.
“Because of this, I will not be in the playing lineup for the Davis Cup. However, I will still support the team and be with them, as the DC team is extremely important to me. Have a great rest of the summer, everyone.”
There’s another action-packed day of quarter-final action to look forward to in New York today.
Men:
Jack Draper (United Kingdom) vs Alex de Minaur (Australia) – 6:15pm
Jannik Sinner (Italy) vs Daniil Medvedev (Russia) – 1:15am
Women:
Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) vs Karolina Muchova (Czechia) – 5:00pm
Iga Swiatek (Poland) vs Jessica Pegula (USA) – 0:00am
(Image: Getty)
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22 hours ago14:14 Amos Murphy
Jack Draper aiming to follow in Andy Murray’s footsteps
Jack Draper is bidding to become the first British Grand Slam winner of a men’s singles event since Andy Murray.
The Brit will take to the court for his US Open quarter-final clash against Alex de Minaur later today.
Speaking ahead of the match, Draper told the BBC: “To follow in Andy’s footsteps, it’s a big achievement for me.
“I know that there’s still room for improvement and still room to hopefully go further.”
Jack Draper faces Alex de Minaur later today. (Image: Getty)
23 hours ago13:05 Amos Murphy
Federer weighs in on Sinner doping debate ahead of quarter-final
Tennis legend Roger Federer has weighed in on the debate surrounding star Jannik Sinner.
Sinner was cleared to play in the US Open last month, despite testing positive for a banned substance.
Speaking on Today, Federer shared his opinion on the matter: “I understand the frustration of ‘has he been treated the same as others?’, and I think this is where it comes down to. And it lives with you. Every morning when you wake up, you think ‘is somebody at the door coming to test me?’, so, it’s really difficult.
“I understand it’s a tricky situation. It’s the nightmare of every athlete and team to have these allegations and these problems, because we fill out these forms all day, every day.”
In a statement, the ITIA (International Tennis Integrity Agency) said Sinner had’ no fault or negligence’ in the positive test and had therefore avoided a ban.
24 hours ago12:01 Amos Murphy
Badosa to blame getting ’emotionally overwhelmed’ on US Open exit
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes Paula Badosa got too ’emotionally overwhelmed’ during her US Open quarter-final defeat against Emma Navarro.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Badosa will learn from this. She obviously has never reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, and I think it’s more emotional than tennis wise because she has the tennis, the weapons, the fitness levels.
“She has the game but emotionally she gets overwhelmed. And she did today in a situation where she was in control.”
Paula Badosa lost in straight sets to Emma Navarro. (Image: Getty)
yesterday11:12 Amos Murphy
Coco Gauff in need of ‘reset’ after US Open exit – Andy Roddick
Coco Gauff is in need of a ‘reset’ following her US Open exit earlier this month.
Speaking after the reigning champion was dumped out, Roddick said: “I didn’t choose her to go far just based on recent form. I liked when she acknowledged the serving problems in a press conference. I feel like this has been such a whirlwind for her.
“There is no doubt that second serve is in her head. No doubt if Corey and Coco were sitting here right now they would probably tell you the same thing…
“When you go out there and the rumble and the mumbles, when you hit 10 or 11 double faults in one set, those become a lot louder when there’s 25,000 people doing it.
“You kind of feel that weight a little bit more. She always gives all of the mental effort and she’s fighting some demons right now. But she needs to get past this tournament in the defence of it to really kind of reset and rebuild.”
