LONDON: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached his fourth Grand Slam final at Wimbledon on Friday when he recovered from a set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev.
World number three Alcaraz beat his fifth-ranked opponent 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and will face either seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti for the title on Sunday.
Twice Medvedev led with breaks in the first set only to be pinned back by Alcaraz.
Such was his frustration that he was handed a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct by umpire Eva Asderaki for an apparent foul-mouthed reaction to a ball called for bouncing twice as he was broken in the ninth game.
The tournament referee was even summoned to Center Court by Asderaki, but Medvedev shrugged off the incident to sweep through the tie-break and take the opening set in which he committed only eight unforced errors to the Spaniard’s 15.
It was the third time at this year’s Wimbledon that Alcaraz had dropped the first set.
Alcaraz recovered impressively, breaking Medvedev for a 3-1 lead in the second having come out on top in the previous game on the back of a 27-shot rally.
The 21-year-old then hit 14 winners in the third set, pocketing the only break in the third game.
Medvedev, who had knocked out world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, retrieved a break early in the fourth set.
But Alcaraz kept up his assault, edging ahead again for 4-3 on his way to victory.
Defending champion Alcaraz into Wimbledon final
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Defending champion Alcaraz into Wimbledon final
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- World number three Alcaraz beat his fifth-ranked opponent 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
- He will face either seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti
Fritz wins an all-American matchup against Tiafoe in 5 to reach the US Open final against Sinner
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NEW YORK: Taylor Fritz surged with a six-game run against a fading and frustrated Frances Tiafoe to come out on top 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in an all-American matchup at the US Open on Friday night to reach his first Grand Slam final.
The No. 12-seeded Fritz’s momentum-shift-filled victory against No. 20 Tiafoe — a pair of 26-year-olds who are close pals and have known each other since they were playing in tournaments for kids younger than 14 — earned a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the championship on Sunday.
Fritz will be the first US man to appear in a major final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. And if he can get past Sinner, Fritz would become the first US man to win a Slam trophy since Roddick got his 21 years ago at the US Open.
From 4-all in the fourth set Friday, Fritz seized control as Tiafoe’s strokes and usual confidence betrayed him. After a double-fault handed over a break to make it 4-0 in the fifth, more than three hours into the proceedings, Tiafoe chucked his racket. Fritz repaid the favor by double-faulting to end the next game, but broke right back and soon it was over.
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Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy exonerated in a doping case less than three weeks ago, finished off a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 25 Jack Draper earlier Friday that featured simultaneous treatment of both competitors by trainers deep in the 1 1/2-hour second set.
“It was a very physical match, as we see,” said Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January. “I just tried to stay there mentally.”
He got his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice in a game with the temperature in the high 70s and the humidity above 60 percent. During that break in the action, a vacuum was used to clear the ground behind the baseline and finish the cleaning job Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, tried to do himself by wiping his, um, mess with a towel.
There was none of that sort of drama away from the actual play in Tiafoe vs. Fritz, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd might have been forgiven for not knowing for whom to cheer in the first semifinal in New York between two American men in 19 years.
Pegula in thrilling comeback to set-up US Open final with Sabalenka
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- The sixth-ranked American will take on world No. 2 and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s championship match
- Pegula has now won 15 of 16 matches on the US summer hard court swing which saw a title in Toronto and defeat in the Cincinnati final to Sabalenka
NEW YORK: Jessica Pegula staged an astonishing recovery from a set and a break down to defeat Karolina Muchova and reach her first Grand Slam final at the US Open on Thursday.
The sixth-ranked American came through 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 and will take on world number two and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s championship match.
Sabalenka reached her second successive US Open final by seeing off another American, Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (7/2).
“I thought I was lucky to still be in it,” admitted Pegula after seeing Czech opponent Muchova miss an easy chance to go 3-0 up with a double break in the second set.
“She made me look like a beginner, she was destroying me and I was about to burst into tears but it all came down to small moments.
“I don’t know how I turned that around.”
Pegula has now won 15 of 16 matches on the US summer hard court swing which saw a title in Toronto and defeat in the Cincinnati final to Sabalenka.
“It’s a chance for revenge, but she’ll be tough to beat,” said Pegula.
Muchova saved three break points in the third game of the first set which sparked a rapid collapse by Pegula.
The 30-year-old American dropped serve in the fourth and sixth games and lost a set for the first time in the tournament.
Muchova’a all-court game yielded 11 winners to her opponent’s three as the opener was wrapped up in just 28 minutes.
It was a severe comedown for Pegula who had knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek on Wednesday to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal after losing all six of her previous last-eight matches.
Muchova then broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set, racking up a seventh game in a row before Pegula stopped the rot.
That suddenly reinvigorated the American who went 4-2 ahead before being pulled back to 4-4 but then levelled the semifinal when Muchova double-faulted on set point.
Pegula sprinted to a break up at 3-0 in the decider and then 5-2 after a seventh game which stretched to alnmost 10 minutes.
The last of Muchova’s 46 unforced errors sealed her fate.
Pegula stuns Swiatek at US Open as home hopes surge, Draper in breakthrough
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- Draper, meanwhile, became the first British man to make the last four since Andy Murray won the title 12 years ago by beating Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-3, 7-5, 6-2
NEW YORK: Jessica Pegula became the fourth American to reach this year’s US Open semifinals on Wednesday by stunning world number one Iga Swiatek as Jack Draper broke through to his first Grand Slam last-four.
Pegula swept past 2022 champion and four-time French Open winner Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 to reach a maiden semifinal at the majors after falling in six quarter-finals.
The 30-year-old will next face Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
If she gets through that she would set-up an all-American title match should Emma Navarro stun world number two Aryna Sabalenka in Thursday’s other semifinal.
Draper, meanwhile, became the first British man to make the last four since Andy Murray won the title 12 years ago by beating Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
The 25th seed will tackle either world number one Jannik Sinner or 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev for a place in Sunday’s championship showdown.
Pegula has now won 14 times in 15 matches on US hard courts this summer.
“Finally I can say I’m a semifinalist. I lost so many of these damn things,” said the American after her fourth career win against Swiatek.
“Thanks to the crowd. I sent over a 65mph second serve (on a third match point) because I was so tight.
“I did everything I could to not get frustrated. I took advantage of some things she was not doing so well and just rode that momentum.”
Swiatek was undone by 41 unforced errors.
Draper pulled off victory over 10th-ranked De Minaur despite taking a medical timeout early in the second set to have his right thigh bandaged.
“It’s amazing. My first time on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it means the world to me,” said Draper, who had lost three times in three meetings with De Minaur before Wednesday.
“I played a solid match and I feel the best fitness-wise that I have felt in a long time.”
Draper has made the semifinals without dropping a set as he continued an impressive summer run which saw him capture his first ATP title in Stuttgart and then defeat Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club on the eve of Wimbledon.
On Wednesday, he sent down 11 aces in his 40 winners while forcing De Minaur to fend off 14 of 20 break points.
The British player enjoys a 1-0 lead over Sinner in the pair’s head-to-head although that win at Queen’s came three years ago. He lost to Medvedev on clay in Rome earlier this year.
Sinner is the only top-four player left in the men’s draw following the exits of Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.
However, he is yet to reach the last four in New York and faces a test of his credentials against fifth-ranked Medvedev.
Sinner defeated Medvedev from two sets down to win his first major at the Australian Open in January before the mercurial Russian avenged that loss at Wimbledon.
“I will try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open,” said Medvedev, also the 2019 and 2023 runner-up at the US Open.
With Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz already lined up for an all-American men’s semifinal on Friday, and Navarro and Pegula safely into the women’s last four, home fans are dreaming of a title sweep this weekend.
Andy Roddick was the last US man to lift a Grand Slam singles trophy in New York in 2003 while Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff have triumphed in the women’s tournament in the last decade.
Muchova’s 6-1, 6-4 win over Beatriz Haddad Maia came despite having to sprint to the bathroom early in the second set, a dash which caught everyone on the hop.
“I had a problem that I wouldn’t like to comment on,” said the 28-year-old. “Sorry if I disturbed anybody but I really didn’t have any other choice.”
After losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the 2023 semifinals, Muchova suffered a serious wrist injury which sidelined her until June this year.
A former world number eight, now ranked at 52, Muchova has yet to drop a set, knocking out two-time champion Naomi Osaka and this year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini.
Sabalenka demolishes Zheng to reach fourth US Open semifinal
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- It will be a ninth career semifinal at the Slams for the 26-year-old from Belarus
NEW YORK: World number two Aryna Sabalenka demolished Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen to reach a fourth successive US Open semifinal on Tuesday.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka, runner-up to Coco Gauff in New York last year, triumphed 6-1, 6-2 and will take on Emma Navarro of the United States for a place in the final.
It will be a ninth career semifinal at the Slams for the 26-year-old from Belarus.
She also defeated the Chinese star at the same stage of the US Open in 2023 before going on to beat the 21-year-old again in the Australian Open final in January.
“It was important that I got the early break, that was an advantage because it’s tough to face her,” said Sabalenka after her 73-minute win which saw Zheng hit just nine winners.
The 13th-seeded Navarro reached her maiden Slam semifinal earlier Tuesday with a straight-sets victory over Paula Badosa of Spain.
Sabalenka and Navarro are 1-1 in their head-to-head meetings with both clashes coming this season.
The American won at Indian Wells before Sabalenka came out on top at the French Open.
“The drinks are on me if you cheer for me,” Sabalenka told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd in an effort to drum up backing for the semifinal against the New York-born Navarro.
“She’s a really good player. We had two battles, they were really close.”
Fritz stuns Zverev to reach US Open semifinals
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NEW YORK: Taylor Fritz won a big-hitting battle with Alexander Zverev to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open on Tuesday.
The 12th-seeded Fritz came through against the fourth-seeded 2020 runner-up 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) and will face either American compatriot Frances Tiafoe or Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria for a place in Sunday’s final.
Zverev’s defeat means world number one Jannik Sinner is the only top-four player left in the draw following the shock early exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
“I have had a few looks at Grand Slam quarter-finals over the years so I felt it was my turn to take a step further,” said the 26-year-old Fritz who cracked 12 aces among his 45 winners.
“I’ve always had a big serve but at the top of the game it comes back a lot more.
“So I’ve tried to add more to my game with drop shots, coming to the net to back up the serve.”
On Tuesday, Fritz saw three set points come and go in the opener before sweeping through the tie-break.
Zverev registered the first break of the match in the eighth game of the second set on his way to levelling the quarter-final.
The two men exchanged early breaks in the third set until Zverev’s serve let him down in the 10th game. Fritz got into the rallies and converted a fifth set point to go ahead in the tie for the second time.
Zverev saved two break points in the sixth game of the fourth set but once Fritz had won a lung-busting 24-shot rally in the tie-breaker, he had the momentum for victory.