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Independent Singapore
a day ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Alex de Minaur launches incredible comeback to claim this year's Washington title
WASHINGTON, D.C.: At the finals for this season's Washington title, Alex de Minaur made an impressive comeback after dropping the first set and saved three match points. He defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3) in the ATP 500 final match. Back in 2018, de Minaur was a runner-up to Alexander Zverev. Now, he felt that luck was on his side as he clinched his 10th career trophy and secured his place in the world's top 10 rankings before the start of the US Open next month. With his win, de Minaur expressed: 'I came here in 2018 and it gave me so much confidence, so I'm so happy that I was able to come back and end up winning the title.' He added: 'Alejandro, you're way too good not to have one of these, it's coming for sure… You deserved it today, I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, hell of a player. No one on the tour wants to play you. And this is not the end, this is only going on for you.' See also Katie Boulter makes history with her first WTA clay-court victory Fokina declared: 'He deserved the win, he was fighting every … ball, he was always pushing through my limits. 'We had a job to do before we started the year, to be at the middle of the year in the top 20. This week we did it, just not with the trophy. But for sure, we will keep going, pushing our limits, pushing harder,' he further stated. On social media, de Minaur shared this milestone with a caption: 'What a special week in D.C. 🇺🇸🏆 Happy to claim my 10th ATP title! Thanks for all the support throughout the week — you guys are the best 🙌… Big respect to @aledavidovichofficial for a great final battle 💪' A netizen commented: 'It truly was an incredible match and an amazing come back from 4-1 down 👏 Alex you are a champion on and off the court 🇦🇺🎾😈🤩.' Another netizen remarked: 'Congratulations, Alex. What a great win, and your speech was so kind and thoughtful. You deserve these victories – you are such a hard worker and always so humble. Keep going – vamos!' One more netizen said: 'Wow just wow. 👏 all of it, a spectacular display of talent, sportsmanship and moxi! Cheers mate! Best comeback ever, and the quality was off the charts! 💪🏻🎾❤️.' Highlights of the match During the match, both athletes broke each other's serve a few times in the first set. Moving forward, Davidovich Fokina took control by breaking again and winning the set with strong forehand shots. However, de Minaur fought back strongly in the second set as he made the most of two out of four chances to break his opponent's serve. He then finished the set quickly with an ace, tying the match. In the final set, Davidovich Fokina looked like he might win when he broke serve to lead 5-3, but he made a mistake and gave his opponent a break back. De Minaur then took advantage of the mishaps and went on to win the match.
CTV News
23-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime says National Bank Open withdrawals ‘unfortunate'
Felix Auger‑Aliassime of Canada returns the ball to Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany during their second round men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) TORONTO — Felix Auger-Aliassime feels for Canadian tennis fans who are disappointed by the withdrawals of big-name players from the National Bank Open. Top ranked Jannik Sinner, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic have all pulled out from the tennis tournament in the past two days. Auger-Aliassime said he understood why they pulled out, but that he understood how it would disappoint Canada's tennis community. "Wimbledon was not long ago, so the guys like Sinner and Alcaraz both played in the finals, and maybe other guys either picked up an injury, or were playing with an injury, they're going to want to break at some point," said Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday. "Toronto or Montreal is always the first tournament of the North American swing, leading to the U.S. Open, and obviously guys are trying to peak at the U.S. Open, so every year there's always some withdrawals. "It's unfortunate for the tournament, for the tournament director, the fans, because you want to see the best players play each other." The National Bank Open is the only ATP Tour and WTA Tour event in Canada, with Toronto hosting the men this year and Montreal welcoming the women. Auger-Aliassime, from Montreal, is the highest-ranked Canadian on the ATP Tour's standings, sitting 27th. Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., is one notch below him at 28th. Jack Draper (fifth), Sebastian Korda (33rd), Jordan Thompson (36th) and Hubert Hurkacz (38th) have also withdrawn from the tournament since Sunday. This year's edition of the National Bank Open features an expanded 12-day, 96-player format. The withdrawals could make Auger-Aliassime's path to a National Bank Open championship easier. No Canadian male has won on home soil since Robert Bedard of Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., won his third title in 1958. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., came closest when he lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal in the 2013 final. "It won't change much at the beginning of the tournament," said Auger-Aliassime. "I think if I do get to the later stages of tournament, the quarterfinal stage, then you may have a better draw than if you're playing Alcaraz, Sinner or Djokovic at that stage. "Hopefully, you know, the draw opens up in a good way, and I play well and I go all the way." Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., won the women's title in 2019. The 24-year-old Auger-Aliassime threw out the opening pitch at Rogers Centre before the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the New York Yankees in a critical American League East matchup. Auger-Aliassime was impressed by the size of Rogers Centre and the number of fans it could fit as he stood outside the home dugout, waiting for a photo op with Blue Jays outfielder George Springer. "I've been on centre court in all the biggest stadiums in tennis, but obviously they're much smaller, you don't have a whole field," he said. "From the outside, obviously the stadium is impressive, but from the inside on the field, (...) it's like, wow, this is great. "For me, it's amazing to see." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
CTV News
22-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Alcaraz joins list of marquee withdrawals from Canadian Open
Italy's Jannik Sinner, left, celebrates with the trophy after beating Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, right, to win the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) World number two Carlos Alcaraz has joined the list of big names skipping next week's Canadian Open in Toronto with the Spaniard saying he needs to focus on recovering from muscle issues after losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final. The 22-year-old won the Italian Open, French Open and Queen's Club titles before Sinner brought his 24-match winning streak to a halt at the All England Club earlier this month. 'After many consecutive weeks of competition without rest, I will not be able to play in Toronto this year,' the five-times Grand Slam champion wrote on social media on Monday. 'I have small muscle issues and need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next. To the tournament and my fans in Canada I am very sorry, I will see you next year.' The U.S. Open tune-up event will now be without four of the world's top six men's players after Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper also opted out. World number one Sinner said he needed to prioritize his health, number five Draper is out with an arm injury and number six Djokovic is dealing with a groin problem that he sustained during his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals. The Canadian Open starts on Sunday and runs until August 7. The U.S. Open begins on August 24. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka among pairs hoping to compete in US Open mixed doubles
The U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament keeps getting more intriguing. With the deadline for registration approaching next week, the United States Tennis Association released an updated list of teams hoping to compete for the $1million in prize money during the week before the singles and doubles competitions take place. Advertisement The new list of teams, 25 in all – nine more than the roster the USTA released last month – had another collection of big names, including Venus Williams, the 45-year-old seven-time singles Grand Slam winner, who wants to team up with Reilly Opelka, literally the biggest player in the sport, when measured by height. Opelka is nearly seven feet tall. Amanda Anisimova, a finalist in singles at Wimbledon, wants to play with Holger Rune. Some notable names have also dropped off. Jack Draper and Zheng Qinwen are no longer on the list. Both are injured. Draper pulled out of the Canadian Open with an arm injury; Zheng just underwent elbow surgery. Stefano Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa have taken a pass. They, too, have been dealing with chronic injuries. Also, after two years of romance, they recently unfollowed each other on social media and removed pictures from their individual channels – never a good sign for a mixed doubles partnership, on or off the court. For those who want romance from their mixed doubles though, there is some relief. Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter, the Aussie-Brit couple who are engaged, have signed on. Many of the biggest-name teams, several of which the USTA organized in a fit of match-making, seeking to bring attention and interest in mixed doubles, are still there. That includes, Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro, Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov, and Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud. However, the new entrants include a slew of hard-core and successful doubles players. That means the USTA is going to have some hard decisions to make about its priorities for the 16-team field. The top eight teams with the best combined singles ranking next week will gain automatic entry. The USTA will award wild cards to the next eight teams. Advertisement Here's the issue: Katerina Siniakova wants to play with Marcelo Arevalo; Desirae Krawczyk wants to play with Evan King; Hsieh Su-Wei wants to play with Jan Zielinski; Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori had already signed up; Gaby Dabrowski wants to play with fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. All those women are ranked among the top 12 in the WTA doubles rankings. So is Taylor Townsend, the world No. 2 in doubles but No. 97 in singles. She has teamed up with Ben Shelton. Arevalo is the world No. 1. Errani and Vavassori are the defending champions. What's a tournament organizer to do? 'Earlier this year, the USTA announced the reimagining of the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship, with the goal of driving greater awareness for this storied competition, giving fans both in attendance and across the globe the opportunity to see tennis' biggest stars – both men and women – compete side-by-side for a US Open Grand Slam title,' the USTA said in the statement that accompanied the roster of registrants. The reimagining included shrinking the tournament to a two-day event scheduled for August 18 and 19 to allow big-time singles players to use it as a competitive warm-up for their singles competitions. The format will be best-of-three sets with a match tiebreak for the third set. Also, the sets are first to four games rather than six. Several top doubles players have complained that the USTA has turned a legitimate competition into an exhibition. Even Djokovic said recently awarding a Grand Slam title to a team after a two-day competition of mini-matches seemed a bit weird. Now it appears the organizers may have made it too appealing – and pitted committed doubles players against stars in singles. That said, they have also given themselves an opportunity to test the age-old question of whether two singles stars are better than doubles specialists at their own game. Advertisement The question now though is how many of those doubles specialists will get the opportunity to represent their cohort and how the USTA will justify its choices. The full list of entrants so far… Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner **Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov **Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz **Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur **Donna Vekic and Hubert Hurkacz Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton **Iva Jovic and Jenson Brooksby Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori **Gaby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime **Demi Schuurs and Tallon Griekspoor **Katerina Siniakova and Marcelo Arevalo **Desirae Krawczyk and Evan King **Su-Wei Hsieh and Jan Zielinski **Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka **Denotes new entrant since initial announcement on 6/17 (Cover photo of De Minaur and Boulter:)
News.com.au
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Emma Raducanu comes clean on Carlos Alcaraz relationship as rumour mill runs wild
Emma Raducanu has put any rumours of a relationship with Carlos Alcaraz to bed. Raducanu and Alcaraz, both 22, have been subject to swirling rumours about a potential romance after they announced they would be teaming up as doubles partners for the US Open later this summer. The pair will team up at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre in August as they both look to add a doubles success to their US Open singles titles. SunSport exclusively revealed earlier this week that the duo's relationship goes further than the court, but Raducanu insists there's no romance. When asked about it in her pre-Wimbledon press conference, the British star said while giggling: 'We're just good friends'. Raducanu is jumping at the idea of teaming up with the World No. 2, who is hot off the heels of winning the French Open earlier this month. Recalling when Alcaraz asked her to join forces, Raducanu said: 'I mean, of course, I had to ask my team if they wanted me to play. 'But for me, when he asked me, I was going to say yes, I just had to kind of go through the formality of asking my coach, so I didn't just make the decision.' On how they became friends, Raducanu added: 'I've known him for years. 'And actually in Wimbledon 2021 it was like kind of the first time I started getting to know him, and I had a good run there and then also again in the US Open in 2021. 'And I remember he was always playing the day before me and I was playing like the second day of the round. 'And I would see him win and then I would have motivation to win and get myself into that position too.' Further lifting the lid on her connection with Alcaraz, Raducanu went on: 'We have a good relationship still. He's obviously overtaken me a lot, but it's nice that we have that from a while ago. 'I think for all of us, we really kind of value those connections that we had from when we were young because when you become a bit more known or a bit more successful, you just find yourself reverting back to people you knew from a young age because you're like, that's a real genuine connection. 'Because it becomes very busy and you have a lot more friends but the ones that you've known for a long time mean a lot more to you.' Raducanu was spotted cheering Alcaraz on when he won Queens earlier this month. And SunSport revealed the pair arrived at the club within minutes of each other on both occasions Emma went to watch Carlos play. A source said: 'Emma and Carlos' friendship was the talk of Queens – people think there is something going on between them because they have such a spark. 'He was apparently seen at her hotel last week and on Thursday and Saturday, when Emma went to support him, Emma's car arrived just minutes after Carlos got to Queens with his team. 'Inside they were seen laughing and joking with one another. Both Raducanu and Alcaraz will have their full focus on Wimbledon for now, with first-round action getting underway at the All England Club on Monday. Raducanu will open her account with a clash against fellow Brit, Mingge Xu. While Alcaraz will launch his defence of his 2024 title against Italian Fabio Fognini.
