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Young TT player Hansini Rajan wins fourth WTT Contender title
NEW DELHI: Young Indian table tennis player Hansini Mathan Rajan won her fourth WTT Contender title in the under 13 category by beating Colombia's Mariana Roudriguez in Ecuador.
The Indian paddler won 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 at the World Table Tennis Youth Contender held in Cuenca, Ecuador from August 19-21. Hansini also was the bronze medalist in the under-15 Category.
India's Yashaswini Ghorpade beat Sally Moyland 10-12, 1-5, 11-6, 11-7 to win the title in the under-19 category.
Suhana Saini claimed the under-17 title beating G Takashui of Brazil 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.
All the three girls had attended International Table Tennis Federation high performance training camp conducted by former India coach Massimo Constanti from August 13-17.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek must overcome US Open ball concerns
Iga Swiatek is the favourite to win this year's US Open where the balls being used for women's matches could possibly give the Polish world number one more trouble than any opponent she faces at the year's final Grand Slam.
Swiatek recently hit out at the US Open balls, suggesting the lighter ones used for women's matches are tougher to control than those used by her male counterparts and therefore present a disadvantage to harder-hitting players like herself.
The US Open, which starts on Monday in New York, is the only major that uses different balls for men and women and they featured at recent North American hardcourt tournaments where Swiatek lost at the last-16 stage in two consecutive events.
"Basically the thing is that they are lighter. They fly like crazy," Swiatek said last week in Cincinnati. "You know, we have really powerful games right now. It's not like 10 years ago -except Serena, girls, I think they played slower, right?
"Right now we play powerful, and we kind of can't loosen up our hands with these balls. I know that there are many players who complain, and many of them are top 10."
The twice French Open champion, whose best US Open result came last year when she reached the fourth round, also felt the style of tennis on display when more powerful hitters like herself use lighter balls is less attractive.
"We make more mistakes, for sure. So I don't think if that's like really nice to watch visually," said Swiatek, who had a 37-match winning streak this year. "I don't know why they are different than men's ones.
"I don't know - like 15 years ago probably women had some elbow injuries because the balls were heavier and they changed them to women's balls, but right now we are so physically well prepared that I don't think it would happen."
Swiatek is not alone in her views as world number four Paula Badosa backed her comments while the coach of since-retired Ash Barty said in January the Australian would never complete a career Grand Slam unless US Open organisers opted for a different ball.
"Those balls are horrible, especially after like three games of really hard playing, they are getting more and more light," said Swiatek.
"At the end, you can't even, you know, serve like 170 kilometers per hour because you know it's going to fly like crazy. Yeah, I think they are pretty bad. Sorry."
Emma Raducanu hoping for spectacular sequel in New York
Emma Raducanu's fairytale staged against a backdrop of New York's skyscrapers catapulted the British teenager's career into the stratosphere but reality has hit home in the past 12 months.
Her charge from obscurity to the US Open title as a 150th-ranked qualifier still feels barely credible, even as the 19-year-old returns to Flushing Meadows as reigning champion.
It was a story that defied tennis logic, transcended sport and instantly made her one of the most marketable athletes -- male or female -- in the world.
The trouble is, the tennis treadmill never stops and while Raducanu has been dealing with the inevitable spin-offs of her unlikely Grand Slam title, her results have been modest.
It should not really have come as a surprise as, in tennis terms, Raducanu is still very much a novice.
Various changes to her coaching set-up, a succession of niggling injuries and poor form have all contributed to a mediocre year so far with 13 wins and 15 losses.
Seemingly in the blink of an eye, Raducanu made herself a target and with the pool of talent running so deep in the women's game, there has been no shortage of players ready to knock Britain's Queen Emma off her throne.
"I think that by her winning, she's opened up a can of worms," seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander, previewing the tournament for Eurosport, said on Tuesday.
"It used to be maybe five to 10 players that literally believe they could win (a Slam). And I think now you've got 50 players that think they can win it because of what Emma did and that makes it much harder."
Raducanu has taken the knocks well. There have been no tantrums, no excuses. She insists she is still learning her game and coming to terms with the physical demands of life on Tour.
But she will be hoping that the lights of the Big Apple can inspire another magical fortnight, even if whatever happens could never live up to 2021 when she won 10 matches in New York without dropping a set, culminating in beating fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez in the final.
There have been encouraging signs in recent weeks that her free-flowing game is coming together.
In a blockbuster opening match at Cincinnati she beat 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams 6-4, 6-0 and then trounced former world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2.
Admittedly both of those illustrious opponents were shadows of their former selves and defeat by American top-10 opponent Jessica Pegula was perhaps a better indication of exactly where Raducanu's game is at heading to New York.
"I think that I achieved something great (by winning the US Open), but I was playing completely free. I'm starting to do that again," Raducanu said last week.
"I feel like I'm swinging with the same sort of freedom as I probably had last year.
"I feel like I'm heading in a good direction again."
Everything happened so fast for Raducanu that she has not enjoyed the luxury of quietly developing her game behind the scenes. Opponents now know exactly what to expect.
But there is no way you can fluke a US Open title and anyone dismissing Raducanu as a serious threat again would be misguided. If she is swinging freely and the serve functions as it did last year, a compelling sequel could be in the making.
Rafael Nadal eyes 23rd major as Novak Djokovic clings to forlorn US Open hope
NEW YORK: Rafael Nadal targets a fifth US Open and 23rd Grand Slam title in New York from next week as Novak Djokovic clings desperately onto a forlorn hope of even being allowed to set foot in New York.
Nineteen years after making his debut, the 36-year-old Nadal drags his injury-prone body into a tournament he won in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019, the year of his last appearance.
The Spaniard has had to sit out the US Open four times in his career and there are once again fresh doubts over his physical ability to survive a gruelling two weeks at Flushing Meadows.
Since an abdomen injury forced him to hand Nick Kyrgios a walkover into the Wimbledon final, Nadal has played just once -- a first-up loss to Borna Coric in Cincinnati.
"I need to move forward and just start to think about the energy that the crowd give me in New York," said Nadal, who has already captured two of the season's three Slams at the Australian and French Opens.
"It's a very special place for me, and I enjoy it. There have been unforgettable moments there, and I'm going to try my very best every single day to be ready for that."
Nadal has become accustomed to overcoming setbacks, winning a 14th French Open in June despite playing the whole tournament with pain-killing injections in his foot.
An added incentive for Nadal is the opportunity to reclaim the world number one spot from defending champion Daniil Medvedev, the man he defeated in the 2019 final.
While Nadal trains in New York, career-long rival Djokovic remains in Europe, steadfastly refusing to withdraw from the tournament in the hope of a last-minute change of policy by the US authorities.
The famously unvaccinated Djokovic, who won the last of his three US Open crowns in 2018, is barred from entering the United States for refusing to take the Covid vaccine.
Tennis legend John McEnroe has blasted the Djokovic ban as a "joke"
"At this point, in the pandemic, we're two and a half years in, I think people in all parts of the world know more about it, and the idea that he can't travel here to play, to me is a joke," said McEnroe.
Ironically, during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Djokovic was allowed to compete at New York where he was champion in 2011, 2015 and 2018.
The 35-year-old hasn't played since securing a seventh Wimbledon title last month, a victory which extended his Slam record to 21.
His controversial vaccination stance also saw him deported from Melbourne in January where he had been hoping to defend his Australian Open title.
Only last month, Djokovic said he was "preparing to play" in the tournament.
He will be put out of his agony on Thursday when the draw takes place.
With Roger Federer still absent from the tour and with question marks over Nadal's fitness and Djokovic's presence, the race for the men's title is likely to be as open as recent years.
Marin Cilic, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem and Medvedev have all broken the New York stranglehold of the 'Big Three' since 2014.
Medvedev will be especially fired up having been banned from Wimbledon along with all other Russian players following the invasion of Ukraine.
On his reappearance on the tour following the All England Club cold shoulder, the 26-year-old claimed the hardcourt title in Los Cabos.
World number two and 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev misses out through injury while fourth-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, a quarter-finalist in 2021, looks to convert potential into a maiden Slam triumph at 19.
Apart from Felix Auger-Aliassime, a semi-finalist last year, the rest of the current top 10 have endured a bittersweet relationship with New York.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Cameron Norrie and Hubert Hurkacz have all yet to make the second week.
Serena Williams ranked as icon alongside Muhammad Ali by fellow US tennis legends
NEW YORK: Serena Williams ranks alongside such icons as Muhammad Ali among the greatest legends in sport, retired US tennis stars John McEnroe and Chris Evert said on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of their commentary duties for the US Open that begins on Monday, Evert hailed 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams, who is likely to retire after this year's Grand Slam showdown in New York.
"I would put her up there as far as the influence, the fact how she revolutionized the game and also how she's influenced girls and women and people throughout the world," Evert said.
"That's how big of a star. She's a superstar. What impresses me the most is just off-court influence and how she's influenced young women to own their power, to speak their mind, to be fearless."
McEnroe gave Serena the GOAT label -- as in Greatest of All Time.
"All you need to say about Serena is that she's put herself in that pantheon of GOATs -- Billie Jean King. Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady. That's where Serena is.
"She has become like an icon of icons. It probably happened later than it deserved to for her, but it's here now."
McEnroe said Williams changed the game with her power and devastating serve, comparing her to NBA 3-point sharpshooter Stephen Curry.
"Serena took it to that next level because she had the greatest serve ever, better than a lot of guys," McEnroe said. "I would compare her in a way, the way she changed it, to Steph Curry. Everyone is shooting 3-pointers, but no one does it as well as him.
Evert spoke of Williams as an inspiration to others.
When it came to this year's US Open, Evert warned "don't underestimate her" but admitted, "it's going to be tough for her to get to that second week" while McEnroe said, "anything could happen. It's so wide open."
When it came to retirement, McEnroe saw Serena closer to tennis than Evert, who cited Williams having said she wants to have another child.
"I think that she'll be more of an ambassador," McEnroe said. "She sounds like she's got a ton of interests and I'm sure that some of those are going to have to do with tennis."
Added Evert: "I don't envision her really around tournaments... I don't think she's going to be as visible in tennis as she is maybe outside of tennis."
Stefanos Tsitsipas downs Daniil Medvedev to set up Borna Coric clash in Cincinnati Open final
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas edged world number one Daniil Medvedev 7-6(6) 3-6 6-3 in an absorbing semi-final at the Cincinnati Open on Saturday to set up a summit clash with Borna Coric after the Croatian's 6-3 6-4 win over Cameron Norrie.
Tsitsipas saved a set point in the opening tie-break to take the lead but collapsed in stunning fashion in the second set, falling behind 5-0 before narrowly avoiding a bagel.But the Greek, who had just two wins in nine matches against Medvedev coming into the encounter, raised his game in the decider and broke the U.S. Open champion at 3-2 before comfortably serving out the match with some exquisite net play.
Sunday will be Tsitsipas' first final appearance in Cincinnati and his fifth overall in 2022.
Coric reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final - and first since undergoing shoulder surgery last year - with a commanding performance against Norrie, who offered little resistance against his opponent's heavy hitting from the baseline.
British ninth seed Norrie started brightly and raced into a 3-1 lead before Coric found his groove to win five straight games and secure the opening set.
"It was a very tough day, a very long day as well," said Coric after both men's semi-finals were delayed due to rain.
"At the beginning I was not there, I was not feeling the ball very well. Then I did find my rhythm. I started to serve better, I started to play much better and I think that was the key to the match."
Coric, who struck 22 winners in all, kept up the momentum in the second set, clinching eight straight points to take a 4-2 lead before closing out the match to set up a third career meeting with Tsitsipas.
US Open to award record $60.1 million in prize money
NEW YORK: This year's US Open will award a record $60.1 million in total player compensation, the US Tennis Association (USTA) said on Thursday, with $2.6 million going to each singles champion, twice the runner-up total.
The prize money total tops the old mark of $57.5 million from last year, with an emphasis on boosting payouts for players in early rounds.
That means a boost to $80,000 for each singles competitor in the main draw first round and $121,000 in the second round.
Those figures represent hikes of 85% and 57% respectively since 2016.
The USTA arrived at the figures after consultation with the WTA and ATP Player Councils.
There will be more than $6.25 million distributed in qualifying rounds.
Doubles champions will be paid $688,000 per team, twice what the runner-up duo will receive.
Main draw matches for the year's final Grand Slam event on the New York hardcourts will begin on August 29.
The second stop on Serena Williams’ farewell tour was a short one.The 40-year-old Williams fell to 0-2 in matches since announcing “the countdown has begun” on her career, losing 6-4, 6-0 to U.S Open champion Emma Raducanu in the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday night.
B. Andreescu back to the top
Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu feels she is on the right track to finding her way back to the top echelons of the sport again after struggling with injuries and mental health issues in the past two years.
In 2019, Andreescu won in Indian Wells and the Canadian Open at home before going on to lift her maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows.
The 22-year-old Canadian rose to a career-best ranking of fourth the same year but later struggled with injuries, never able to recover reprise the same form again.
Andreescu, who has slipped to 53rd in the rankings, returned to the Tour in Stuttgart in April after a lengthy break to deal with mental health issues and revealed that she was close to quitting tennis.