Looking for Tennis and Racket Sports International News?

Stan Wawrinka rolled back the years Thursday at the US Open to survive a baseline slugfest against 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Wawrinka, who lifted the trophy at Flushing Meadows in 2016, displayed vintage firepower and pristine fitness as he battled past the Argentine 7-6(6), 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-2 after three hours, 39 minutes. From the start, both players treated fans to a thrilling contest, no better example than in the third game when the 38-year-old Swiss ripped a forehand passing shot to seal the longest rally of the tournament (35 shots).

The three-time major champion stayed consistent from the back of court and despite relinquishing a set point in the second-set tie-break, he maintained focus to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the Agrentine, whom he also beat in the second round of Wimbledon. Wawrinka broke Etcheverry's serve to love in the sixth game of the third set before cruising to the finish line, striking 47 winners to set a blockbuster third-round clash against sixth seed Jannik Sinner.

[ATP APP]

Making his 16th appearance at the season's final major, Wawrinka is the oldest man to reach the US Open third round since a 39-year-old Jimmy Connors was a semi-finalist in 1991.

Novak Djokovic has dominated the ATP Tour's hard courts throughout his career, and the past 52 weeks are no exception for the 36-year-old.

Across a run that includes titles at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals and the 2023 Australian Open, the Serbian has posted a tour-leading 91.9 per cent win rate (34-3) on the surface during that span. He also won hard-court titles in Tel Aviv and Astana last year as well as at the Adelaide 1 event to start the current season.

View the full hard-court leaderboard, courtesy of Infosys ATP Stats.

[ATp APP]

While he missed the North American hard-court swing last year, Djokovic is set to return for the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati later this month — his first scheduled tour-level appearance since the Wimbledon final.

When Laslo Djere walks on the court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday for his third-round US Open match against Novak Djokovic, he will face one of the biggest challenges in all of sports.

Djokovic has won more major titles — 23 — than any man in tennis history and the 36-year-old has not lost before the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament since 2016. But any challenge he faces on court is incomparable to the obstacles he has overcome off it.

By the age of 23, Djere had lost his mother, Hajnalka and father, Caba, to cancer. Since then, he has persevered and played the best tennis of his life. Continuing to push forward, he has earned opportunities to show his talent on the world’s biggest stages, just like he will against Djokovic.

“I don't want to go too sentimental or sound smart. Everybody has ups and downs and tough moments in life, but I think that's how life is,” Djere told ATPTour.com. “Some are less fortunate than others. Some are more fortunate. Every person has their own story I'm sure.

“It's important that you believe in your goals, your vision, yourself and you don't let things or some other factors that you can't control — or even sometimes you can, but didn't go your way — affect you on your road to that goal... Just keep going no matter what.”

Andy Murray was not only disappointed Thursday because he lost at the US Open. The former World No. 1 was discouraged by how he lost, winning only eight games against 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

“It’s obviously disappointing to not play how you would like. But maybe I need to accept that, these events, I had the deep runs and everything that I felt like I'm capable of, they might not be there, as well,” Murray said. “I'm aware what I'm doing, it's unbelievably challenging to play at the highest level as I am now. And some days it's harder than others. But yeah, today is obviously a really disappointing defeat and probably [because of] the manner of it as well.

“I fought hard enough, but just didn't play well enough. Ultimately these are the events that you want to play your best tennis in, and create more great moments and didn't do that this year.”

Murray, who is 13-12 this season, lost by the third round in all three majors he played this year (he did not compete at Roland Garros). The 36-year-old showed good form at Wimbledon, but ultimately fell in a tough five-setter to Stefanos Tsitsipas. In New York, he never was able to battle his way into the match against Dimitrov.

“I think when you don't play well, obviously it's frustrating. But it can happen. At the highest level if you don't play to a high enough level, it's very hard to win,” Murray said. “Whereas at Wimbledon, obviously when you're playing at a good level and potentially had a good draw there and everything, that's tougher to take.”

John Isner's retirement ends a recurring on-court nightmare for his colleagues on the ATP Tour, who were aced a collective 14,450 times by the American throughout his career. In his final singles match against Michael Mmoh Thursday at the US Open, he fired 48 aces. But no one will be happy to see the all-time ace leader leave.

The 38-year-old has been the ultimate professional since leaving the University of Georgia in 2007, stretching his 6-foot-10 frame to its limits as a stalwart of the game. The No. 1 American in the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings for eight of nine years from 2012-20, Isner was also inside the year-end Top 20 for the entirety of the 2010s. He finishes his career with 489 wins among the top 60 in ATP Tour history, bowing out to Mmoh in a fifth-set tie-break.

“Being the top American, I don't know how many years it was, just maintaining my ranking for a very long time, is something I'm very proud of,” said Isner prior to the final event of his career, the 2023 US Open. “I took great pride in the preparation it took day in, day out, year after year after year. I really truly enjoyed that.

“I think I've overachieved. I never imagined myself having this much success for this long… Of course, there's so many matches I wish I could have back, but I prepared in my mind as best as I possibly could for 17 years. I don't have many regrets, that's for sure.”

Gracious and thoughtful both in the press and with his peers, Isner always carried a sense of humour about his serve-dominant game. He was also generous with his time, which will now be spent in his Dallas home alongside his wife Madison and their four young children.

Former US Open finalist Alexander Zverev boosted his Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances on Thursday, where he overcame German Daniel Altmaier 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in New York.

The German is currently eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin (2,760) and knows a deep run at the hard-court major will increase his hopes of qualifying for an event he has won twice (2018, '21).

[ATP APP]

After cruising through his first match in straight sets, Zverev raised his level when needed against Altmaier, striking 48 winners to improve to 41-20 on the season. The 12th seed will next face Grigor Dimitrov after the Bulgarian defeated Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

Zverev reached the title match in New York in 2020, before he enjoyed a semi-final run in his previous appearance in 2021. He missed last year’s event due to an ankle injury he suffered at Roland Garros in 2022.

Jack Draper stepped up his return to Tour on Thursday with a statement win against World No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz at the US Open.

The Briton retired in the second round in Winston-Salem last week in his first tournament back on Tour after three months out with a shoulder injury. However, the 21-year-old has shown little sign of discomfort in New York, backing up his opening-round win against Radu Albot with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 triumph against Hurkacz.

"I feel physically good. I haven't had match exposure for a long time, so I'm still sort of managing my body," Draper said. "Still getting a little bit sore. Obviously it's a Grand Slam, as well. You have to push your body and know that if you need to go four or five sets, you need to be ready. And I was today. I feel good.

"With regards to my shoulder, I'm kind of looking after it each day. It was a bit sore after my last match but when the adrenaline kicks in and obviously playing the US Open, so, you know, just put it out of my mind and go out and try my best to play the tennis I want to."

[ATP APP]

Jannik Sinner improved to a perfect 10 wins from 10 meetings against fellow Italians with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Lorenzo Sonego to reach the third round of the US Open Thursday.

The World No. 6 was rock solid on serve, dropping just 10 points on serve and not offering up any break point chances. He also continued to back himself at net, winning 21 from 24 net approaches. He has found himself at net 50 times in two matches this fortnight.

“We work a lot, me and my team, trying to push myself forward and I feel like my game has improved a little bit," Sinner said. "I feel more comfortable at the net and this is a new thing of mine. Hopefully I can also show this in the future."

Many fans are looking ahead to a quarter-final re-match between Sinner and top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who last year saved a match point to deny the Italian in the last eight en route to his maiden Grand Slam title.

But the 22-year-old knows that much works is still to be done in the next two rounds to book a date with the World No. 1. Sinner next faces the winner of Stan Wawrinka and Yoshihito Nishioka and could face 12th seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round.

Following early upsets at the US Open, three Americans — Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe — have a big opportunity to make a move in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Fritz reached the semi-finals at last year's Nitto ATP Finals, while his countrymen have an opportunity to move into qualifying position with a big run at the season's final major.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

Fritz will play Jakub Mensik on the Czech's 18th birthday Friday and if he wins, would not face a seeded opponent in the fourth round. Second seed Novak Djokovic is his projected quarter-final opponent.

Two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev is in ninth place, just 35 points behind Fritz, putting him in a similar position to the American. The German has reached the semi-finals and final in his past two US Open appearances.

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Argentina currently boasts seven players in the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with three of them in the Top 35. That high-flying trio are Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

All are members of the same generation at 25, 22 and 24 years of age respectively. This is something of a blessing; they drive each other to improve as they aim to take their country to the pinnacle of the sport and create an exciting brood of young players.

“I’m happy when my peers do well,” said Baez after coming through the first round at the US Open, where he saw off 27th seed Borna Coric. “It’s always motivating, and I think it’s mutual. When one does well, the other feels like it could happen to him too. That healthy competition is very good. It’s really good feedback. I always wish everyone the best, even more so when I’ve been around them since I was 12.

“Each of us is concentrating on our own thing, [but] when one of us does well, we congratulate each other. We’re happy that the other is doing well.”

Novak Djokovic is well aware of the guts, determination and mental resilience required to secure Grand Slam glory.

Those are qualities the 23-time major champion sees in Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. His own on-court positivity was praised by both WTA stars Wednesday at the US Open, and Djokovic then took the chance to reflect on Swiatek and Gauff’s respective strengths after his second-round victory against Bernabe Zapata Miralles in New York.

“Iga has been dominating the women's game last couple of years, she is a multiple Grand Slam winner. I love her devotion and dedication,” said Djokovic of WTA No. 1 Swiatek, who won her maiden US Open crown in 2022. “Maybe she's too humble to say, too modest to say, but she's got a great fighting spirit, no doubt. She's a warrior, goes out there and doesn't give a single game.

“She has probably the most bagels of anyone in women's tennis the last few years. It speaks about how seriously and professionally she's taking every single point and game on the court. So that's very admirable. I really like that kind of champion spirit and mindset.”

The 19-year-old Gauff is chasing her maiden major title this fortnight in New York, where this year she arrived fresh from lifting the biggest single’s title of her career in Cincinnati.

Zhang Zhizhen earned the biggest win of his career Wednesday when he outlasted World No. 5 Casper Ruud in five sets at the US Open.

The Chinese star survived a thrilling back-and-forth encounter, upsetting last year’s finalist Ruud 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 after three hours, 18 minutes.

Zhang delivered an inspired performance, striking 59 winners to become the first Chinese man to earn a Top 5 win since the beginning of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (1973). The World No. 67, who also needed five sets to get past J.J. Wolf in the opening round, will next face Australian Rinky Hijikata in the third round.

More to follow...

Tommy Paul accomplished something he had never done before on Wednesday at Flushing Meadows.

The 14th seed rallied from two sets down for the first time, surging past Roman Safiullin 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in three hours and 12 minutes to reach the third round of the US Open for the second consecutive year.

Entering the season’s final major in 2022, Paul was 0-4 at the tournament. But he has now won four matches in New York over the past two editions. Against Safiullin he won just one more point (130-129), but his 43 winners were enough to move on.

[ATP APP]

Four of the American’s five US Open matches since the start of last year’s tournament have gone to five sets. He has already played a five-setter this year against his next opponent, 21st seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Frances Tiafoe produced a rock-solid performance Wednesday when he cruised past Austrian Sebastian Ofner in the US Open second round.

The 10th seed was watertight from the baseline to oust Ofner 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, committing just 14 unforced errors throughout the one-hour, 31-minute contest. A semi-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, Tiafoe showed precision on serve, dropping just five points behind his first delivery and saving the lone break point he faced all match.

The American thrilled the home crowd with easy firepower from his forehand and struck several passing shots by Ofner, who was making his US Open main-draw debut.

“I thought I played really solid tonight. I thought I hit the ball really well from both sides,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “I could have served a bit better tonight, but other than that, I didn’t have so many unforced errors. I put a lot of pressure on him. I hit my forehand great tonight and moved really well tonight. A win is a win and we are on to the next one.”

A three-time tour-level titlist, Tiafoe is competing this fortnight at a career-high World No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He will next meet 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino for their third Lexus ATP Head2Head series meeting (1-1). The Frenchman Mannarino advanced after defeating Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus survived two tight sets Wednesday at the US Open to continue their hard-court form.

The 12th seeds, who were finalists at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, overcame Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 7-6(3), 7-6(3) in the first round at Flushing Meadows. Neither team managed to break serve, with the British-Kiwi pair fending off all three break points faced to advance. They will next meet Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut or Marton Fucsovics and Alexei Popyrin.

Also in doubles action Wednesday, third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury made a winning start to their quest for a US Open hat-trick. The American-British duo, who won the title in 2021-2022, moved past Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 7-6(2). Sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden cruised past Australians Christopher O’Connell and Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-2 in just 55 minutes.

[ATP APP]

13th seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara won 84 per cent of their first-serve points to down Marcelo Melo and John Peers 6-4, 7-6(4). Winston-Salem Open champions Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow extended their winning streak to five by defeating Argentines Guillermo Duran and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 6-4.

Stefanos Tsitsipas took full ownership of his disappointing second-round US Open loss to Dominic Stricker Wednesday, dismissing talk that a change in his coaching structure in recent weeks was to blame for his lackluster showing during the North American hard-court swing.

Now having failed to reach the second week of the US Open in his six career appearances in New York, the Greek said that his decision to elevate former US Open and Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis to head coach over his father Apostolos this month was not a factor in his sluggish form and in his 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-3 defeat to Swiss World No. 128 Stricker.

“By no means I'm supposed to put any blame on any people or any members of my team. Everything on court is under my control and under my talents, and the way I can play this sport are shown out on the court. If I'm not able to deliver, then I'm not supposed to be doing well,” Tsitsipas said.

[ATP APP]

“That's what happened this summer. I was not good enough to deliver and score good results. I won't blame it on anything. It's just poor performance after Los Cabos.”

Lloyd Harris and his coach, Anthony Harris, used to visit Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy in Spain to prepare for the clay-court season. The South African would train with a 15-year-old Spaniard named Carlos Alcaraz.

“I was practising every day with Carlos. He was already hitting the forehand way bigger than me and I was like, ‘This is problematic. He's 15,’” Harris told ATPTour.com. “I was still able to beat him in sets, that was nice. But I think since then, it's been incredible to see the journey and what he’s capable of. You have so many factors that come together there. It's unbelievable, what a talent.”

On Thursday, Harris will play Alcaraz in the second round of the US Open. It will be their first ATP Head2Head clash, and Harris has plenty of respect for the top seed.

“The speed on the forehand was just incredible. The heaviness, the speed. That was definitely [his strength] at the time,” Harris said. “Obviously now you could say a lot of things. I don't want to give the guy too many compliments. I don't want to burst his bubble, but he's incredible, obviously.”

[ATP APP]

Novak Djokovic continued his perfect record at this year’s US Open on Wednesday when he defeated Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the third round.

The Serbian won his opening match in straight sets to guarantee his return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday 11 September and was impressive again against Zapata Miralles, saving all six break points he faced to advance after two hours and two minutes. The 36-year-old has dropped just 11 games in his first two matches.

"At 36 years of age, after 20 years of coming to New York, I still have the hunger to play my best tennis on this court," Djokovic said. "I have the experience and understanding of what needs to be done in the important moments. Preserving the energy and focusing on the present moment."

Djokovic, who last appeared in New York in 2021 when he reached the final, will next meet Laslo Djere after the Serbian overcame Hugo Gaston 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

[ATP APP]

#NextGenATP Swiss Dominic Stricker earned his maiden Top 10 win on Wednesday at the US Open, where he upset World No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-3 to reach the third round at a major for the first time.

The 21-year-old, who is making his debut in New York, showed desire and quality throughout the four-hour, 10-minute epic to earn his second five-set win at a major. In humid conditions, the lefty rallied from 3-5 in the fourth set, while he was two points from defeat three times in the set.

"I came out today pretty well. I felt good from the first set on. It was a tough battle but I am just super happy right now," Stricker said. "I am going to enjoy the rest of the day and then I will recover for the next round.

"I was down 3-5 and then I came back in the fourth set. I don't know how, but I did it somehow and then I kept playing very high level tennis. I am a bit speechless but it is a great day."

[ATP APP]

Taylor Fritz was one of the stars of Netflix’s hit tennis docuseries Break Point. The show followed him throughout the 2022 season as he hit highs and lows, from winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells to losing in the first round of the US Open.

With the American every step of the way was his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, who has been committed to Fritz’s mission of helping expand tennis to the masses.

“The last couple years we’ve just developed such a good partnership,” Riddle said during a recent Break Point reunion, in conversation with Frances Tiafoe’s girlfriend Ayan Broomfield. “[With] what we’re both doing with my social stuff and his tennis, we’re just having this collective goal of him having the best career possible, and bringing tennis to a younger audience.”

Watch Full Reunion:

Riddle is very familiar with the world of content being a social media influencer. She was impressed with how Netflix producers handled the filming process.