Daniil denies Djokovic's bid for calendar-year Slam

   A formidable opponent, fatigue and pressure were too much for Novak Djokovic.

   No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev outclassed the top-ranked Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 today in the U.S. Open for his first Grand Slam title.

   Djokovic fell one victory short of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam. Laver, 83, attended the final in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Djokovic, 34, also remained tied with Roger Federer, 40, and Rafael Nadal, 35, with a record 20 major singles titles.

   Medvedev, a 25-year-old Russian, had been 0-2 in Grand Slam finals and 0-2 against Djokovic in majors. 

   "You never know if you're going to achieve (winning a major) in your career," Medvedev, who improved to 4-5 against Djokovic with four wins in their last six meetings, told reporters. "I was always saying, if I don't, I just want to know that I did my best to do it."

   Djokovic was coming off a draining, five-set victory over No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, who ended Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics en route to the gold medal, on Friday and lost the first set for the fifth consecutive match. 

   Medvedev, meanwhile, lost only one set in his seven matches, to qualifier Botic Van De Zandschulp of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

   Medvedev has a tremendous combination of size (6-foot-6 or 1.98 meters) and quickness. He pounded 16 aces to Djokovic's six and saved five of six break points. Djokovic ripped 27 winners and committed 38 unforced errors.

   Djokovic told the crowd that, despite the loss, "I'm the happiest man alive because you guys made me feel very special. You guys touched my soul. I've never felt like this in New York."

   Medvedev broke serve twice to lead 3-0 in the third set and held for 4-0. Serving for the title at 5-2, he double-faulted twice in a row, once on championship point, and was broken on an error.

   After Djokovic held for 4-5, Medvedev double-faulted on his second championship point but converted his third with a service winner.

   In the opening set, Medvedev won all 15 points on his first serve. Early in the second set, Djokovic smashed his racket on the court in frustration.

   In the women's doubles final, No. 14 seeds Samantha Stosur, 37, of Australia and Zhang Shuai, 32, of China beat No. 11 seeds Coco Gauff, 17, of Delray Beach, Fla., and Catherine McNally, 19, of Cincinnati,  6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for their 11th consecutive victory.

   Stosur claimed the first of her four Grand Slam women's doubles titles in the 2005 U.S. Open with since-retired Lisa Raymond. Zhang won her only other major women's doubles crown with Stosur in the 2019 Australian Open.

   Zhang reached the singles quarterfinals in San Jose last month, defeating Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. 

   WTA Tour — No. 3 seed Mayar Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt defeated No. 4 seed Martina Trevisan of Italy 6-3, 6-2 to win the $125,000 Liqy Moly Open on clay in Karlsruhe, Germany. 

   In the doubles final, No. 4 seeds Irina Bara of Romania and Ekaterine Gorgodze of Georgia topped No. 3 seeds Katarzyna Piter of Poland and Sherif 6-3, 2-6 [10-7].

Djokovic tops Zverev, eyes history vs. Medvedev in final

Novak Djokovic needs one more victory to earn the first calendar-
year Grand Slam in 52 years and a record 21st major singles title.
2015 photo by Paul Bauman

  Only Daniil Medvedev stands in the way of history for Novak Djokovic.

  In a match filled with breathtaking rallies, the top-ranked Djokovic defeated No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 tonight in the U.S. Open to move within one victory of becoming the first man to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

   Djokovic, who lost the first set for the fourth consecutive match, also can break the record of 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both of whom missed the U.S. Open with injuries. 

   Djokovic ended the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev's winning streak at 16 matches, including the gold medal in men's singles in the Tokyo Olympics. Zverev, who has denied domestic abuse allegations, ended Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam in the Olympic semifinals.

   Zverev advanced to last year's U.S. Open final, losing to Dominic Thiem after leading two sets to none.

   In tonight's fifth set, Zverev blew an overhead to trail by two service breaks at 0-4, and Djokovic held for 5-0. Zverev then held serve and converted his fifth break point on Djokovic's double fault for 2-5, but Djokovic broke back for the match.

   On Djokovic's first set point in the third set, Zverev ended a 53-ball rally with an inside-out forehand passing shot. Djokovic put away an overhead on the next point to take the set. 

   Djokovic won the fourth set when he finished a 30-ball rally with a forehand cross-court passing shot.

   Djokovic is scheduled to play the second-seeded Medvedev of Russia on Sunday at 1 p.m. (ESPN).

   The 6-foot-6 Medvedev, 25, eliminated No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, the first Canadian man to reach the U.S. Open semis, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to advance to his third Grand Slam singles final. Medvedev rallied from 2-5 in the second set and saved two set points at 4-5.

   Medvedev lost to Nadal in five sets in the 2019 U.S. Open final and to Djokovic in straight sets in this year's Australian Open title match.

  Djokovic is 5-3 against Medvedev, who has won three of the last five meetings.

   Men's doubles — No. 4 seeds Rajeev Ram, a 37-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat No. 7 seeds Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 for their second Grand Slam men's doubles crown.

   Ram and Salisbury, who also won the 2020 Australian Open, saved four match points against unseeded Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell of Australia in the quarterfinals.

   Ram also owns two Australian Open mixed doubles titles (with Barbora Krejcikova in 2019 and 2021) and an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles (with Venus Williams in 2016.)

   Salisbury, 29, also advanced to the U.S. Open mixed doubles final with Desirae Krawczyk of Palm Desert, Calif. Seeded second, they are set to play unseeded Giuliana Olmos, an Austria native who grew up in Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area and represents Mexico, and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador on Saturday. 

   Salisbury is trying to become the first player to win the men's doubles and mixed doubles titles in the same year at the U.S. Open since Bob Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) in 2010.

   Krawczyk, a 27-year-old left-hander, seeks her third consecutive Grand Slam mixed doubles crown. She won the French Open with Salisbury and Wimbledon with Neal Skupski of Great Britain this year.

   Krawczyk and Olmos claimed the doubles title in the last (2017) Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger.

   Soares, 39, was playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon. He had an appendectomy upon arriving in Tokyo for the Olympics.

   Murray, Andy's older brother, and Soares won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016. Soares also prevailed at Flushing Meadows last year with Mate Pavic of Croatia.

   Boys doubles — Wild cards Nicholas Godsick of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., surprised No. 3 seeds Sean Cuenin and Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg of France 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.

   Godsick's parents are Mary Joe Fernandez, a former top-five player in singles and doubles who now works as an ESPN commentator, and Tony Godsick, Federer's agent.

Teens Raducanu, Fernandez advance to U.S. Open final

Emma Raducanu lost in the first round of last month's Mubadala Silicon Valley
Classic in San Jose. Photo by Mal Taam

   Emma Raducanu, 18, of Great Britain became the first qualifier in tennis history to reach a Grand Slam final, outslugging No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-1, 6-4 tonight in the U.S. Open.

   Raducanu, ranked No. 150, has not lost a set in her nine matches at Flushing Meadows. Only once, in the second round of qualifying, has she dropped as many as five games in a set.

   Raducanu is scheduled to face unseeded Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian left-hander who turned 19 on Monday, for the first time as professionals on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT (ESPN). It will be the first all-teenage major final since Serena Williams, 17, defeated Martina Hingis, 18, in the 1999 U.S. Open.

   Fernandez, ranked No. 73, topped No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 for her fourth consecutive three-set victory over a seed. Fernandez ousted No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka, who won her second U.S. Open title last year, in the third round, No. 16 seed Angelique Kerber, the 2016 U.S. Open champion, in the round of 16 and No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

   The steady Fernandez broke at love for the match with the help of two consecutive double faults. Sabalenka, powerful but mercurial, led 3-0 and 4-1 in the first set and had a set point with Fernandez serving at 5-6 but netted a forehand. 

   Fernandez will try to become the second 19-year-old Canadian in three years to win the U.S. Open. Bianca Andreescu stunned Serena Williams in 2019.

   Raducanu beat Fernandez 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the Wimbledon juniors in 2018.

   Neither Raducanu nor Fernandez has come out of nowhere.

   In July, Raducanu became the youngest British woman to advance to the round of 16 at Wimbledon in the Open Era, which began in 1968. Under massive pressure in her home country, she retired while trailing Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 0-3 because of difficulty breathing.

   In her first match after Wimbledon, Raducanu lost to Zhang Shuai of China 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic as a wild card.

   Fernandez reached a WTA final at 17 and won one at 18.

   Sakkari and Sabalenka —San Jose runners-up in 2018 and 2019, respectively — fell to 0-2 in Grand Slam semifinals. Sakkari had a match point in a marathon loss to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in the French Open in June, and Sabalenka also lost 6-4 in the third set to Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon in July.

   Men's doubles — Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury reached their third Grand Slam final but first outside of Australia.

   The fourth-seeded Ram, a 37-year-old volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Salisbury, 28, of Great Britain beat wild cards Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region and Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

   Ram and Salisbury, the Australian Open champions in 2020 and runners-up this year, won their previous two matches in third-set tiebreakers. They saved four match points against unseeded Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell of Australia in the quarterfinals.

    Ram and Salisbury are set to play No. 7 seeds Jamie Murray of Great Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil on Friday at 9 a.m. PDT (ESPN2). Murray, Andy's older brother, and Soares topped No. 8 seeds John Peers of Australia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

   Soares is playing in his first tournament since Wimbledon. He underwent an appendectomy upon arriving at the Tokyo Olympics.

   Murray and Soares won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016. Soares also prevailed at Flushing Meadows last year with Mate Pavic of Croatia.

   Ram and Salisbury beat Murray and Soares 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the semifinals of this year's Australian Open in their only previous meeting.

   Salisbury is trying to become the first man to win the men's doubles and mixed doubles titles in the same year at the U.S. Open since Bob Bryan (Stanford, 1997-98) in 2010, according to atptour.com. 

   Boys doubles —Wild cards Nicholas Godsick of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., will have to wait one day to play their quarterfinal against No. 3 seeds Sean Cuenin and Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg of France. The match was postponed by rain.

   Godsick's parents are Mary Joe Fernandez, a former top-five player in singles and doubles who now works as an ESPN commentator, and Tony Godsick, Roger Federer's agent.

Raducanu, 18, beats gold medalist to make Open history

Emma Raducanu, 18, of Great Britain plays in last month's Mubadala Silicon
Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif. Photo by Mal Taam

   Emma Raducanu, 18, of Great Britain defeated No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4 today to become the first qualifier, female or male, to reach the U.S. Open semifinals.

   Bencic, 24, won the gold medal in women's singles in the Tokyo Olympics last month.

   Raducanu has not lost a set in her eight matches in the tournament. Only once, in the second round of qualifying, has she dropped as many as five games in a set. 

   In July, Raducanu became the youngest British woman to advance to the round of 16 at Wimbledon in the Open Era, which began in 1968. Under massive pressure in her home country, she retired while trailing Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 0-3 because of difficulty breathing.

   As a wild card in San Jose last month, Raducanu lost to Zhang Shuai of China in the opening round.

   Raducanu, ranked No. 150, is scheduled to face No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece for the first time on Thursday. Sakkari, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal in the French Open in June, beat No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova, the runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Open and at Wimbledon in July, 6-4, 6-4.

   The 5-foot-8 (1.73-meter) Sakkari, a finalist in the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, won 24 of 26 points (92 percent) on her serve, including 22 in a row.

   Pliskova advanced to the final of the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

   In Thursday's first semifinal at 4 p.m. PDT (ESPN), No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, the San Jose runner-up in 2019, is set to meet Leylah Fernandez, an 18-year-old left-hander from Canada, for the first time.

   On the men's side, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany extended his winning streak to 16 matches with a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4 victory over unseeded Lloyd Harris of South Africa.

   Zverev earned the gold medal in men's singles in the Tokyo Olympics, ending Novak Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam in the semifinals, and won Cincinnati last month. Zverev also advanced to last year's U.S. Open final, losing to Dominic Thiem after leading two sets to none.

   Harris won a Northern California Challenger and reached the final of another in 2018.

   Zverev, who has denied allegations of domestic abuse, is set to play the top-ranked Djokovic in Friday's semifinals. Djokovic defeated No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in a rematch of this year's Wimbledon final, which the 34-year-old Serb won 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

   For the third consecutive match in the U.S. Open, Djokovic lost the first set and surrendered no more than three games in a set the rest of the way.

   Djokovic needs two more victories to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam since 1969 and break the record of 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is 6-3 against Zverev, 24.

   In Friday's other men's semifinal, No. 2 seed and 2019 runner-up Daniil Medvedev, 25, of Russia is scheduled to meet No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 21-year-old Canadian.

   Medvedev edged Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) in the second round in Montreal in 2018 in their only previous meeting.

   Mixed doubles — Giuliana Olmos, an Austria native who grew up in Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area and represents Mexico, and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador topped Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine and Max Purcell of Australia 4-6, 6-4 [10-6] in a battle of unseeded teams to reach the final.

   Olmos and Arevalo, who have survived three consecutive match tiebreakers, are slated to play either No. 2 seeds Desirae Krawczyk, a native of Palm Desert, Calif., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain or unseeded Americans Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek. 

   Olmos and Krawczyk won the doubles title in the last (2017) Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger.

   Boys doubles — Wild cards Nicholas Godsick of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., surprised No. 5 seeds Gonzalo Bueno of Peru and Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals.

   Godsick's parents are Mary Joe Fernandez, a former top-five player in singles and doubles who now works as an ESPN commentator, and Tony Godsick, Federer's agent.

Djokovic overcomes slow start to beat Brooksby, 20

Novak Djokovic moved one step closer to completing the first calendar-
year Grand Slam in 52 years. 2015 photo by Paul Bauman

   Well, it was a good start for Jenson Brooksby.

   Then reality hit.

   Top-ranked Novak Djokovic defeated Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from the Sacramento, Calif., suburb of Carmichael, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 tonight to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Djokovic, who committed 10 unforced errors in the first set to Brooksby's one, moved one step closer to becoming the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam.

   Djokovic, 34, also aims to break the record of 20 major singles titles that he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both of whom missed the U.S. Open with injuries.

   Brooksby faced a top-10 player for the first time and played his first match in 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest tennis facility in the world. Ranked No. 307 when he turned pro in late December, Brooksby will jump 20 places to a career-high No. 79 after the U.S. Open.

   "Brooksby is very talented and intelligent," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "America has a bright future."

   ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert, who was born in Oakland, Calif., and grew up in nearby Piedmont, predicted that the 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Brooksby eventually will crack the top 10 and, if he develops a big serve, the top five. 

   No American men or women reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals. The top three U.S. women — Sofia Kenin (positive COVID test), Jennifer Brady (unspecified injury) and Serena Williams (hamstring injury) — missed the tournament.

   No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick in the 2003 U.S. Open, but there's hope with Brooksby, 6-foot-11 (2.11-meter) Reilly Opelka (24) and Sebastian Korda (21).   

   Next for Djokovic is No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy in a rematch of this year's Wimbledon final, which Djokovic won in four sets. Berrettini beat qualifier Oscar Otte of Germany 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

   In the other men's quarterfinal in the top half of the draw, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany is set to meet unseeded Lloyd Harris of South Africa.

   Zverev, last year's U.S. Open runner-up, extended his winning streak to 15 matches, including an Olympic gold medal, with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7) victory over No. 13 seed Jannik Sinner, a 20-year-old Italian.

   Harris, who won a Northern California Challenger and reached the final of another in 2018, outplayed No. 22 seed Opelka of Delray Beach, Fla., 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. The 6-foot-4 (1.93-meter) Harris blasted 36 aces and Opelka 24.

   Emma Raducanu also advanced to her first major quarterfinal, as the 18-year-old qualifier from Great Britain routed Shelby Rogers of Charleston, S.C., 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes. Rogers was coming off a 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (5) win over top-ranked Ashleigh Barty.

   Raducanu is slated to face No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland on Wednesday. Bencic, the gold medalist in women's singles in the Tokyo Olympics, beat No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek, last year's French Open champion at 19, 7-6, (12), 6-3. 

   No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova, the runner-up to Angelique Kerber in the 2016 U.S. Open and 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, is scheduled to play No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece on Wednesday.

   Sakkari, the runner-up in the inaugural (2018) Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., outslugged No. 6 seed Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion at 19, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3 in a 3-hour, 30-minute battle that ended at 2:15 a.m. EDT. Andreescu had her left thigh taped during the third set.  

   Sakkari's victory ensures a first-time U.S. Open champion. 

   Women's doubles — No. 14 seeds Samantha Stosur of Australia and Zhang Shuai of China eliminated No. 3 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (a native of Mountain View in the San Francisco Bay Area) of Japan 7-5, 7-5 in the third round. Stosur and Zhang won the 2019 Australian Open, and Stosur captured the 2005 U.S. Open with Lisa Raymond.

   Men's doubles — No. 4 seeds Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain edged No. 12 seeded Rohan Bopanna, 41, of India and Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3) to reach the quarterfinals.

   Boys singles — Wild card Aidan Mayo, a Sacramento-area product, and Ethan Quinn of Fresno, Calif., won their first-round matches. Mayo is set to face top-seeded Shang Juncheng of China on Tuesday.

18-year-olds Fernandez, Alcaraz reach Open quarters

   Those victories by Leylah Fernandez and Carlos Alcaraz over the No. 3 seeds on Friday were no flukes.

   The 18-year-olds have reached their first Grand Slam quarterfinals in the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Fernandez, a Canadian, defeated No. 16 seed Angelique Kerber 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 today in a battle of left-handers after stunning Naomi Osaka. It was the second consecutive match in which Fernandez, who will turn 19 on Monday, came within a tiebreaker of losing in straight sets to a U.S. Open champion and former world No. 1.

   As it is, Fernandez's victory assures a first-time U.S. Open finalist.

   Alcaraz, from Spain, outlasted qualifier Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 after ousting Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets. Alcaraz became the youngest U.S. Open men's quarterfinalist in the Open Era, which began in 1968.

   Fernandez is scheduled to play No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina, a Ukrainian who dismissed No. 12 seed Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3. Halep, who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, was playing in her third tournament since missing three months with a calf tear.

   In the other quarterfinal in the bottom half of the women's draw, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka is set to play No. 8 seed Barbora Krejcikova, who defeated No. 9 seed Garbiñe Muguruza 6-3, 7-6 (4). Krejcikova, the reigning French Open champion, left the court for a nine-minute medical timeout late in the second set.

   Alcaraz is slated to face No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 21-year-old Canadian who topped Frances Tiafoe of Boynton Beach, Fla., 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

   Botic Van De Zandschulp of the Netherlands shocked No. 11 seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 in 4 hours, 20 minutes to become only the third men's qualifier to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals in the Open Era.

   Van De Zandschulp is set to face No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev, who dominated No. 24 Daniel Evans of Great Britain 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Medvedev, the 2019 runner-up, has not lost more than four games in a set in his four matches. 

   Men's doubles — Wild cards Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region and Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, outplayed Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania and Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

   Johnson and Querrey advanced to the semifinals of the 2015 U.S. Open but had not won a doubles match in the tournament, together or separately, since then until this week. 

   Mixed doubles — Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton, Fla., and Austin Krajicek of Plano, Texas, surprised No. 6 seeds Ena Shibahara (a San Francisco Bay Area native) and Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14) of Japan 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the second round.

Brooksby, 20, to face Djokovic; Rogers stuns No. 1 Barty

Jenson Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from the Sacra-
mento area, beat Aslan Karatsev, seeded 21st and ranked
25th, in five sets today in the third round of the U.S. Open.
2021 photo courtesy of USTA 

   The Carmichael Kid will have his work cut out for him on Labor Day.

   Jenson Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, is scheduled to face top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Monday in the U.S. Open round of 16. It will be Brooksby's first match against a top-10 player.

  Brooksby advanced with a 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Aslan Karatsev, seeded 21st and ranked 25th, today in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Brooksby broke for 3-1 in the fifth set on a double fault and held serve for 4-1.

   Djokovic defeated Kei Nishikori, the U.S. Open runner-up in 2014, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to improve to 20-2 in the head-to-head series with an 18-match winning streak.

   Djokovic seeks to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam. The 34-year-old Serb also aims to break the record of 20 major singles titles that he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. 

   Meanwhile, unseeded Shelby Rogers, a 28-year-old American, shocked top-ranked Ashleigh Barty 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5) in the round of 16. Barty, who won Wimbledon in July for her second Grand Slam singles crown, led 5-2 with two service breaks in the third set.

   Rogers, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist last year, had been 0-4 this year against Barty, although two of the matches were close, and 0-5 overall against the 25-year-old Australian.

   Brooksby avenged a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Karatsev, a 27-year-old Russian, in the first round of the French Open in May in their only previous meeting to become the youngest American man to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open since 20-year-old Andy Roddick in 2002. 

   In the Australian Open in February, the 114th-ranked Karatsev became the first player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals in his Grand Slam main-draw debut, the first qualifier to advance to a major semifinal since Vladimir Voltchkov at Wimbledon in 2000 and the lowest-ranked Grand Slam semifinalist since No. 125 Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon in 2001. 

   Brooksby, ranked No. 307 when he turned pro in late December, will jump at least 20 spots to No. 79 after the U.S. Open.

   Men's doubles — U.S. wild cards Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native now living in Las Vegas, surprised No. 14 seeds Simone Bolelli of Italy and Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the second round. 

   Also, Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Andres Molteni of Argentina edged No. 11 seeds Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14) of Japan 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

   Mixed doubles — Giuliana Olmos, a Bay Area product who represents Mexico, and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador ousted top-seeded Nicole Melichar-Martinez, a Czech-born American, and Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 3-6 [10-5] in the second round. 

   Melichar (pronounced Mel-i-car)-Martinez and then-44-year-old Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic won the 2019 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif.

   In the opening round today, No. 6 seeds Ena Shibahara (a San Francisco Bay Area native) and McLachlan beat U.S. alternates Hayley Carter and Hunter Reese 7-5, 6-2.

Kerber finally stops Stephens; Osaka, Tsitsipas fall

Angelique Kerber had not won a set in her last
five matches against Sloane Stephens. 2017
photo by Paul Bauman

   In a matchup of former U.S. Open champions, No. 16 seed Angelique Kerber defeated Sloane Stephens 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 today in the third round of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Kerber, a 33-year-old left-hander from Germany, reeled off the last three games. She broke for 4-3 and for the match on errors by Stephens, a 28-year-old product of Fresno, Calif.

   Kerber, who won the 2016 U.S. Open and the 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, had not won a set in her last five matches against Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion. They met for the first time since 2018 and the first time ever in a Grand Slam tournament.

   Kerber, who was two points from losing in the first round against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, is set to face Leylah Fernandez of Canada on Sunday for a quarterfinal berth. Fernandez, an 18-year-old left-hander, stunned No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka, the defending and two-time champion, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

   Osaka, 23, of Japan announced afterward that she will take an indefinite break from tennis. 

   "When I win, I don't feel happy," Osaka, who withdrew from her second-round match in the French Open and skipped Wimbledon because of mental health issues, told a Japanese reporter. "I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don't think that's normal."

    An 18-year-old also knocked out the men's No. 3 seed as Carlos Alcaraz of Spain edged Stefanos Tsitsipas, the French Open runner-up in June, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 0-6, 7-6 (5) in 4 hours, 7 minutes.

   In a late third-round match, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus dismissed No. 26 seed Danielle Collins of St. Petersburg, Fla., 6-3, 6-3.

   Sabalenka reached the final of the 2019 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif., losing to Zheng Saisai, and Collins won the Mubadala title last month, defeating Daria Kasatkina. 

   Men's doubles — No. 4 seeds Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain dispatched John Millman of Australia and Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.

   In the first round:

   — Wild cards Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region and Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, edged Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3).

   — Denmark's Frederik Nielsen and Canada's Vasek Pospisil, former Wimbledon men's doubles champions with different partners, beat Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks in the L.A. area and Andre Goransson (Cal, 2014-17) of Sweden 6-3, 7-6 (3).

   — Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Andres Molteni of Argentina eliminated Robin Haase of the Netherlands and Mackenzie McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

   Women's doubles — No. 3 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (a Bay Area native) of Japan beat Eri Hozumi of Japan and Alicja Rosolska of Poland 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the second round.

   Mixed doubles — Giuliana Olmos, a product of Fremont in the Bay Area who represents Mexico, and Arevalo defeated Asia Muhammad of Las Vegas and Jackson Withrow of Omaha, Neb., 7-6 (5), 6-3.

   — Alternates Yastremska and Max Purcell of Australia topped Sania Mirza of India and Ram 6-3, 3-6 [10-7]. Mirza and Ram have won a combined five Grand Slam mixed doubles crowns but none together.

Brooksby frustrates Fritz to reach third round of Open

Jenson Brooksby needed more than four hours to subdue fellow
Californian Taylor Fritz today. 2021 photo courtesy of USTA

   Jenson Brooksby reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time today, gutting out a victory over fellow Californian Taylor Fritz.

   Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, outlasted Fritz, 23, of Rancho Palos Verdes in the Los Angeles region, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (10), 7-5, 6-2 in 4 hours, 6 minutes in the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Brooksby converted his seventh match point. 

   Less than nine months after turning pro, Brooksby will rise at least 11 places to a career-high No. 88 after the U.S. Open.

   Fritz will improve five spots to No. 37, 13 notches off his career high in March 2020. He won Northern California Challengers in Sacramento and Fairfield in consecutive weeks in 2015 at 17. 

   Brooksby is set to face No. 21 seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia on Saturday. The 27-year-old Karatsev, ranked 25th, saved two match points in a 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (9), 6-1 victory over Jordan Thompson of Australia. The match lasted 4 hours, 40 minutes.

   Karatsev defeated Brooksby 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the French Open in May in their only previous meeting. The winner of the rematch likely will play top-ranked Novak Djokovic, seeking to become the first man to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969, for a quarterfinal berth.

   In the Australian Open in February, the 114th-ranked Karatsev became the first player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals in his Grand Slam main-draw debut, the first qualifier to advance to a major semifinal since Vladimir Voltchkov at Wimbledon in 2000 and the lowest-ranked Grand Slam semifinalist since No. 125 Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon in 2001.

   Also today, 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-3 outlasted Mackenzie McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 3:57 in a matchup of undersized veterans.

   Nishikori, 31, served for the match at 5-4 in the third set but was broken at love. He avenged a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 loss to McDonald four weeks ago in the Washington semifinals to earn a meeting with Djokovic.

   In a late match, No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova, the runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Open and 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, edged 20-year-old American Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7) in 2:21.

   Anisimova, who won her first professional title in the last (2017) Sacramento Challenger and reached the semifinals of the 2019 French Open, had a match point at 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker.   

   In the first round of doubles:

   —No. 3 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (a Bay Area native) of Japan dismissed Americans Madison Brengle and Claire Liu 6-2, 6-3. Brengle won NorCal Challenger singles titles in 2018 and 2019 and reached a NorCal singles final in 2013.

   —Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand beat Christina McHale of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and Giuliana Olmos, a Bay Area product who represents Mexico, 6-4, 6-2.

   —No. 11 seeds Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Ben McLachlan (University of California, Berkeley, 2011-14) of Japan topped U.S. wild cards Mitchell Krueger and Michael Mmoh 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5). Mmoh won the singles crown in the 2018 Tiburon Challenger in the Bay Area.

Ex-champ Stephens stymies Gauff, 17, in U.S. Open

Sloane Stephens could meet Angelique Kerber in a third-round matchup
of former U.S. Open champions. 2019 photo by Mal Taam

   Sloane Stephens, a 28-year-old product of Fresno, Calif., now based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., defeated No. 21 seed Coco Gauff, 17, of Delray Beach, Fla., 6-4, 6-2 tonight in the second round of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Stephens won the 2017 U.S. Open and advanced to the French Open final in 2018. She has plunged from a career-high No. 3 in July 2018 to No. 66, partly because she contracted COVID early this year and lost her grandparents to the virus.

   Gauff became an international sensation by reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon two years ago at 15. She reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in the French Open in June and the fourth round at Wimbledon again in July, helping her climb to a career-high No. 23.

   Stephens is scheduled to face either No. 16 seed Angelique Kerber, the champion of the 2016 U.S. Open and 2015 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, or Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, who won the 2015 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger, on Friday. 

  Stephens is 5-1 against Kerber, a 33-year-old left-hander, with a five-match winning streak and 1-0 against Kalinina, 24. Stephens and Kerber would meet for the first time in almost three years and the first time ever in a Grand Slam tournament. Stephens topped Kalinina 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the second round of the 2018 U.S. Open.

   In the first round of doubles today, No. 4 seeds Rajeev Ram, a volunteer assistant coach at the University of California, Berkeley from Carmel, Ind., and Joe Salisbury of Great Britain beat alternates Kwon Soonwoo of South Korea and Divij Sharan of India 6-3, 6-4. Ram and Salisbury reached last year's semifinals. 

   In rain-suspended matches:

   —Robin Haase of the Netherlands and Mackenzie McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area now living in Orlando, Fla., lead Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Andres Molteni of Argentina 7-5.

   —Steve Johnson of Redondo Beach in the Los Angeles region and Sam Querrey, a 33-year-old San Francisco native, lead Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands 2-1.

McDonald ousts seed for first U.S. Open victory

Mackenzie McDonald returns serve in the
first round of the 2016 U.S. Open. Photo
by Paul Bauman

   Mackenzie McDonald caught David Goffin at a good time to earn his first U.S. Open main-draw victory.

   McDonald, a 26-year-old product of Piedmont in the San Francisco Bay Area, beat the 27th-seeded Goffin, a 30-year-old Belgian, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 today in a first-round matchup of undersized players at Flushing Meadows.

   McDonald, 5-foot-10 (1.78 meters) and 160 pounds (73 kilograms), reached the round of 16 in the Australian Open in February and at Wimbledon in 2018 but had been 0-3 in the main draw of the U.S. Open.

   Goffin, 5-foot-11 (1.80 meters) and 154 pounds (70 kilograms), had advanced to the round of 16 in the U.S. Open for four consecutive years. It's the only Grand Slam tournament in which he hasn't reached the quarterfinals.

   Goffin has dropped from a career-high No. 7 in 2017 to No. 30. He played his second tournament since missing two months with a left-ankle injury and fell to 0-5 since mid-May.

   McDonald, ranked No. 61, is scheduled to face his idol, 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori, for the second time in five weeks on Thursday. Nishikori, who's the same height as McDonald and one pound (.45 of a kilogram) heavier, eliminated Salvatore Caruso of Italy 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. 

   McDonald, now based in Orlando, Fla., outlasted Nishikori 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 four weeks ago in Washington, D.C., to reach his first ATP final, in which he lost to rising star Jannik Sinner, then 19, of Italy.

   The winner of the McDonald-Nishikori encounter likely will play top-ranked Novak Djokovic, seeking to become the first man to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969, in the third round.

   Djokovic defeated budding star Holger Rune, an 18-year-old qualifier from Denmark, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-1. Rune began cramping in his legs in the third set.

   Another Bay Area native, Sam Querrey, lost to No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in a clash of 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) veterans. Zverev clubbed 18 aces and Querrey 17.

   Zverev, who lost to Dominic Thiem in last year's U.S. Open final after leading two sets to none, extended his winning streak to 12 matches. He won the gold medal in men's singles in the Tokyo Olympics, ending Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam in the semifinals.

   Querrey, a 2017 quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows, fell to 0-5 since advancing to the second round at Wimbledon. At age 33, he has plummeted from a career-high No. 11 in 2018 to No. 77.

   Jenson Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, topped 72nd-ranked Mikael Ymer of Sweden 7-5, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Brooksby, who shocked 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych in the opening round of the 2019 U.S. Open as an 18-year-old qualifier, led 5-3 in the third set.

   Brooksby is slated to play Southern Californian Taylor Fritz for the first time. Fritz, who won Northern California Challengers in Sacramento and Fairfield in consecutive weeks in 2015 at 17, took out No. 14 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. 

   In the first round of women's singles, Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia dominated Katie Volynets, a 19-year-old wild card from Walnut Creek in the Bay Area, 6-3, 6-1. 

   Tomljanovic (pronounced Tom-yon-o-vich), a 28-year-old Croatia native, reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon in July and the final of the last (2017) Sacramento Challenger.

Stephens edges Keys in rematch of 2017 U.S. Open final

Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, Calif., improved to 3-0 this year and 5-2
 overall against Madison Keys. 2018 photo by Mal Taam

   In a rematch of the 2017 U.S. Open final, Sloane Stephens edged close friend and fellow unseeded American Madison Keys 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7) today in the first round at Flushing Meadows.

   Stephens, a 28-year-old product of Fresno, Calif., now based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., served for the match at 6-5 in the third set and needed three match points in the tiebreaker to prevail.

   Stephens improved to 3-0 this year and 5-2 overall against Keys, including a 6-3, 6-0 victory in the 2017 U.S. Open for her only Grand Slam title. Stephens also reached the French Open final in 2018.

   Keys fell to 0-4, including a loss in San Jose, since reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon in July. She won the last Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in 2017.

   Stephens has plunged from a career-high No. 3 in July 2018 to No. 66. Keys, 26, of Orlando, Fla., has tumbled from a career-high No. 7 in 2016 to No. 42.

   Stephens is scheduled to face No. 21 seed Coco Gauff, 17, of Delray Beach, Fla., for the first time on Wednesday. Gauff held off Poland's Magda Linette, a San Jose quarterfinalist four weeks ago, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 after leading 4-0 in the third set.

   Earlier today, Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, who won the 2015 Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger, defeated lucky loser Mayar Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16), an Egyptian making her U.S. Open main-draw debut, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

   In the men's draw, No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 23, of Greece outlasted 34-year-old Andy Murray, rebounding from two operations on his right hip, 2-6 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 4 hours, 49 minutes. Tsitsipas saved two set points in the second set.

   Tsitsipas has never advanced past the third round of the U.S. Open in three previous appearances. He reached his first major final in the French Open in June, falling to Novak Djokovic after leading two sets to none. 

   Murray won the first of his three Grand Slam singles titles in the 2012 U.S. Open. He earned the first of his 46 tour-level singles crowns in San Jose at 18 in 2006 and repeated the following year.

   No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov, a 2019 U.S. Open semifinalist from Bulgaria, eliminated wild card Sam Riffice, a 22-year-old Sacramento native who won the NCAA singles title in May as a Florida junior, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Dangerous dozen: Men, women to watch in U.S. Open

   Here are six men and six women to watch in the U.S. Open, Monday through Sept. 12 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. (seedings in parentheses). Television coverage begins at 9 a.m. PDT on ESPN.

MEN

Novak Djokovic has plenty of motivation in the
U.S. Open. 2019 photo by Harjanto Sumali

   Novak Djokovic (1), 34, Serbia — Can become first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to achieve calendar-year Grand Slam and can break record of 20 major singles titles he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. ... Hasn't played on tour since losing the bronze-medal match in Tokyo Olympics to Pablo Carreno Busta "Move." ... Northern California connection: None.

   Daniil Medvedev (2), 25, Russia — Runner-up in 2019 U.S. Open and 2021 Australian Open. ... Won Toronto title two weeks ago. ... NorCal connection: Nada.

   Alexander Zverev (3), 24, Germany — Ended Djokovic's bid for Golden Slam in Olympic semifinals en route to gold medal. ... Owns 11-match winning streak after capturing Cincinnati crown. ... Lost to Dominic "Home" Thiem in last year's U.S. Open final after leading two sets to none. ... NorCal connection: Zilch.  

   Stefanos Tsitsipas (4), 23, Greece — Fell to Djokovic in French Open final in June after leading two sets to none. ... Has never advanced past third round of U.S. Open in three appearances. ... NorCal connection: Zippo.

   Andrey Rublev (5), 23, Russia — Two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist. ... Has never reached a Grand Slam semifinal. ... Upset Medvedev in Cincinnati semifinals before losing to Zverev 6-2, 6-3. ... Won gold medal in mixed doubles with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Tokyo. ... NorCal connection: None. 

   Matteo Berrettini (6), 25, Italy — Reached first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in July, losing to Djokovic in four sets. ... Semifinalist in 2019 U.S. Open. ... NorCal connection: Zero.

WOMEN

Ashleigh Barty has had little success at Flushing Meadows —
except in doubles. 2019 photo by Harjanto Sumali

   Ashleigh "Judd" Barty (1), 25, Australia — Won second Grand Slam singles crown at Wimbledon in July. ... Suffered inevitable letdown in Olympics, losing to Sara Sorribes "Mel" Tormo of Spain in straight sets in first round, but won Cincinnati without dropping set. ... Has never advanced past U.S. Open round of 16 in five appearances. ... Three-time doubles finalist at Flushing Meadows, winning 2018 title with CoCo Vandeweghe. ... NorCal connection: None.

   Aryna Sabalenka (2), 23, Belarus — Reached first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon in July. ... Advanced to round of 16 in 2018 U.S. Open, her best result in three appearances. ... Won doubles title at Flushing Meadows in 2019 with Elise Mertens. ... NorCal connection: Reached San Jose final last year, losing to Zheng Saisai. Was coached by Dmitry Tursunov, former top-20 player from Moscow who trained in NorCal as junior and professional.

   Naomi Osaka (3), 23, Japan — Seeks fifth Grand Slam singles title and third at Flushing Meadows. ... Withdrew from second-round match at French Open in June, amid controversy after announcing she would skip mandatory post-match news conferences, and skipped Wimbledon for mental-health reasons. ... NorCal connection: Made WTA main-draw debut in 2014 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford at 16, stunning 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur in first round.

   Karolina Pliskova (4), 29, Czech Republic — Runner-up at U.S. Open five years ago, Wimbledon in July and Montreal two weeks ago. ... Former world No. 1. ... NorCal connection: Runner-up — surprise! — in 2015 Bank of the West Classic, losing to Angelique Kerber.

   Elina Svitolina (5), 26, Ukraine — Semifinalist in 2019 U.S. Open and bronze medalist in women's singles in Tokyo Olympics. ... Hasn't advanced past round of 16 in major this year. ... Won Chicago title on Saturday. ... NorCal connection: Stanford semifinalist in 2015 and San Jose quarterfinalist in 2019.

   Bianca "Jagger" Andreescu (6), 21, Canada — Stunned Serena Williams to win 2019 U.S. Open at 19. Otherwise, has never advanced past second round in major. ... Has gone 2-6 since reaching Strasbourg quarterfinals in late May. ... NorCal connection: Zilch.

Stephens, Keys to meet in rematch of '17 U.S. Open final

Sloane Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, Calif., is 2-0 against Madison Keys
this year and 4-2 overall in the head-to-head series. 2021 photo by Mal Taam 

   Four years ago, Sloane Stephens routed a nervous Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the U.S. Open for her only Grand Slam title. It was the first major final for both players.

   The Americans are scheduled to meet in the opening round of this year's tournament, which begins Monday in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Formerly ranked in the top 10, they are unseeded this time.

   The winner will play either No. 21 seed Coco Gauff, 17, of Delray Beach, Fla., or Poland's Magda Linette, a quarterfinalist in this month's Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif.

   Stephens, a 28-year-old product of Fresno, Calif., now based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has plunged from a career-high No. 3 in July 2018 to No. 64. Keys, 26, of Orlando, Fla., has tumbled from a career-high No. 7 in 2016 to No. 41. 

   Stephens, who leads the head-to-head series 4-2, will face Keys for the third time this year. Stephens won on clay in the second round in Charleston in April and the first round in Rome in May. 

   Katie Volynets, a 19-year-old wild card from Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, drew Ajla Tomljanovic, a Croatia-born Australian who reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon in July and the final of the last (2017) Sacramento (Calif.) Challenger. 

   In the U.S. Open men's draw, San Francisco Bay Area natives Sam Querrey and Mackenzie McDonald and Sacramento native Sam Riffice are slated to face seeds.

   Querrey, a 2017 quarterfinalist at Flushing Meadows, drew No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany in a matchup of 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) veterans.

   Querrey is 0-4 since advancing to the second round at Wimbledon. He has plummeted from a career-high No. 11 in 2018 to No. 77.

   Zverev reached the final of last year's U.S. Open, losing to Dominic Thiem after leading two sets to none, and won the gold medal in men's singles in the Tokyo Olympics last month, ending Novak Djokovic's bid for a Golden Slam in the semifinals. 

   McDonald is scheduled to take on No. 27 seed David Goffin of Belgium in a clash of undersized players.

   McDonald reached the round of 16 in the Australian Open in February and at Wimbledon in 2018 but is 0-3 in the main draw of the U.S. Open.

   Goffin has advanced to the round of 16 in the U.S. Open for four consecutive years. It's the only Grand Slam tournament in which he hasn't reached the quarterfinals.

   Riffice, who received an automatic wild card after winning the NCAA singles title as a Florida junior in May, is set to play No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov, a 2019 U.S. Open semifinalist from Bulgaria.

   Jenson Brooksby, a 20-year-old wild card from Carmichael, Calif., in the Sacramento area, drew Mikael Ymer of Sweden. As an 18-year-old qualifier, Brooksby shocked 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych in the first round of the 2019 U.S. Open.

   U.S. Open qualifying — No. 4 seed Mayar "Who Shot The" Sherif (Fresno State, 2015-16) of Egypt defeated Yuliya Hatouka of Belarus 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. 

   Sherif, 25, is scheduled to play No. 31 seed Emma Raducanu, 18, of Great Britain on Friday for a main-draw berth.

   Raducanu, who recently became the youngest British woman to reach the round of 16 at Wimbledon in the Open Era (since 1968), beat Mariam Bolkvadze of Georgia 6-3, 7-5. 

Thiem pulls off historic comeback for U.S. Open title

Dominic Thiem hosts the trophy at the 2019 BNP Paribas
Open in Indian Wells, Calif. In the background are runner-
up Roger Federer, left, and tournament director Tommy
Haas. Photo by Mal Taam

   For two-plus sets in today's U.S. Open men's final, Alexander Zverev dominated Dominic Thiem.

   Zverev, the underdog, looked relaxed while Thiem was clearly nervous as both players tried to seize a golden opportunity to win their first Grand Slam title.

   Suddenly, much like Naomi Osaka in Saturday's women's final, Thiem calmed down. He gradually clawed his way back into the match, which culminated in a dramatic fifth-set tiebreaker. 

   Experience ultimately prevailed, as it usually does, as Thiem triumphed 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in 4 hours, 1 minute despite suffering leg cramps late in the fifth set at nearly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. No fans were allowed at the tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

   Both players served for the match before the decisive tiebreaker. With the second-seeded Thiem serving at 4-5 in the fifth set, the fifth-seeded Zverev twice was two points from victory.

   "Somehow, the belief today was stronger than the body, and I'm super happy about that," Thiem told reporters.

  It was the first time since Pancho Gonzales in 1949 that a player came back from a two-set deficit to win the U.S. championships and only the second Grand Slam final decided by a fifth-set tiebreaker. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 13-12 (3) in the fifth set at Wimbledon last year, when the tournament instituted a final-set tiebreaker at 12-12.

   Thiem, 27, became the first new Grand Slam singles champion since Marin Cilic of Croatia in the 2014 U.S. Open and joined Thomas Muster (1995 French Open) as the only Austrian men to win a major singles title.

   Thiem had been 0-3 in major singles finals, having lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2018 and 2019 French Open and Djokovic in this year's Australian Open. 

   Neither Nadal (coronavirus concerns), the 2019 U.S. Open champion, nor Federer (two arthroscopic surgeries on his right knee this year) played in this year's tournament. Djokovic was defaulted from his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball.

   Federer, 39, owns a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles. Nadal, 34, ranks second with 19, and Djokovic, 33, is third with 17. 

   Zverev, the son of former pro Alexander Zverev Sr. from Russia and younger brother of pro Mischa Zverev, played in his first major final. The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Hamburg native was bidding to become the first German to win the U.S. Open since Boris Becker in 1989 and the tallest Grand Slam singles champion along with Cilic.

   "I was a few games away, a few points away," said Zverev, who rallied from two sets down to beat Carreno Busta in the semifinals. "I'm 23 years old. I don't think it's my last chance."

   Zverev's shaky second serve proved critical in his loss. He broke serve to lead 2-1 in the third set, but Thiem broke right back as Zverev committed two of his 15 double faults. 

   Thiem scored the only break of the fourth set to lead 5-3 as Zverev double-faulted and netted a forehand on the last two points of the game.

   In the fifth set, Zverev and Thiem served for the match at 5-3 and 6-5, respectively. Zverev led 2-0 in the tiebreaker, but Thiem leveled at 2-2 on a double fault. Zverev double-faulted again for 3-5 but saved two championship points to pull even at 6-6. 

   Thiem earned a third championship point at 7-6 with a forehand passing shot down the line as Zverev charged the net. Zverev then slugged a cross-court backhand wide to end the suspense.

   Thiem, who earned $3 million, will remain No. 3 in Monday's new world rankings. Zverev, who received $1.5 million, will stay at No. 7.

Osaka overcomes poor start, vanquishes Vika for title

Naomi Osaka, shown at 16 in 2014, became the first
woman to win the U.S. Open after dropping the open-
ing set since 1994. Photo by Paul Bauman

   This time, there was no controversy, crying or crowd.

   There was, however, a comeback.

   In a matchup of former world No. 1s and two-time Grand Slam singles champions, Naomi Osaka overcame a terrible start to defeat resurgent Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in today's U.S. Open final in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

   Osaka, 22, became the first woman to win the tournament after dropping the opening set since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario beat Steffi Graf 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in 1994. It was Osaka's second U.S. Open title in three years and third major crown overall.

   Two years ago, Osaka defeated heavily favored Serena Williams in a tumultuous final at Flushing Meadows for her first Grand Slam title. Williams was assessed a game penalty late in the match for her third code violation. During the awards ceremony, tears rolled down Osaka's cheeks as the pro-Williams crowd booed. 

   With no fans allowed at 23,770-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fourth-seeded Osaka trailed the unseeded Azarenka 0-2 in the second set before finding the range on her powerful serve and groundstrokes. After hitting only five winners and committing 13 unforced errors in the opening set, Osaka had 29 and 13, respectively, the rest of the way. 

   "I thought it would be very embarrassing to lose this in under an hour, so I just (told myself I) have to try as hard as I can and stop having a really bad attitude," Osaka, who made her WTA main-draw debut at 16 in the 2014 Bank of the West Classic at Stanford, said during the awards ceremony.

   Osaka led 4-1 in the third set, but Azarenka won the next two games to get back on serve. Osaka broke right back and held serve for the match, converting her second championship point when Azarenka netted a backhand after another in a long line of furious rallies.

   Osaka improved to 3-0 in Grand Slam finals after failing to reach the quarterfinals in four consecutive majors. She also ended Azarenka's winning streak at 12 matches, including a walkover against Osaka in the final of the Western & Southern Open two weeks ago in Flushing Meadows.

Victoria Azarenka played in her first major singles
final in seven years. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Azarenka, 31, played in her first major singles final since losing to Williams in three sets in the U.S. Open title match for the second consecutive time in 2013.

   "I thought third time was the charm, but I guess I'll have to try again," the two-time Australian Open champion, who ousted six-time U.S. Open winner Williams in the semifinals (by the same score as in the final), said during the awards ceremony.

   After 2013, Azarenka struggled with injuries and depression. She played only two tournaments between May 2016 and March 2018 because of pregnancy and a subsequent child custody dispute that ultimately was ruled in her favor, plummeting to No. 978 in May 2017. Azarenka then went 0-3 from August 2019 until last month's Western & Southern Open.

   Osaka, who will vault six places in the world rankings to No. 3 on Monday, collected $3 million for winning the title. Forbes magazine reported in May that the Japanese icon is the highest-paid female athlete ever with $37.4 million in endorsements and prize money in the preceding 12 months.

   Azarenka, who will jump 13 spots to No. 14, pocketed $1.5 million as the runner-up.  

   Both finalists played with social or political issues in the back of their minds. 

   Osaka — who has a Haitian father, was born in her mother's native Japan and grew up in Florida — has been a prominent supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement. She wore a mask showing the name of a different victim of racial violence for each of her post-match interviews during the U.S. Open. Osaka also sparked a one-day postponement of the Western & Southern Open to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. 

   "I just want people to have more knowledge," Osaka said on time.com. "I feel like the platform that I have right now is something that I used to take for granted, and I just feel like I should be using it for something."

   Azarenka's native Belarus, meanwhile, has been rocked by mass protests against autocratic President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has been in office since 1994. He has brutally suppressed demonstrations since claiming a landslide victory in the Aug. 9 election, The New York Times reported.

   "That's breaking my heart to see what's happening, because not being able to be there and understand the whole situation, it's really sad," Azarenka, who lives in Manhattan Beach in the Los Angeles area, reportedly said last month. "I can't even speak without tears in my eyes when I think about it."

   Serena out of Italian Open — Williams withdrew from next week's Italian Open in Rome, citing a strained Achilles tendon. She suffered the injury early in the third set of her loss to Azarenka on Thursday.

   The French Open is scheduled for Sept. 27 to Oct. 11 in Paris. Williams — the Roland Garros champion in 2002, 2013 and 2015 — remains one Grand Slam singles title short of Margaret Court's record of 24.