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Jannik Sinner widens gap to Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in rankings with Cincinnati title as he creates Italian history

By Admin August 20, 2024

Jannik Sinner’s title run at the Cincinnati Open has helped him to maintain a comfortable cushion over Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the ATP Rankings while he has also notched up a couple of Italian milestones.

The 23-year-old defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in the ATP Masters 1000 title to become the first Italian to win the singles title since the event was started in 1899.

The Cincy trophy was also Sinner’s fifth Masters title while he took his ATP Tour title tally for 2024 to five – also the most won by an Italian in a calendar year.

JUST IN: Iga Swiatek criticised for using ‘bad habit’ tactic to disrupt opponents

The world No 1 now sits on 15 career singles titles as he drew level with Carlos Alcaraz and Lleyton Hewitt for the second-most titles won from their first 19 finals. Rafael Nadal leads that particular statistic as he won 17 of his first 19 finals.

But it was far from an easy week for the Sinner as he struggled with a hip injury for most of the tournament while the weather also caused havoc, resulting in extra time on the site.

“It was a very difficult week, tough week. I’m very happy about today’s match,” he said. “It was very tough mentally. Had such an amazing run here, and I tried to do my best today.

“We both were quite tired from yesterday. We both felt a lot of tension, but I’m very glad about [the] level I played today, especially in the important moments.”

Sinner picked up 990 points with his title to move to 9,760 points at the top of the ATP Rankings, 2,300 points ahead of Djokovic in second place with Alcaraz another 100 points behind in third place.

It puts him in a comfortable position at the US Open as he only has 180 points to defend at the final Grand Slam of the year while Djokovic (7,460) will drop 2,000 points as the defending champion and Alcaraz (7,360) will drop 720.

It means the Italian will have at least a 900-odd point lead after the US Open even if he loses in the first round. The maximum number of points that Djokovic can achieve at Flushing Meadows is 7,460 while Alcaraz will be on 8,640 if he wins the title.

Sinner is assured of staying at No 1 until at least the China Open and he will drop 500 points as the defending champion, but that means Alcaraz would then have to make up points, but he will also drop 180 points as he reached the semi-final last year.

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Iga Swiatek criticised for using ‘bad habit’ tactic to disrupt opponents

By Admin August 20, 2024

Tennis great Lindsay Davenport has criticised Iga Swiatek, claiming the world No 1 uses bathroom breaks as a tactic to disrupt her opponents.

The three-time Grand Slam champion asserted that Swiatek uses the tactic every time she loses a set and labelled it a “bad habit that should be patrolled by the powers that be.”

Swiatek’s tendency to leave the court to take lengthy bathroom breaks after losing sets in matches has been highlighted in recent months by some tennis pundits and fans.

READ: Aryna Sabalenka rises to No 2 after breaking the wall in rivalry with Iga Swiatek

The world No 1 took a break after losing the first set in her 3-6, 3-6 defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati Open semi-finals. The 23-year-old Polish star also left the court after losing sets in her matches against Danielle Collins at the Paris Olympics.

It is worth noting that Swiatek has not broken any rules and she is by no means the only player to take extended bathroom breaks.

The five-time major winner has also left the court to take breaks after winning sets, which challenges the suggestion she only does it to disrupt opponents when losing.

Speaking on Tennis Channel, former world No 9 Coco Vandeweghe weighed in on the debate about Swiatek’s use of bathroom breaks.

“It’s been spoken about, Iga’s tactic of going to the bathroom, changing her kit, taking her time, always after losing a set,” said the two-time major semi-finalist. “If I was still playing, I would definitely be very aware of it — she’s trying to disrupt my rhythm.”

Davenport, a former world No 1, condemned the apparent tactic and called for Swiatek to be “patrolled.”

“It’s a bad habit that probably should start to be patrolled a little bit by the powers that be,” argued the American. “Lose a set, you leave the court — never used to be like that. But it happens every time.”

The WTA rulebook states there is a time limit of three minutes for players taking a “toilet break only”, which can be taken between sets or before a player’s own service game.

There is a five-minute limit for a “change of attire break” or a “change of attire break taken with a toilet break”, which can only be taken between sets.

The rulebook clarifies that “an authorized break is timed from when the player enters the toilet or change area to when she leaves the toilet or change area.”

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Aryna Sabalenka rises to No 2 after breaking the wall in rivalry with Iga Swiatek

By Admin August 19, 2024

Aryna Sabalenka believes she has achieved a breakthrough win over Iga Swiatek as she moved closer to another big title.

Sabalenka advanced to her first WTA Cincinnati Open final, defeating Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 in their semi-final clash.

The Australian Open champion had been eliminated in the last four on three prior occasions, including the past two tournaments, but she defeated her Polish opponent in straight sets for the first time.

JUST IN: Why Jannik Sinner’s win over Alexander Zverev is both good news and bad news for Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz

Sabalenka kept the points short and snappy in their third match of the season and first on hard court, thanks to a precise serve and return game.

Swiatek leads the circuit in both service and return game wins, but she failed to break through on both counts on Sunday.

While WTA Tour star from Minsk served at only 52 per cent, she was able to win 67 per cent of her first serves and 53 per cent of her second.

Swiatek, the world No 1, was also aiming for her maiden final in Cincinnati, but a woeful 20% success rate off her second serve contributed significantly to her defeat.

The rankings queen might have gone down in straight sets but Sabalenka felt she couldn’t make any mistakes against a relentless foe.

“It sounds like I broke the wall, finally,” Sabalenka said, after beating Swiatek.

“Of course, I’m super happy to be in the final after such a tough battle against Iga.

“I kept telling myself, that’s why she’s world No. 1. She’s going to fight till the last point so you have got to stay aggressive and keep doing your job.”

On Tuesday, the Belarusian will overtake Coco Gauff to reclaim the No 2 spot in the PIF WTA rankings. Consequently, she is expected to be the No 2 seed in the US Open.

Sabalenka will also leapfrog Elena Rybakina to reach to second place on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard, trailing only Swiatek, who has already qualified for the season-ending tournament.

She admitted that she prefers to be cast in the underdog role but accepted that her rise in the rankings is down to her strong efforts.

“I feel comfortable being in the bottom half of the net, but I’ll be more comfortable to see myself on the top half of the net,” Sabalenka said, “I’m trying my best to get there.”

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Why Jannik Sinner’s win over Alexander Zverev is both good news and bad news for Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz

By Admin August 19, 2024

Jannik Sinner’s victory over Alexander Zverev in the semi-final at the Cincinnati Open has had a big impact on the seedings for the US Open and the world No 1 ranking.

The Italian claimed a 7-6 (11-9), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Zverev to deny the German the chance of usurping Novak Djokovic and Carlos in the ATP Rankings ahead of the US Open.

Sinner, Djokovic, Alcaraz and Zverev were the top four in the rankings ahead of the Cincinnati Open and the former was assured of always assured of remaining at No 1 after the event following Djokovic’s decision to skip both the Canadian and Cincinnati Masters 1000 events.

READ: Coco Gauff admits she is struggling in key area ahead of US Open as she looks to hit reset button

Alcaraz, meanwhile, had the opportunity to overtake Djokovic at No 2 with a deep run in Cincy, but he fell at the first hurdle as he was beaten in the second round by Gael Monfils.

Zverev then had a chance to overtake both Djokovic and Alcaraz to claim the No 2 spot, but he had to go all the way at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

With Sinner winning their semi-final, the top 10 seedings for the US Open have been confirmed as the Italian is followed by Djokovic, Alcaraz, Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov and Alex de Minaur.

It means Sinner and Djokovic can only face each other in the final while Alcaraz and Zverev will likely have to get past both in order to win the US Open.

Sinner will face Frances Tiafoe in Monday’s final and the American has moved up to No 20 in the ATP Rankings with his run. If Tiafoe wins the Cincinnati Open then he will be seeded 17th for the final Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows.

Sinner’s run to the Cincy final has also put a dent in Djokovic and Alcaraz’s hopes of reclaiming the No 1 spot in the rankings after the US Open.

The Italian is on 9,410 points in the Live Rankings ahead of the Cincinnati final and he has only 180 points to defend in New York, which effectively puts him on 9,230 points (9,580 if he wins the final).

Djokovic is on 7,460 points and as the defending US Open champion that is the maximum he can achieve after the tournament, Alcaraz’s maximum is 8,860 and Zverev’s 8,675.

Sinner is thus assured of staying at No 1 until September 29 as the US Open is followed by the Davis Cup, Laver Cup and a couple of ATP 250 events where the top players didn’t feature last year.

The China Open, which runs from September 23-29, is the next event that will affect the top of the rankings as Sinner is the defending champion there.

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Iga Swiatek leads Serena Williams with sensational record highlighting her WTA 1000 excellence

By Admin August 18, 2024

Iga Swiatek has improved a stunning statistic that demonstrates her remarkable consistency at WTA 1000 tournaments by reaching the semi-finals in Cincinnati.

The world No 1 won an enthralling first encounter with 17-year-old Russian star Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the quarter-finals in Cincinnati.

Following her win against the world No 24, Swiatek said: “She’s playing and behaving like she’s older.

“I felt like we were playing at a similar level. It was really tight. Every point mattered at the end. It wasn’t easy.”

JUST IN: Why Carlos Alcaraz’s shock Cincinnati defeat could boost his bid for US Open glory

Swiatek will face world No 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals in Cincinnati in what will be the pair’s 12th meeting. She holds an 8-3 record against her Belarusian rival and won their two previous encounters this season.

The Polish great is through to her 17th WTA 1000 level semi-final and she holds the record for the highest percentage of last four appearances at this category of tournament.

Here are the five players with the highest rate of WTA 1000 semi-finals reached since the format was introduced in 2009.

1. Iga Swiatek – 17 semi-finals from 31 appearances (54.8%)

Swiatek is playing the 31st WTA 1000 event of her career in Cincinnati and she has reached the last four or better in 54.8% of her appearances.

The 23-year-old has won 10 WTA 1000 titles from her previous 30 tournaments at this level and is looking to triumph in Cincinnati for the first time.

2. Serena Williams – 26 semi-finals from 49 appearances (53.1%)

Serena Williams progressed to 26 semi-finals at the 49 WTA 1000 tournaments she competed in, giving her a 53.1% semi-final rate.

The American legend won 13 WTA 1000 titles after the category came into force.

=3. Maria Sharapova – 22 semi-finals from 50 appearances (44%)

Maria Sharapova made 22 last four appearances from the 50 WTA 1000 events she featured in, giving her a 44% semi-final rate.

The Russian great claimed eight WTA 1000 titles from 2009 onwards.

=3. Ashleigh Barty – 11 semi-finals from 25 appearances (44%)

Ashleigh reached the semi-finals at 11 of the 25 WTA 1000 tournaments she played, which equates to 44% — an identical percentage to Sharapova.

The Australian icon secured three WTA 1000 titles.

5. Simona Halep – 29 semi-finals from 86 appearances (33.7%)

Simona Halep has advanced to 29 WTA 1000 semi-finals from her 86 appearances at this level to date, leaving her with a 33.7% last four rate.

The Romanian star has collected nine WTA 1000 titles so far in her career.

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Why Carlos Alcaraz’s shock Cincinnati defeat could boost his bid for US Open glory

By Admin August 18, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz looked genuinely shocked by the level of his performance as he slumped to a shocking defeat against Gael Monfils in Cincinnati, but this might just be the perfect reset for the form player in the men’s game.

Rain had forced the players off on Thursday night with Alcaraz a set up but 3-1 down in a second set tie-break and there was an expectation that

Frenchman Monfils was quickly out of the blocks to level the contest, and he then took the decider for a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 triumph.

READ: Iga Swiatek hits yet more milestones as she cruises into Cincinnati quarter-finals

Alcaraz’s frustration with his performance surfaced in the deciding set as he smashed his racquet after missing an opportunity to break 37-year-old Monfils’ serve, but that outburst of emotion did not fire his burners as he limped out of a tournament he reached the final in last year.

“I felt like it was the worst match that I ever played in my career,” said Alcaraz. “I couldn’t play. Honestly, I’ve been practising really well here in this tournament.

“The previous days, I was feeling great, hitting the ball clear, moving well. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how I felt like this, but I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t be better. So this match, it was impossible to win.”

He also addressed his explosive racket smash as he added: “I felt sometimes that I wanted to break the racquet. It never happened before, because I could control myself in those situations, in those feelings.

“Most of the time I could control myself and it could go better in the matches or in the situation that I’ve been feeling before.

“Today, I couldn’t control myself, because, as I said, I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis. I think some players, a lot of players, during their careers and during some certain moments, they can’t control themselves. And it was one of the moments for me.”

“It’s kind of really difficult to find some good stuff from this match. So I want to forget it, and try to move on to New York,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference.

“I’ll go to New York and I’ll try to practise well, to get used to those courts. And I will forget this match because I think it is impossible to get any good things about this match.”

His early exit will dent his ATP Ranking push ahead of the US Open, with his hopes of leaping ahead of Novak Djokovic to the No 2 position ahead of the final major of the year now over.

Yet Alcaraz has confirmed over the course of the last few weeks that he can beat Djokovic and world No 1 Jannik Sinner when he is fresh and at his best and the break he will now have ahead of the US Open could be just what he needs.

Alcaraz has had more than enough tennis in recent weeks to take some time off to prepare for his return to Flushing Meadows.

This shocking loss against Monfils will give him a chance to head to New York early and get extra practice in the conditions that he needs to master to win his second US Open title.

Being seeded No 3 for the tournament will be a blow as it means he may need to beat Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic to take the title if his two big rivals get that far in the competition.

Yet the other two members of the new ‘Big 3’ at the top of the men’s game also have some doubts hovering around them.

Sinner admits he is struggling physically amid suggestions that the hip injury that forced him to miss big tournaments during the European clay court season has resurfaced.

Meanwhile, footage of Djokovic has emerged showing him partying in Serbia as he continues to celebrate his cherished Olympic gold men, which he won by beating Alcaraz in the Paris 2024 final.

Alcaraz didn’t get much practice on the super-fast courts in Cincinnati before he played Monfils and the courts in New York should be at a pace that is more to his liking as he targets a third Grand Slam title of the year.

His angry racket smash came as a shock to a tennis world not used to seeing Alcaraz lose his cool, but it highlighted the fire burning inside this magnificent 21-year-old superstar and that will serve him well at the US Open.

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Iga Swiatek hits yet more milestones as she cruises into Cincinnati quarter-finals

By Admin August 17, 2024

It was business as usual for Iga Swiatek on Friday afternoon, with the pole dispatching Marta Kostyuk in straight sets to keep her Cincinnati Open campaign alive.

Swiatek faced a little bit of unnecessary drama versus French qualifier Varvara Gracheva in her opening match on Wednesday, spurning a 5-2 lead in the second set and five match points before eventually prevailing in three sets.

But, against the 15th seed, the world No 1 had a much smoother time of things.

JUST IN: Carlos Alcaraz ‘couldn’t control himself’ as he makes uncanny confession after racket-smashing drama

Kostyuk broke in the very opening game but was unable to match Swiatek’s consistency after that point, and the five-time Grand Slam winner picked up a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory to become the first woman to seal a place in the last eight.

Swiatek hit some notable milestones with her emphatic victory – as now seems commonplace any time the 23-year-old wins a match.

This is now her sixth WTA 1000 quarter-final of the season, only failing to reach the last eight in Miami, when she lost in round four, and at last week’s Canadian Open – where she did not play.

In the past decade, only one player has reached more WTA 1000 quarter-finals in an individual season – herself in 2023, where she reached seven WTA 1000 quarter-finals.

With WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan coming later in the season, Swiatek is well-placed to eclipse her own personal best.

It is also a 14th straight match win for her at WTA 1000-level, having won Madrid and Rome back-to-back earlier in the year.

That is the second-longest streak by any player since she made her first WTA 1000 appearance in 2019 and, once again, it is her own record she is now potentially in line to break.

She won 23 straight matches at this level in her dominant 2022 season, spanning from Doha to the Canadian Open.

Swiatek has now also reached 13 WTA 1000 quarter-finals across the past two seasons, with Agnieszka Radwanska’s record of 14 across 2012-2013 now under threat.

The world No 1 will face an intriguing quarter-final next, either against fifth seed Jasmine Paolini or teen sensation Mirra Andreeva.

However, with the likes of defending champion Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina already out of the tournament, she will likely fancy her chances of claiming a first Cincinnati title.

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Carlos Alcaraz ‘couldn’t control himself’ as he makes uncanny confession after racket-smashing drama

By Admin August 17, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz has given his verdict on the “worst match of his career” as he admitted that he “could not control himself” when he smashed his racket during the shock defeat to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open.

Fresh from winning silver at the Paris Olympics, Alcaraz was the hot favourite against veteran Monfils and appeared to be on course for the win after taking the opening set on Thursday. With the score 6-4, 6-6 (1-3), play was called off due to rain and they resumed on Friday afternoon.

Alcaraz admitted during the post-match press conference that the rot had started to set in on Thursday.

READ: Iga Swiatek closes in on Serena Williams record after opening Cincinnati win

“I just [tried] not to think about the match [Thursday] night. I just want to recover as best as I can, to have a good rest and be ready for today’s match,” the Spaniard said.

“Yesterday, I didn’t play well as well. I think yesterday the longest rally was five balls. So I couldn’t get feelings yesterday. So I just thought that, ‘Well, have some rest, and tomorrow it’s gonna be another day. I’m probably going to feel better.’ But it didn’t happen.”

When the match resumed, the four-time Grand Slam winner was all over the show and Monfils took the tie-breaker to send the match to a deciding set.

With the score 1-2 in the third set, Alcaraz lost his cool and obliterated his racket, but it didn’t do him any good as the Frenchman ended up winning 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

The world No 3 admitted that he lost control.

“I felt sometimes that I wanted to break the racket. It never happened before, because I could control myself in those situations, in those feelings,” he said. “Most of the time I could control myself and it could go better in the matches or in the situation that I’ve been feeling before.

“Today, I couldn’t control myself, because, as I said, I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis. I think some players, a lot of players, during their careers and during certain moments, they can’t control themselves. And it was one of the moments for me.”

Alcaraz is now 38-8 for the season with his defeat to Monfils his second on the trot as he also lost the Paris Olympics gold medal match against Djokovic.

But unlike the Roland Garros match against Djokovic where he played well, the 20-year-old felt he was never at the races against the Frenchman.

“I felt like it was the worst match that I ever played in my career,” he said. “[I] couldn’t play. Honestly, I’ve been practising really well here in this tournament.

“The previous days, I was feeling great, hitting the ball clear, moving well. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how I felt like this, but I couldn’t control myself. I couldn’t be better. So this match, it was impossible to win.”

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Coco Gauff admits she is struggling in key area ahead of US Open as she looks to hit reset button

By Admin August 16, 2024

Coco Gauff’s US Open preparations suffered a massive setback as she made an early exit from the Cincinnati Open and the American admits she needs to up her game ahead of her title defence in New York.

The reigning US Open champion has not had a good run of late as she lost in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, the third round of the Olympics, the third round at the Canadian Open and now the second round in Cincinnati.

Gauff was the defending champion in Ohio and her defeat to 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat to Yulia Putintseva means she will head into the US Open with only three matches (two in Toronto and one in Cincinnati) under her belt on hard courts.

JUST IN: Carlos Alcaraz ‘already like legends Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’

That is a far cry from her 2023 form where she won the Washington DC title (Gauff skipped the Citi DC event this year due as it clashed with the Paris Olympics), reached the quarter-final in Canada and won the Cincinnati Open. Those results effectively set her up for her title run in New York.

The 20-year-old’s latest loss will also result in a drop to No 3 in the WTA Rankings and it means she will be seeded third in New York behind world No 1 Iga Swiatek and second seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff admitted there is one thing she currently lacks.

“I feel like I have to work on consistency, overall,” she told the WTA Tour. “[I will] probably go home and try to reset.

“Obviously, I have a lot coming up soon with the US Open, so I think just trying to reset and be ready for that.”

Gauff served nine double faults with four of those coming in the deciding set with her first serve percentage at 56% while she won only 54% of her service points.

Despite her struggles, she broke to love in game six of the deciding set to 4-2 up, but Putintseva hit back immediately as the “tricky” Kazakh player won the final four games of the match.

“I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 [in the third set]. I think most of the points she won were off my errors,” Gauff said.

“She’s always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball, has drop shots, slices. She’s someone that makes you earn the match.”

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Carlos Alcaraz ‘already like legends Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’

By Admin August 16, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz is already a “really, really complete player” despite his age with Gael Monfils insisting the Spaniard is “like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer”.

Aged just 21, Alcaraz is already a four-time Grand Slam winner as he is a two-time Wimbledon champion after defeating Novak Djokovic in back-to-back finals in 2023 and 2024.

Before winning his second title at the All England Club in July, Alcaraz also captured a maiden title at Roland Garros to become the youngest man to win to complete the Surface Slam [winning a title on the three different surfaces in tennis] with his hard-court major coming at the 2022 US Open.

READ: Sinner v Alcaraz: Jannik Sinner makes injury confession as he edges towards Carlos Alcaraz clash in Cincinnati

Although he still has some way to go to beat some of the records set by the Big Three of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, veteran Monfils sees Alcaraz in the same light as “those legends”.

“At that moment, of course, I see him as Novak, as Rafa, as Roger,” the Frenchman told the official ATP Tour website. “So for me, he’s just a little bit younger, but he is already [like] those legends.”

What makes Alcaraz – who also became the youngest world No 1 when he climbed to the top of the rankings after his title run at Flushing Meadows in 2022 – such a unique player is the fact that he is not just brilliant when it comes to results, but he is also a great entertainer and always plays with a smile on his face.

Alcaraz has often been described as a hybrid of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, and Monfils highlighted some of the youngster’s attributes.

“Big, obviously, big. He is a complete athlete, a tonne of speed, endurance, power, and then his tennis, of course, is quite complete too,” the former world No 6 said.

“Backhand, forehand, it’s quite hard to see where you can sit [and wait]. He improved a lot in the return, serving big. He’s just a really, really complete player.”

The 37-year-old Monfils is in the final few years of his career, but he enjoys taking on youngsters like Alcaraz and current world No 1 Jannik Sinner as it brings out the best out of him.

“For me, it’s always cool to play such a big star like Carlos or Jannik,” he said. “Of course, my age it was Novak or whoever, but to play those youngsters, it’s always a pleasure.”

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