Tennis-Djokovic stunned by inspired Popyrin at US Open, Gauff survives
NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) -Novak Djokovic's quest for a record 25th Grand Slam title ended at the U.S. Open on Friday as the defending champion was sent packing from the third round by Australian Alexei Popyrin, while Coco Gauff overcame a big scare to advance.
Djokovic searched in vain for the form that helped him win the Paris Olympics gold medal this month, as the 37-year-old Serbian crashed 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 to ensure he will end the year without a major for the first time since 2017.
A second stunning result in as many days at the year's final Grand Slam, following Carlos Alcaraz's exit, will encourage a host of players bidding for a rare shot at glory.
Frances Tiafoe kept alive his hopes of becoming the first American man to claim the U.S. Open title since Andy Roddick 21 years ago by outlasting compatriot Ben Shelton 4-6 7-5 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 to move ahead.
He was joined by another top contender in Taylor Fritz, who eased past Francisco Comesana 6-3 6-4 6-2 to emerge as the first American man to make the last 16 at all four Grand Slams in the same year since Andre Agassi in 2003.
"It's a pretty cool thing to do because just last year I was really struggling with Grand Slam results," Fritz said.
"So it's nice to do a lot better at something I put a lot of emphasis on, which was performing at the slams and performing at the biggest tournaments."
Gauff had conceded only six games across the opening two rounds in New York but came under immediate pressure from Elina Svitolina as she dropped the first set to the Ukrainian before rebooting to complete a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory.
"I feel like I lost eight points in a row at the end of the first set. I don't really know the exact number. Probably more," world number three Gauff said.
"So I knew I needed a reset at that point. I just went and used the bathroom, changed the bottom half of my clothes, and splashed some water on my face, and felt like a new person coming out.
"I just didn't want to leave the court with any regrets."
Paul Badosa was also in no mood to bow out tamely as the former world number two rallied from a set down to beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 4-6 6-1 7-6(8).
The Spaniard has hit top form on the American hardcourts a few months after she contemplated retirement when doctors told her she could struggle on the surface due to a back injury.
"It means so much. After what I've been through the last year, for me, it's very special to already be on this level," said Badosa, who won her first title in over two years at Washington this month.
"At the beginning of the year I was obsessed. I wanted to do the comeback of the year no matter what.
"I think I'm in a good moment now and I'm happy that I can prove all this again and that I'm playing maybe at one of the best levels of my career."
Three-times runner-up Victoria Azarenka could not avoid an exit as the Belarusian fell to a 6-4 3-6 6-1 defeat against unseeded Wang Yafan.
Wang's Chinese compatriot and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen also continued her winning run by beating Jule Niemeier 6-2 6-1, but it was the end of the road for Shang Juncheng, who squandered a two-set lead against eighth seed Casper Ruud.
Norwegian Ruud, the 2022 runner-up, won 6-7(1) 3-6 6-0 6-3 6-1 and credited his mental toughness for getting him through.
"We're all physically strong out here. It's a matter of having the right mindset and believing all the way. Luckily I wasn't down in the third set," Ruud said.
"That third set probably I got some fire going and just kept believing."
Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar, Amy Tennery and Rory Carroll; Editing by William Mallard
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
