US Open

Serena Williams suggests retirement after US Open

Yesterday, Williams played only her second singles match since she returned to action at Wimbledon in June after a year-long absence from competition, beating Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz to reach the second round of the Toronto Open.

But the 40-year-old said after the match that she could see the light at the end of the tennis tunnel in her career.

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams wrote in a Vogue article.

Djokovic advances to US Open final

Djokovic moved within one win of reaching a men's record 21 Grand Slam titles and avenged his loss to Zverev at the Tokyo Olympics in front of a roaring crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Rod Laver sitting in the front row, 52 years after he achieved the feat, the last man to do so.

"There's only one match left. All in, all in. Let's do it," Djokovic said.

"I'm going to put my heart and my soul and my body and my head into that one. I'm going to treat the next match like it is the last match of my career."

Raducanu makes history at US Open

Victory for Raducanu, who is making her debut in New York, means she will rise to the cusp of the world's top 50 and become British women's number one.

In only her second Grand Slam appearance, world number 150 Raducanu has become only the third woman ranked outside the top 100 to reach a US Open semi-final.

Down an early break, the Briton recovered swiftly to win four straight games to close out the first set in which she had seven forehand winners and three aces.

Top women's seed dumped out of the US Open

The 43rd-ranked Rogers recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the third set to push the affair into a tiebreak, securing the biggest upset of the tournament thus far in front of an electric New York crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I just tried to fight for every point. That's so cliche, I'm sorry. You guys were awesome. I didn't want to leave," Rogers said.

"I just said you know make balls, try to stay in this match, can't get any worse, you lost to her every time. So, try something different."

Osaka headlines day one at US Open

While the year's final Grand Slam has been stripped of some of the marquee names, with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams injured, it is still shaping up as an absorbing event in Flushing Meadows as Novak Djokovic bids to complete the calendar-year slam.

Already the winner of the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon, the Serb needs a New York triumph to become the third man, and first since Rod Laver in 1969, to accomplish the feat.

The history hunting Djokovic opens his account on Wednesday with a first round match against Danish qualifier Holger Rune.

Serena Williams pulls out of US Open as she recovers from torn hamstring

In a post on social media, the 39-year-old American great said she needed time to allow her body to "heal completely" from a torn hamstring.

Williams joins defending men's champion Dominic Thiem, plus Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, in pulling out of this year's final Grand Slam.

The tournament, at Flushing Meadows in New York, begins on 30 August.

Williams wrote on Instagram: "After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team, I have decided to withdraw from the US Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring.

Naomi Osaka to defend US Open title

Japan's Osaka stunned the tennis world when she quit the claycourt major in Paris in May following her first-round match after being fined and threatened with disqualification when she refused to attend mandatory post-match press conferences.

The world number two, who said she had social anxiety, also skipped Wimbledon but is scheduled to play at the Tokyo Olympics and then in Montreal next month.

Osaka will be part of a women's field at the U.S. Open that will also include world number one Ash Barty, who lifted her second major title at Wimbledon earlier this month.

Thiem takes out US Open

The second seeded Austrian came from behind to beat German fifth seed Alexander Zverev 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(6) to win the US Open on Monday (NZ time).

Thiem became the first Austrian to claim a singles title at Flushing Meadows, albeit in unique circumstances as no fans were present at the hardcourt major due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The triumph comes after the 27-year-old had come up one short of a major title on three previous occasions.

Thiem was the beaten finalist in this year's Australian Open and at the French Open in 2018 and 2019.

US Open: Naomi Osaka books semifinal showdown against American hope Jennifer Brady

Osaka, the former No 1-ranked played who won the U.S. Open two years ago, played far cleaner tennis than her opponent in a 6-3, 6-4 win over 93rd-ranked Shelby Rogers.

Rogers finished with 27 unforced errors, Osaka with eight.

Earlier, Brady, the 28th seed, defeat Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2.

Brady has never been this far at a major tournament but has split her two previous matches against Osaka, winning in 2014 before the Japanese star squared the ledger four years later.

     

US Open: Djokovic defaulted after hitting line judge

Djokovic was becoming frustrated after failing to take the opening set and suffering a fall and having dropped serve to trail 5-6, he hit a ball reasonably hard to the back of the court, striking a female line judge.

He immediately apologised and stood over her before becoming involved in a lengthy exchange with the tournament referee.

Under the rules of the game there is no option other than a default and despite Djokovic's pleadings that he had not meant to hit the official, he was eventually disqualified.