US Open: Stephens through after strange snack break
August 29, 2018
Defending champion Sloane Stephens was made to work to book a high profile third round clash with Victoria Azarenka. In the men's draw, 2015 winner Stan Wawrinka continued his comeback from injury with another win.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS
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Stephens, from America, made heavy weather of her clash with Anhelina Kalinina until an unusual off-court intervention.
“It was super hot, which was not fun at all,” Stephens said, after a gruelling 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win that lasted almost three hours.
“But I’m just happy to be through. I just sat on the floor [in the 10-minute break], changed my outfit, had two bites of sushi, had some slushy [a sugary ice drink]. I came out in the third set, bounced around, was ready to go.”
The American needed treatment on a blistered right hand in the second set as the crushing effect of 35-degree heat took its toll.
She wasn't the only home favorite to progress, as Venus Williams brushed aside Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-5 earlier on Wednesday. The victory puts her on course to play her younger sister in the next round, with Serena scheduled for one of the evening matches.
It wasn't such good news for the Germans in the women's draw. Ninth seed Julia Görges was disappointing in falling to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in straight sets, while Görges' compatriot Tatjana Maria suffered a similar fate against number 7 seed Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine. Angelique Kerber faces her second round match against Sweden's Johanna Larsson on Thursday.
Swiss Stan books Raonic clash
Stan Warinka was unable to defend his crown last year, as the injuries that have seen him slide down the rankings took their toll. But the Swiss player extended his winning streak at Flushing Meadows to nine matches on Wednesday.
The 2016 champion battled past determined French qualifier Ugo Humbert, eventually winning 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the New York heat, which continues to cause issues for players and spectators alike.
"It's never easy to play and move your best when conditions are so tough," said Wawrinka, who was frustrated by a shortage of the ice-filled towels players are using to cool off during the changeovers.
"I knew it would be a difficult match," said the Swiss, who needed three hours and 21 minutes to complete the win. "He's a young player. He qualified, he won his first match," added the 33-year-old, who served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth only to be broken by the 20-year-old.
"I'm really happy with the victory," added Wawrinka, who faces Canadian Milos Raonic for a place in the last 16.
mp (Reuters, DPA)
US Open: The big one in the Big Apple
"If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere," as Frank Sinatra once put it. This statement could just as easily be applied to the loudest, most demanding tennis tournament in the world, the US Open.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Samad
The sky is the limit
Nowak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka battled it out on in the men's final on Center Court in 2016. This photo gives you a rough impression of the view you would have had if you had managed to get yourself a ticket for a seat in the nosebleeds. Wawrinka would go on to win this duel.
Image: Getty Images/A. Bello
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe used a wooden racket when he played in the Forest Hills stadium in Queens, New York in 1965. In 1978, the tournament moved to its larger site at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The main court, which holds more than 22,000 spectators, is named after Athur Ashe.
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Pete could do with a bucket...
The matches can be long and the weather is usually hot and humid. This can take a toll on the players. In 1996, a few minutes after this picture was shot, the great Pete Sampras actually threw up on the court during his match against Alex Corretja. We could have shown you that, but you didn’t really want to see it, did you?
Image: Getty Images/S. Botterill
Quiet please!
If you are looking for a quiet game of tennis, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is not the place for you! It happens to be located close to LaGuardia Airport. If you don’t like the noise you can complain, but making yourself heard could pose a problem...
Image: imago/UPI Photo
When Serena was still a bad girl
"Foot fault," cried the woman on the chair during this 2009 match. Serena Williams was having nothing of it and did her best to make this clear. The line judge jumped out of her chair and…
Image: Getty Images/J. Finney
"I didn't say that!"
…ran to the net and told the match referee, who called the head referee. He ordered Williams’ semifinal match against Kim Clijsters abandoned and awarded it to the Belgian. It was widely reported that Williams had threatened to shove a tennis ball down the line judge’s throat, something that the American denied having said.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T.A. Clary
Cramp-plagued Marcos Baghdatis
IN 2006, Marcos Baghdatis struggled through a his match against Andre Agassi. Plagued by cramps, he struggled to complete its. Baghdatis is still on the tour, Agassi, of course, retired years ago.
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Andre's second-last match
The match, in which Baghdatis wound up unable to run around the court was the second last in the career of Andre Agassi in New York. The crowd gave both men a standing ovation after Agassi won 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5. In his 2010 autobiography "Open," Agassi described his pain both on and off the tennis court.
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Stefanie Graf's backhand
Stefanie Graf rarely made mistakes with her backhand but her forehand was even better. In 1988 she faced Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini in the US Open final and won 6-3, 3-6, and 6-1. Sabatini went on to have her own line of perfume, but Graf became a legend, helping, along with Boris Becker, to spark a tennis boom in Germany.
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A happy Angie Kerber
It would take until 2016 for another German to win at Flushing Meadows. This photo is from September 11, 2016, a day after Angelique Kerber had beaten Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the final. Since then, things haven't gone her way. Kerber lost her No. 1 spot in the women's rankings - despite the absence of Serena Williams.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Cj Gunther
Can't forget Jimmy
How could we forget this guy? He was in his prime when US men’s tennis was still powerful and nobody had heard of John McEnroe yet. Jimmy Connors, in this picture no longer using his old metal racket, won the US Open five times. His two-handed backhanders changed the men’s game.
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Boris won here too...
Here’s another guy we can’t forget. This is Boris Becker after beating Ivan Lendl 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the 1989 final. The often ill-tempered Lendl went on to become a cool golfer and even cooler coach. Becker is still his happy-go-lucky self. Last year he was appointed the "head of men’s tennis" by the German Tennis Association (DTB).
Image: Imago/Norbert Schmidt
Legendary support
Alexander Zverev (above left) is still looking for his first Grand Slam and he has enlisted former Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl (right) to help him refine his game. The men's No. 4 failed to make it past the second round in his two previous appearances at the US Open. The 21-year-old German is hoping that Lendl's tactical knowledge will help carry him much deeper in 2018.
