The Latest: Sakkari beats 2019 champ Andreescu at US Open
Sep 5, 2021, 8:49 PM | Updated: Sep 7, 2021, 12:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):
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2:15 a.m.
Maria Sakkari has eliminated 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu in the latest-finishing women’s match in tournament history to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time.
Sakkari came back to win 6-7 (2), 7-6 (6), 6-3 as Andreescu had trouble with a left leg that was taped by a trainer during a medical timeout in the third set. Andreescu limped around between points down the stretch and her leg buckled a few times.
The 3 1/2-hour match ended at nearly 2:15 a.m. The previous women’s record was a 1:48 a.m. finish for a first-round match in 2016 in which Madison Keys beat Alison Riske; three men’s matches have wrapped up at 2:26 a.m.
Both players’ grunts reverberated off the thousands of unused blue seats in Arthur Ashe Stadium by the end. Fans who remained engaged in dueling first-name chants: “Ma-ri-a!” and “Bi-an-ca!”
This was Andreescu’s first loss in the main draw at Flushing Meadows. She beat Serena Williams in the final to win the title in her debut two years ago and missed the hard-court Grand Slam tournament in 2020 while sitting out the entire season with an injured knee.
The 17th-seeded Sakkari will face two-time Grand Slam runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals.
Sakkari’s best showing at a major tournament was a semifinal run at the French Open in June.
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1:15 a.m.
Bianca Andreescu and Maria Sakkari are headed to a third set in the last match of the U.S. Open’s fourth round.
Each of the first two sets ended in tiebreakers and they already have been playing for 2 1/2 hours.
The sixth-seeded Andreescu took the opening set 7-6 (2).
The 17th-seeded Sakkari evened the match by grabbing the second 7-6 (6).
Andreescu was the 2019 champion at Flushing Meadows and has never lost in the main draw. She missed the tournament last year.
Sakkari is trying to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time. Her best showing at a Grand Slam was a semifinal run at the French Open in June.
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10:20 p.m.
Novak Djokovic is into the U.S. Open quarterfinals and three wins from men’s tennis history.
The No. 1 seed pulled away over the final 2 1/2 sets to beat 99th-ranked American Jenson Brooksby 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and keep alive his hopes for the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a men’s player since 1969.
Djokovic will next face No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini, the man he beat to win Wimbledon and give him 20 Grand Slam titles, tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for most by a male.
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9:45 p.m.
Novak Djokovic has moved into the lead in his fourth-round match against American Jenson Brooksby.
The top-ranked Djokovic leads 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 as he tries to keep alive his hopes of winning a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title.
Djokovic finally had a fairly easy time in the third set, racing to a 4-0 lead and winning in 49 minutes as the 20-year-old Brooksby showed signs of wearing down after a grueling second set.
Djokovic is 10-0 against Americans at the U.S. Open.
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8:55 p.m.
Novak Djokovic has evened his riveting fourth-round match against American Jenson Brooksby at one set apiece.
Brooksby, a wild card ranked 99th, took the first set 6-1. Djokovic came back to take the second set 6-3.
Trying to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a man since 1969, Djokovic shook off the loss of an exhausting 24-point game that cut his lead to 3-2. He broke Brooksby in the following game and then won the next as well to regain control.
The second set lasted 1 hour, 8 minutes.
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7:55 p.m.
Jenson Brooksby has won the first set against No. 1 Novak Djokovic — and the 20-year-old American did it easily.
Brooksby, ranked 99th, took the set 6-1 in 29 minutes, breaking Djokovic’s serve twice.
Djokovic is trying to win the calendar-year Grand Slam. Brooksby is trying to become the youngest American man in a major quarterfinal since Andy Roddick at the 2003 Wimbledon.
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4:25 p.m.
Emma Raducanu has gone all the way from the U.S. Open qualifying rounds to the quarterfinals.
The 18-year-old from Britain routed American Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-1 to join fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez in the women’s last eight.
Raducanu reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and has gone a step further in the year’s last Grand Slam tournament, becoming just the third female qualifier to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals in the professional era.
Rogers, who upset No. 1 seed Ash Barty in the last round, jumped to a 2-0 lead before Raducanu won the next 11 games.
Another player advanced to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal when unseeded Lloyd Harris handled Reilly Opelka’s big serve and eliminated the No. 22-seeded American 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.
Harris plays Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev next.
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2:45 p.m.
Alexander Zverev is into the U.S. Open quarterfinals with his 15th straight victory.
The No. 4 seed from Germany beat 13th-seeded Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7).
Zverev started his winning streak at the Olympics, where he beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the semifinals en route to the gold medal.
Djokovic is in action later Monday.
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1:30 p.m.
Belinda Bencic is back into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
The Olympic gold medalist from Switzerland beat Iga Swiatek 7-6 (12), 6-3 to make the last eight in Flushing Meadows for the third time.
The 11th-seeded Bencic pulled out the lengthy first-set tiebreaker, then took the second set in 43 minutes — only about 20 more than the tiebreaker lasted.
Bencic was a semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 2019, the last time she played. She also reached the quarterfinals in her debut in 2014.
Swiatek, the No. 7 seed from Poland who won last year’s French Open, was the only women’s player to reach the fourth round in every major this year.
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11:35 a.m.
Novak Djokovic is back at the stage of his loss at the U.S. Open last year.
The top-ranked Djokovic plays Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium against 20-year-old American Jenson Brooksby.
It was in the fourth round last year at Flushing Meadows that Djokovic was defaulted for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a tennis ball after dropping a game in his match against Pablo Carreño Busta.
After then losing to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final, Djokovic has gone on to win all three major tournaments this year, a 24-match winning streak in Grand Slam play. He will become the first man to win all four in the same year since 1969 if he wins the U.S. Open.
Olympic champions Alexander Zverev and Belinda Bencic were also on the Labor Day schedule. American Shelby Rogers, who knocked out women’s No. 1 seed Ash Barty, was set to face 18-year-old British qualifier Emma Raducanu.
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