US Open

NEW YORK: Family was at the ‌heart of Alexander Zverev’s US Open triumph on Sunday as the German saluted the members of his inner circle and paid a heartfelt tribute to his mother for refusing to let diabetes define his future.

The top seed beat ​American Ben Shelton 6-3 7-6(2) 5-7 6-2 at Flushing Meadows to finish a spectacular year at the Grand Slams in which he proved his doubters wrong by going from perennial nearly man to two-time major champion.

Shortly after his victory, Zverev reserved special praise for his mother Irina, a former professional tennis player, and credited her with ensuring type 1 diabetes never limited his ambitions in life.

“When your 4-year-old son is diagnosed with diabetes and doctors in the office tell you that life and sports will be very limited for that child, it takes a very strong mother to say ‘my ‌son will be ‌whatever he wants to be’,” Zverev said.

“’If he wants to be ​a ‌tennis ⁠player, he’ll ​be ⁠a tennis player. If he wants to do something else, he’ll do something else, but this illness will not define us’.

“I’m happy that we worked through it and we’re doing the things that we’re doing now. My mother is the most important and strongest person I know because it takes an unbelievably strong woman to do what she did.”

The 29-year-old thanked his team, which includes his father Alexander Zverev Sr and his brother Mischa, for their hard work that had delivered him another Grand Slam trophy to ⁠add to his Olympic gold medal from the Tokyo Games five years ‌ago.

“We went almost 30 years without winning a Grand Slam ‌title and now we’ve won two in a span of three ​months,” Zverev said.

“I think God has seen how ‌hard we’ve worked, how much we’ve suffered, how much pain we went through and I ‌think that 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”

SCARS OF 2020

Zverev had come agonizingly close to capturing his maiden Grand Slam title in New York in 2020, leading Dominic Thiem by two sets to none and later serving for the match in the fifth set before losing.

He finally won his first major ‌crown at this year’s French Open after defeating Flavio Cobolli in five sets, and the German doubled his tally in New York despite making ⁠a shaky start to ⁠the fortnight.

He also reached the Wimbledon final this year, falling to Jannik Sinner in four sets.

“The scars of the 2020 (US Open) final, they disappeared after I won in Paris. I said at Wimbledon, though I lost in the final, I enjoyed the match … enjoyed playing on Center Court in front of an amazing crowd,” Zverev said.

“Before winning in Paris, I felt a lot of stress all the time, because there was always a question mark. ‘Will I ever win one?’ Now it’s more of a joy to play those kinds of finals.”

With Sinner sidelined by a knee injury and Carlos Alcaraz having just returned from a wrist problem, Zverev reluctantly accepted that he was the man to beat in men’s tennis after a strong finish to the Grand Slam season.

“Four or five months ​ago, when both of them were healthy, I ​wasn’t. I was losing to Jannik all the time,” he added.

“So if everyone is healthy, Jannik is still ahead. It’s as simple as that.”

NEW YORK: Elena Rybakina won her first US Open title and punctuated her climb to the top of women’s tennis by beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday.

Rybakina had already been guaranteed to replace Sabalenka at No. 1 in the rankings next week and for good measure took the US Open title that Sabalenka had won the previous two years.

“It’s tough to find words right now, honestly,” Rybakina said. “I don’t expect nothing like this coming to this tournament. I’ve been dealing with a little bit with an injury, but somehow everything aligned together on my side.”

It was the third Grand Slam title for Rybakina and the second this year — both against Sabalenka on hard courts. She opened the season by beating Sabalenka for the Australian Open title.

This time, she stopped Sabalenka’s 19-match winning streak at the US Open, where she hadn’t lost since falling to Coco Gauff in the 2023 final.

“I really felt like home here and cannot wait to come back next year,” Sabalenka said. “I wish I could perform a little bit better but I guess next year.”

Rybakina earned $5.5 million, the largest prize in Grand Slam history, and tied Sabalenka and French Open winner Mirra Andreeva with a tour-high three titles this season.

Sabalenka took home $2.8 million but it was clear how little that meant to her, as she smashed her racket after a brief hug with Rybakina at the net.

Sabalenka was trying to become the first person since Serena Williams from 2012-14 to win three in a row at Flushing Meadows.

Rybakina dethroned the champ without even having her best stuff. The WTA Tour leader in aces got less than half of her first serves in but instead put Sabalenka under constant pressure with a strong return game, racking up 12 break chances and converting three, which was all she needed.

The third meeting of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a US Open women’s final since 2000 was the first to go the way of the challenger. Williams was the top seed for the other two, beating her sister Venus in 2002 and Victoria Azarenka in 2013.

The numbers didn’t signify much this time, because they are going to flip Monday. Sabalenka has held the top spot for 99 consecutive weeks, but Rybakina gained enough points to unseat her simply by reaching the semifinals.

She didn’t stop there.

The 27-year-old who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan won her first major title at Wimbledon in 2022 and now needs just the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam.

And it’s clear her power — and her ability to absorb her opponent’s — was something that unnerved Sabalenka.

A native of Belarus, Sabalenka sometimes swings from her heels, like a golfer trying to unleash a 300-yard drive, grunting “Aaaaahhhh!” as she takes her mighty cuts.

Rybakina’s power comes more easily. There is little sound coming from her side of the net besides the squeaking of her sneakers, and she rarely shows any hint of stress.

“I think Elena is probably — not nonchalant, I don’t want to say that, because she’s not nonchalant — but just no reaction ever,” Gauff said after losing to Rybakina in the semifinals.

Rybakina did show some frustration after pulling a backhand wide with a break point in the opening game of the third set, but soon she had taken charge of the match for good.

Sabalenka had won the two other meetings this season, on the hard courts at Indian Wells and Miami, and leads their rivalry 10-8.

But her season then took a strange dip after those victories. Sabalenka fell to Naomi Osaka in the fourth round at Wimbledon, then returned to action with consecutive fourth-round exits in Toronto and Cincinnati.

Rybakina had to take a brief break after she was forced to stop playing in her quarterfinal match against Iga Swiatek in Cincinnati because of a foot injury, but she was healthy in time for a tournament where she had never done particularly well, failing to advance past the fourth round until this year.

“I honestly was coming here for the last 10 years, and it was never successful — nothing close to that,” Rybakina said. “It’s just incredible. I’m falling in love with New York more and more.”

Arthur Ashe Stadium, meanwhile, had been Sabalenka’s house, with four straight trips to the final and six to at least the semis. Whatever troubled her during the summer seemed forgotten once she was back in New York — until Saturday.

Sabalenka repeatedly looked toward her coaches’ box with her palms up, wondering why everything was going so poorly, and showed much more frustration than that when she double-faulted to hand Rybakina a 3-2 lead in the first set. Rybakina hit the serve back and the ball bounced directly to Sabalenka, who whacked it into the crowd, earning a warning from the chair umpire.

Sabalenka eventually began putting consistent pressure on Rybakina in the second set. She picked up two break points with a chance to end the set with a 5-4 lead, and though Rybakina won four straight points to get out of that jam, Sabalenka got another chance in the next service game and this time capitalized, stepping into a return to set up a miss by Rybakina.

NEW YORK: Big-serving Ben Shelton overpowered US compatriot Frances Tiafoe in four sets on Friday to reach the first Grand Slam final of his career, booking a US Open title showdown with Alexander Zverev.

Eighth-seeded Shelton blasted 20 aces on his way to a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Top seed Zverev held off 50th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (8/6) to reach his third straight Grand Slam final – a run that delivered his maiden major at the French Open and saw him finish runner-up at Wimbledon.

Shelton – who took down defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals – will now have the chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title since 2003, when Andy Roddick triumphed at the US Open.

“It’s a lot of emotion,” Shelton said in an on-court interview. “My dad, my mom have sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position today. My dad lost his mom earlier this year, and she’s the reason that he was able to play tennis.

“Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So this one is for her. And I’m gonna need you guys on Sunday to bring the energy. I’m going for it. I’m gonna leave it all on the court.”

Zverev is eager for the chance to play spoiler.

“Hopefully I can not make the American dream come true on Sunday,” the German said.

The pulsating all-American semi-final played out in front of a star-studded crowd, with tennis legends including Serena Williams, Stan Smith and Lindsey Davenport on hand along with actors Ben Stiller and Rami Malek and New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson.

Tiafoe claimed the first set after Shelton uncharacteristically double-faulted to trail at 5-4.

They traded breaks early in the second, but Shelton took advantage of Tiafoe’s increasingly erratic serve to break for a 5-3 lead and level the match.

The momentum was all with Shelton, who broke for a 3-2 lead then seized the set with a break in a marathon ninth game that went to deuce seven times.

The tension was mounting in the fourth set, but Shelton kept his composure as Tiafoe raised his level and gained the crucial break in the final game.

On Sunday he’ll be up against an experienced opponent in Zverev, who after laboring through two five-setters to open the tournament has steadily upped his game.

‘Anything but straightforward’

Zverev doused Khachanov’s hopes of reaching a first Grand Slam final, although the Russian – who fell to Zverev in the Olympic gold medal match in Tokyo in 2021 – put up a spirited challenge in the second and third sets.

“Straight-set win, but anything but straightforward,” Zverev said. “He played incredibly well, fought incredibly well.”

Khachanov denied Zverev on two set points in the second set tiebreaker with a thumping forehand and a brilliant backhand down the line before Zverev closed out the set.

Neither player mustered a break point in a tense third set. But when Khachanov took a 6-4 lead in the tiebreaker he surrendered both set points with forehand errors. Zverev came up with his 15th ace and sealed the win when Khachanov sent a forehand long.

“Second and third set I think it’s more than obvious that they could have gone both ways,” Zverev said. “I just played a few points better here and there.”

A somber note was struck during the national anthem ceremonies of both the day and night sessions on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

“It’s a difficult day to be out here playing,” Shelton said in his remarks to the crowd. “My thought and payers go out to all the families affected by 9/11.”

The women’s final is on Saturday, when Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina will try to deny Aryna Sabalenka a third straight title just days after ending the Belarusian’s near two-year reign atop the world rankings by reaching the semi-finals.

NEW YORK Drawing inspiration from Frances Tiafoe’s rally from two sets down to reach the US Open semi-finals, Coco Gauff saved two match points in her own fightback victory on Wednesday.

World number four Gauff, a 22-year-old American and two-time Grand Slam winner, was on the edge of defeat in a second-set tie-breaker before ousting reigning French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 to reach the US Open semi-finals.

Gauff advanced to a Thursday match at Arthur Ashe Stadium against Elena Rybakina, who beat Chinese qualifier Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, to ensure the second-ranked Kazakh star will leap to world number one next week.

Gauff’s victory was much like compatriot Tiafoe’s comeback triumph Tuesday over fellow American Alex Michelsen in a dramatic five-setter.

“Sometimes you just need a little bit of inspiration, and Frances was that for me in that moment,” Gauff said.

“Frances was looking — I was watching the end of that set and it looked like he was down and out. And sometimes you just need a chance, and I think I got my chances today.”

Gauff struggled in the first set and battled through four service breaks in a row for the two until a tie-break where Russian teen Andreeva had two match points but each time fired an errant forehand. Two unforced errors on the final points gave Gauff her chance and she rolled through the final set.

“I was just really determined to not lose that second set, because I felt like I worked so hard to give myself opportunities and lost them,” Gauff said. “I didn’t know how the third set would go, but I was just really focused on trying not to lose that second set.

“One point turned into another. Once the third set started, I felt pretty confident I was going to come out with that one.”

Tiafoe, who faces American Ben Shelton in Friday’s men’s semis, has provided motivation beyond his never-say-die example at Flushing Meadows.

“Frances is such a light and such a joy to have on tour. Always been so nice and just hyping me up and my family up,” Gauff said. “He’s a special type of person and almost everybody on tour can agree that he’s one of the few players who is always lighting up the room and giving respect towards us women too.

“He’s a rare person in this world and in this sport.”

Not that Gauff is going to tell Tiafoe any of that, adding, “I don’t like to give him any credit. Hopefully he doesn’t see these (remarks).”

Gauff did not message either Tiafoe or Shelton, whose early morning upset of Carlos Alcaraz was the latest-ever US Open finish.

“I feel like it’s a bad luck or omen, so I usually don’t like to text anyone while they’re playing in a tournament,” Gauff said.

‘It’s so incredible’

Gauff, the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open winner, is excited that three black players — herself, Tiafoe and Shelton have a chance to win at Ashe, named for a legendary 1960s black tennis pioneer. Either Tiafoe or Shelton will play for the chance to be the first US men’s major winner in 23 years.

“It’s so incredible. Honestly, especially on the men’s side, I never thought I’d be able to have the chance to see like an all-Black semi-final between the guys in my lifetime,” Gauff said.

“And to have also me in the semis, I think it’s really cool.”

It helps sustain Gauff’s belief in herself and her game.

“Just believing is all I can do. I mean, the game may not always show up, but I can control the belief in myself,” she said.

“Even if it’s delusional, the more instances I keep showing up and maybe being successful in those moments, maybe that delusion will be more factual.”

NEW YORK: Elena Rybakina is headed to the US Open semifinals and to the top of the women’s tennis rankings.

Rybakina edged Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday, guaranteeing she will become No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

The Australian Open champion will face No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 5 Mirra Andreeva on Thursday. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.

But no matter what happens in the remaining matches, Rybakina will end Sabalenka’s 99-week stay at No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday.

“It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament,” Rybakina said. “It’s an amazing achievement but you know how quick everything can change in tennis, ranking-wise, during the match, so I feel like I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”

Rybakina and Zheng were scheduled to start about eight hours after Ben Shelton finished off his victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history.

Rybakina said she struggled with the sun and shadows in Arthur Ashe Stadium early on after starting later in the day in her previous matches.

Zheng capitalized on Rybakina’s early struggles to get her only break of the match against one of the best servers in women’s tennis and take a 5-3 lead in the first set.

But Zheng, who had been playing from behind so much in Flushing Meadows, couldn’t hold onto the lead and Rybakina rolled through the second set in 38 minutes.

Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China, had to come through the qualifying tournament just to make the main draw after elbow surgery dropped her down the rankings to her current place of No. 121. Once ranked No. 4, she is guaranteed to move back into the top 60.

She made a dramatic run to the quarterfinals, erasing a 5-0 deficit in the third set against Madison Keys in the third round and then climbing out of another 5-0 hole in the first set in her fourth-round victory over No. 8-seed Iga Swiatek.

But a double-fault gave her opponent a 5-4 lead in the third set and Rybakina served it out to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time.

“I think the wins that I had so far are great, but obviously today in the match I got a lot of chances in the third set, but I didn’t take it,” Zheng said. “That was a bit pity for me to lose this match, but obviously I could take positive things from U.S. Open this year.”

Rybakina came into the tournament needing only to reach the semifinals to ensure she would move past Sabalenka. Had the 27-year-old from Kazakhstan lost before the final four, Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff could have been No. 1 next week by winning the tournament.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev was to face Botic van de Zandschulp in one quarterfinal match Wednesday, with No. 28 Alexander Blockx playing Karen Khachenov in the other. The winners will meet Friday, the same day Shelton and No. 11 seed Frances Tiafoe will square off in an all-American semifinal match.

NEW YORK: Carlos Alcaraz tumbled out of the US Open quarter-finals at 3:34 am Wednesday, falling to Ben Shelton in an epic five-set thriller that broke the record for latest finish ever at Flushing Meadows.

The big-hitting Shelton claimed his first career win over Alcaraz, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10/7), ending the Spaniard’s hopes of retaining his title in his first tournament back after a four-month injury absence.

New York: Frances Tiafoe rallied from two sets down — and 3-0 down in the fifth set — to edge 22-year-old Alex Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (10/6) and reach the US Open semi-finals on Tuesday.

American 11th seed Tiafoe had all he could handle from his 22-year-old compatriot, who hadn’t dropped a set in reaching the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career.

But in a match of swinging momentum shifts, Tiafoe battled back from 5-3 down in the third set and recovered an early break in the fifth to reach his third US Open semi-final in five years.

Tiafoe clinched it in the 10-point match tiebreaker after four hours and 38 minutes, Michelsen weeping in the victor’s arms as they met at the net.

Tiafoe will face either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or eighth-seeded American Ben Shelton for a place in Sunday’s championship match.

Michelsen came out swinging on Arthur Ashe Stadium against an uncharacteristically passive Tiafoe, who usually feeds on the energy of the crowd.

But when Michelsen found himself serving for the match at 5-4 in the third, his nerves betrayed him. Two double faults helped Tiafoe break back, and Tiafoe strung together seven straight games to close out the third set and seize control of the fourth.

Michelsen, who has yet to win a title on the ATP Tour, responded with an early break in the fifth set, but Tiafoe refused to fold.

“He gave me some gifts, a couple of double faults there,” Tiafoe said of his narrow escape in the third set.

“But then I slowly started to get my rhythm there, snuck out third set and slowly started playing better and better.

“But he is a hell of a player,” Tiafoe added. “He should have easily won today.”

When he had completed the comeback Tiafoe flung his arms into the air, then consoled a weeping Michelsen at the net.

“I was like, man, I know, I’ve been there,” Tiafoe told ESPN. “I know how much that hurts.”

EW YORK: Aryna Sabalenka kept alive her hopes for a third straight US Open championship by fighting off Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) on Tuesday in a thrilling quarterfinal matchup of major champions.

Sabalenka finished off the match with a second-serve ace to turn back the Wimbledon champion and reach the semifinals in Flushing Meadows for the sixth straight year.

Sabalenka — who needed to win to maintain the No. 1 ranking — will face either No. 3 Jessica Pegula or No. 26 Emma Navarro on Thursday in the semifinals.

Noskova, the No. 6 seed, won her first major title at the All England Club and narrowly missed becoming the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to follow a title on the grass by reaching the final four on the hardcourts of New York.

NEW YORK: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will be under the microscope again on Sunday taking on 20th-seeded American Tommy Paul for a place in the US Open quarter-finals.

The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since a four-month absence with a wrist injury, acknowledges he has yet to play his best but says he’s “getting there” with both the sharpness of his shots and his on-court decision making.

He headlines a day that also features women’s two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and third-ranked American Jessica Pegula — just one of the players with a chance to supplant Sabalenka atop the world rankings in New York.

Surprise Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova will try to continue her progress toward another Grand Slam against dangerous Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk while US hope Frances Tiafoe faces the always tricky former champion Daniil Medvedev.

AFP Sport looks at three matches to watch on Day 8 of the US Open:

Tommy Paul (USA x20) v Carlos Alcaraz (ESP x2)

Alcaraz leads head to head 6-2

— Although Alcaraz has dominated their meetings — Paul’s last win over the Spaniard was back in 2023 — the defending champion said the American is “really dangerous for everyone on the tour.

“The way he plays, the way he hits the ball, it’s really complicated to dominate the ball, dominate the points,” said Alcaraz, who won their last meeting in the Australian open quarter-finals on the way to the title that made him the youngest man to claim a career Grand Slam.

Alcaraz said he was looking forward to another great battle — and having some fun.

“We pull off great points, great shots,” he said. “It’s going to be really fun to watch, fun to play, as well.”

Ben Shelton (USA X8) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)

Tsitsipas leads head to head 1-0

— A resurgent Tsitsipas has Shelton’s attention. The former top-five player from Greece upset red-hot Arthur Fils in the first round and ousted 18th-seeded Jiri Lehecka in the third and is deeper into a Grand Slam than he’s been in more than two years.

Playing pain free after back problems derailed his 2025 campaign, the two-time Grand Slam finalist is also working with a new coach, having replaced his father Apostolos in that role.

“I have been watching his matches,” Shelton said. “I think he’s playing great. I think that his style of tennis can be very, very effective on all surfaces, all-court game, great athlete.”

Shelton said his three four-set wins in the first three rounds — against Tallon Griekspoor, Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov — had him well prepared for anything Tsitsipas might throw at him.

“I think this is a great way to start the tournament in terms of variety. I have dealt with a lefty, dealt with a big hitter, dealt with a feel guy, dealt with a massive server, dealt with a spot server, serve and volleyer.”

Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x1) v Taylor Townsend (USA)

First meeting

— Sabalenka knows she’ll be in hostile territory when she takes on 96th-ranked American Townsend on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I think I’m ready for the crowd situation,” Sabalenka said. “She’s, I’d say, tricky player, because she brings the variety — comes to the net, really make you think during the game.”

Townsend is in the fourth round for a second straight year, but it has been anything but a straightforward 12 months for the 30-year-old, who says she has “been through a lot over this past year.” It hasn’t dimmed her desire to win, and Townsend said she was “pumped” to take on Sabalenka in a quest for a first Grand Slam singles quarter-final.

“I’m built for these moments,” Townsend, a three-time Grand Slam doubles winner, said. “I’m ready to take it. I’m ready to go.”