Bill Simons
New York
NO WAY FOR NOLE: Last night Carlos Alcaraz lost. Tonight it was Novak Djokovic’s turn. Alexi Popyrin got Nole’s goat, downing the 24-time Slam champ 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to reach the fourth round. And, for another year, Court’s curse remains intact.
Aussie Popyrin, who earlier this summer won the Canadian Open, did his fellow Aussie, Margaret Court, a hefty favor: her record of 24 Slam wins remains unsurpassed. Nole, who won the Olympic gold and reached the Wimbledon final, has failed to win a Slam this season. It is the first year since 2002 that no member of the Big 3 – Nole, Rafa and Roger – has not won a Slam. Serena had 15 chances to equal Court’s record. She didn’t. Novak has had four chances to surpass that record, but has fallen short.
This was the earliest loss by a US Open men’s champion since 2000 and the first time Nole hasn’t gotten beyond the third round in New York since 2006, when he lost to Aussie Lleyton Hewitt. This is also the first year since 2017 that Nole will not have won a major. He had more double faults in this match than in any of his previous 438 Slam matches.
Popyrin will next play Frances Tiafoe. Nole’s loss could also be good news for Americans Taylor Fritz and Brandon Nakashima, who are in the bottom half of the draw that previously featured Novak.
Three night matches in a row have seen three champs with 32 Slam wins between them – Osaka, Alcaraz and Djokovic – suffer defeat.
Immediately after the match, Djokovic spoke to the press, saying that, considering his frame of mind, just reaching the third round was a good result. He explained, “I spent a lot of energy winning the gold, and I did arrive to New York just not feeling fresh mentally and physically.
“But because it’s the US Open, I gave it a shot and tried my best…I didn’t have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas and you could see that with the way I played…From the first match, I just didn’t find myself…on this court. It’s all I can say…life moves on.”
Novak said that tonight he “tried so many things, and sometimes that’s an issue…[when] you move away from the basics…[and] you lose the foundation…the tempo, everything, whether it’s a serve or any other shot. It was just really a big struggle mentally for me to play these three matches here. You could argue that it’s because of the Olympics, but I don’t know.”
BIG FOE’S BIG WIN OVER BIG BEN: One is the left-handed son of a college coach and former ATP player. The other is the right-handed son of a refugee who fled from Sierra Leone and became a maintenance worker at Maryland’s JTCC.
While No. 13 Ben Shelton briefly became the No. 1 American player, Frances Tiafoe briefly broke into the Top Ten and has long been No. 1 when it comes to light-up-the-room charisma. Both are front and center in the nonstop conversation of which fun-lovin’, hard-chargin’ man will end America’s 21-year Grand Slam drought. Last year, the big-serving Shelton downed Big Foe in the quarterfinals.
Today, Tiafoe dropped his opening set. But he repeatedly put pressure on Shelton, found open spaces, relentlessly attacked Ben’s backhand, and dashed to the net like a sprinter. Tiafoe managed to get a slew of break points, yet time and again he faltered, falling behind two sets to one. But in the third-set tiebreak, Frances saved five set points.
After a rather dismal season earlier this year, the 26-year-old Tiafoe surged this summer, reaching the semis in Washington and the Cincy finals. His work with his new coach David Witt is paying off. Frances is now 12-4 with him.
Remaining calm and never wavering, there was no evidence of the younger Tiafoe, who’d been quick to go for a circus shot, fret about a blown opportunity or find a creative way to go astray.
Instead he was laser focused, staying on task. Never mind that at one point he was 4-20 on break points. He told himself, “I’ve got no other place to be. This is going five.” Finally, late in the fourth set and again in the fifth, he broke through his powerful foe to score a stunning 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 win, and will face Alexei Popyrin next.
At his moment of victory, Tiafoe howled, “This is my house!” even though he’s never gotten beyond the semis in New York. He told ESPN, “All my career lies at the US Open…For a guy who grew up the way I did, this is what makes it worth it. Let’s enjoy this – but we’re not done.”
SAY IT ISN’T BOW – CARLOS AND NAOMI BOTH BOW OUT: There was Naomi Osaka, tennis’ most charismatic woman player not named Coco, a mother in an edgy black tutu with fluffy ruffles and a girlish bow, running around the world’s biggest tennis arena. The big white bow was bold – but her play wasn’t. And after she quietly bowed 3-6, 6-7(5) to the no-frills Czech athlete, Karolina Muchova, Osaka confided, “I feel like my heart dies every time I lose.”
Not surprisingly, sorrow descended on Flushing Meadows, and fans were in a funk. But then, surely Carlos Alcaraz, the ATP’s boldest young conquistador, would set matters straight and bring joy back to the huge tennis coliseum.
Like Osaka, the appealing Spaniard had been using fashion at the US Open to make a statement. Forget edgy designers, trendy Japanese tradition, delicate ruffles and prancing runway ‘tudes. As in his opening match, Alcaraz sported a tight, minimalist and very sleeveless singlet that drew attention to the hunkiest tennis superstar since Señor Nadal. The 21-year-old made it clear his form-fitting outfit was sending a message. “I just want to make fear for the opponent.”
But come on, why even bother, Carlos? You won the 2022 US Open. Earlier this year, you grabbed Roland Garros and Wimbledon back-to-back. The adoring crowd will back you.
Yes, Botic Van De Zandschulp was once No. 1 (when it came to names that are all but impossible for Americans to pronounce), but his ATP ranking was a measly No. 74, and he was playing in the massive arena for the first time.
Never mind that Carlos was the odds-on favorite to win the Open. Botic didn’t care. Calm and well within himself, the Dutchman quickly broke Alcaraz’s serve. Time and again he attacked the net and played seamless defense. After Alcaraz lost the first set by a jaw-dropping 6-1 score, he slumped in his seat and stared at the scoreboard stat sheet. He actually hadn’t hit a single winner in the opening set. Yikes!
Yes, a few weeks ago, Carlos had stunk up the gym in Cincinnati, where in the opening round he told us he played the worst match of his career.
But, surely, he’d rebound here. The Spaniard was on a 15-0 Grand Slam winning streak. In Slams he was 25-1 against players outside the top 50.
In contrast, Van de Zandshulp has been seen as the ultimate journeyman, someone Frances Tiafoe might dismiss as “a clown.” The Netherlands’ No. 2 player wasn’t suffering a midlife crisis – it just seemed that way. This year his record was only 11-19, he’d only won one Slam match, he hadn’t won any back-to-back matches and he’d never beaten a Top Ten player in a Slam.
Indrawn and casual, Van de Zandschulp’s body language was chill, his mindset was matter-of-fact. But his game wasn’t. When he hit a semi-backward backhand volley winner, he seemed to dip into the magic box Alcaraz considers his own. “Can you believe it?” asked Patrick McEnroe, “Botic has put a sleeper hold on Alcaraz and this stadium!”
Adrift and lacking answers, at last Carlos counterattacked in the second set. Still, his explosive genius shotmaking seemed to be on vacation. An untimely double fault and an errant forehand torpedoed his hopes as he fell behind 6-1, 7-5. Finally, in the third set, the Spaniard broke serve. He smiled and encouraged the crowd to howl. At last he awakened – and we saw the kid we adore.
The Dutch have been famous for choking at crunch time in New York. Remember when Jimmy Connors famously toyed with Paul Haarhuis back in 1991, before unleashing the most famous fistpump in tennis history? Now certainly Carlos would do what he did at Wimbledon against Frances Tiafoe, when he snared victory from the mean-spirited jaws of defeat.
But Botic remained as still as an Amsterdam canal. He blasted a forehand winner to the outer corner and broke back. And when he held at love, the Dutchman had scored a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win. Pat McEnroe gushed, “This is one of the biggest upsets we’ve ever seen. What a shocker. This has to be at the top of the list of all-time upsets.”
McEnroe’s comment put a bow on an astounding Ashe evening session when a charismatic WTA diva in a tutu-like dress and an ATP master in a muscle shirt dressed the part but stumbled badly on the game’s most celebrated runway.
CARLOS – ‘I AM NOT DOING WELL MENTALLY:’ After winning the French Open and Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz joined with Rafa Nadal to form an Olympic dream team. But they fell short, and Carlos lost to Novak Djokovic in the Gold Medal match before suffering tough losses in Cincy and New York. Thursday night he confided, “Right now, I feel like I’ve taken steps backwards mentally and I don’t understand why. I’ve had a spectacular summer…[and] I left those tournaments saying that I’d taken a step forward mentally…Now I’ve reached this swing and I’ve taken steps backwards…I’m not doing well mentally. I’m not strong. I don’t know how to control myself when facing problems…I don’t know how to handle it. I have to see exactly what happened, or what’s going on.
“It’s been a very emotional summer, very demanding… I’ve had my moments of disconnection…I’m still learning about myself…I need more time. I have to get to know myself, what I need. Maybe I’m the kind of person who…demands too much of himself mentally.”
PLAY IT AGAIN, WTA: After Emma Navarro scored a gutsy come-from-behind 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 triumph over the No. 19 seed Martha Kostyuk, commentators said, “She’s winning with her brains and her athleticism and finding her way to win.” The fast rising 23-year-old South Carolinan, who won the NCAA Championships, will again face Coco Gauff, who she beat last year at Wimbledon. Gauff recalled the loss, saying, “I mentally just literally collapsed on the court. I was very frustrated, and she played well. That was, I think to me, the best tennis she’s played. Another “replay” in the fourth round will feature China’s Qinwen Zheng against Croatian Donna Vekic. The two met in the Olympic final, where Zheng edged Vekic for Gold.
FAST TAKES: Ben Shelton’s 143 mph serve was the fastest at the Open, and Coco Gauff’s foot speed was recorded as the fastest woman in the draw, at about 14 mph.
BRANDON AND FRITZ – SAN DIEGO DUO THRIVE IN NYC: San Diego’s Brandon Nakashima reached his second career fourth round at a Grand Slam and first at the US Open as he upset No. 18 Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). The No. 50 ranked Nakashima next faces the winner of No. 4 Alexander Zverev and Tomas Etcheverry for a spot in the quarterfinals. Lest we forget, San Diego has native, the considerable Taylor Fritz, is also through to the fourth round. America’s top player has now reached the fourth round of seven Slams.
PAULA POUNDS ON: The foremost Spanish woman player of our era, Garbine Muguruza, retired earlier this year. The most legendary Spanish player ever, Rafa Nadal, seems to be approaching retirement. And Carlos Alacaraz just suffered the most devastating loss of his career. Oh, well, Paula Badosa survived a mighty three-set battle with Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse. She and No. 74 Jessica Bouzas Maniero are the only Spaniards left in the draw.
HAPPIEST COMMENTARY OF THE DAY: Pat McEnroe suggested, “It kinda feels like happy hour all day, here at the Open.”
TEN THINGS WE LIKE ABOUT BEN SHELTON: Big smile, big muscles, big serve, big tennis heritage, left handed, good athlete, good tennis analyst, good quote, good college cred, sky’s the limit potential.
AMERICA WATCH: Coco Gauff survived a scare after dropping the first set to No. 27, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. No. 24 Croat Donna Vekic beat former Texas college star Peyton Stearns. Taylor Fritz easily beat Argentine Francisco Comesana. Tommy Paul will face Canadian qualifier Gabriel Diallo on Saturday. Also playing Saturday are No. 6 Jessica Pegula and unseeded Ashlyn Krueger.
Also reporting: Vinay Venkatesh
