Nadal, Medvedev advance to US Open men's final
Rafael Na dal found himself trailing in a tight first set against a bigger, younger opponent who was finding ways to cause trouble in their U.S. Open semifinal.
Never one to panic, never liable to have a let down, Na dal hung tough, waited for 24thseeded Matteo Berrettini to wilt ever so slightly and then pounced.
Nadal moved closer to a fourth U.S. Open championship and 19th Grand Slam title overall — one away from Roger Federer's record for men — by pulling away for a 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-1 victory over B err et ti ni under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night.
The second-seeded Nadal was down 4- 0, then 5-2, then 6-4 in the opening tie breaker before taking the next four points and was on his way.
“You don' t want to be in a tie break against a player like Matteo. ... I was a little bit lucky, no ?” Nadal said .“I survived at that moment and ... after that, the match completely changed.”
Sure did. Nadal broke once in the second set and three times in the third, while never facing a single break point in the match.
The 33- year-old Spaniard will face No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Sunday.
It is Medvedev's first major final, Na dal' s 27 th. They' ve played each other once before, the final of the Montreal Masters hard-court tournament in August, and Nadal won 6-3, 6-0.
“He' s one of the more solid players on t our,” Nadal said. “He is making steps forward every single week.”
Medvedev advanced earlier Friday by beating Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3.
Sikma calls for NBA's return to Seattle in Hall of Fame speech
Jack Si km a used his Basketball Hall of Fame induction speech to make a plea for the NBA to return to Seattle, where he led the SuperSonics to the 1979 NBA title.
It was the only title for the franchise that moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.
“There' s a hole in Seattle that needs to be filled ,” Si km a said to a crowd that included NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and many other league executives. “Speaking for all Sonics fans, it' s our greatest hope that the NBA will soon find a pathway to bring basketball back to Seattle.
“It's time.”
Si km a was joined in the Class of 2019 on Friday night by V lade Divac, Sidney Moncrief, Paul Westphal, Bobby Jones, Al At tl es and Teresa Weatherspoon. Chuck Cooper and Carl Braun were inducted posthumously, and Bill Fit ch was unable to attend for health reasons.
Jones trying to duplicate Keselowski's feat at Brickyard 400
Erik Jones watched Brad Keselowski go from Brickyard 400 runnerup to race winner last September.
He wants to match that feat Sunday.
And if the 23-year-old rising star wins Sunday, Joe Gibbs Racing will become the first team in NASCAR history to sweep the f our biggest races in a season.
“It would be pretty special ,” Jones said Friday during the traditional hauler parade. “We've not mentioned around t he shop much but everybody wants to do this. It's something
that's not easy to do but I'd be happy to win the last two.”
For Jones, this season and the last couple of months could not have gone much better.
He's 12th in points and one of 10 drivers already qualified for the Cup playoff after winning the Southern 500 last weekend.
Four others—Kyle Larson, William Byron, Ryan B laney and A ric Almirola — have wrapped up spots in the 16-driver field based on points. The final two spots will be determined Sunday and everyone will be watching seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, currently 18th and on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since the format began in 2004.