Nadal comes back to edge Thiem in 5-set thriller at US Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Rafael Nadal began his U.S. Open quarterfinal as poorly as possible, shut out in a set by a 6-0 score for only the fourth time in 282 career Grand Slam matches.
On the previous three such occasions, he’d lost. On this one, he managed to come back to win, although it took 4 hours, 49 minutes and never did get easy for him.
The defending champion and No. 1 seed at Flushing Meadows recovered from his disastrous start and other stumbles along the way to beat No. 9 Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) for a semifinal berth at a third consecutive Grand Slam tournament, winning a physical, back-and-forth tussle that concluded after 2 a.m. on Wednesday.
How tense and tight was this one? Not only was Nadal two points from losing at 5-all in the closing tiebreaker, but he finished with fewer total points, 171-166.
“It’s cruel, sometimes, tennis,” Thiem said, calling the loss “the first really epic match I’ve played.”
When it ended, on an overhead by Thiem that sailed long, everyone in Nadal’s guest box — a group that included actor Ben Stiller — leaped to their feet to celebrate. Nadal climbed over the net to hug his opponent , then whisper an apology and words of encouragement.
“I’m very sorry for Dominic,” Nadal told a rowdy crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “He’s a close friend on tour. He’s a great guy. A great player.”
Asked about that at his news conference, Thiem said with a chuckle: “Well, I don’t think he’s really sorry.”
This rematch of the French Open final in June, won by Nadal, was his first match against a top-20 opponent at the U.S. Open since 2013, when he beat then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final.
It sure seemed at the shocking outset as if Nadal was somehow unprepared for this step up in competition. Thiem collected 24 of the opening set’s 31 points, thanks in large part to a 13-3 edge in winners.
Hard to not think back to 24 hours earlier, when Nadal’s great rival, No. 2 seed Roger Federer, was upset in the fourth round during similarly muggy conditions. Nadal was sweating so much in the 90-degree heat and 50-percent humidity that a mountain of white towels formed next to his changeover bench.
Thiem made him work for this win. And how.
The depth and strength of Thiem’s groundstrokes were doing what Nadal’s shots usually do to opponents: robbing them of time and space. Plus, Thiem — an Austrian who turned 25 on Monday — was serving well, taking every point when he put a first serve in, and handling returns without a hitch.
“For me, it was a very tough start,” Nadal said. “Then I tried to stay in the match, in some way.”
It took a while for Nadal to figure out what was wrong and become Thiem’s equal in entertaining, body-punishing baseline exchanges that inspired loud gasps from spectators. Still, this whole contest was filled with challenges for Nadal.
He fell behind by a break in the third set before rebounding. He was two points from victory at 6-5, deuce, in the fourth as Thiem served, but flubbed a forehand volley, leaping for a ball that appeared to be sailing out and dumping it into the net. That mistake might have stayed in Nadal’s head, because he played terribly in the ensuing tiebreaker.
In the fifth, Nadal held three break points at 5-all, love-40, but Thiem took the next five points told serve.
That, Nadal would say afterward, managed to “break my heart. But I just keep going.”
He usually does.
When Nadal makes it this far in New York, he usually doesn’t stumble. He has now won seven U.S. Open quarterfinals in a row when he’s made it that far; his only loss in that round came back in 2006.
He is bidding for a fourth title at Flushing Meadows and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall.
On Friday, Nadal will take on a familiar foe with a berth in the final on the line: 2009 champion and No. 3 seed Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated No. 11 John Isner 6-7 (5), 6-3, 76 (4), 6-2.
During that earlier quarterfinal, Isner doubled over and rested his elbows on his knees. He grimaced. He shook his head. He looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but where he was: falling further and further behind in energyrobbing heat.
“Whatever the humidity is on outer courts or in the city, I think it’s amplified on center court,” Isner said. “It’s just very difficult to deal with. I have never seen Roger sweat ever. If he’s sweating a lot and has to change clothes, then you know it’s pretty humid out there.”
Isner was bidding to become the first American man in a dozen years to get to the final four at Flushing Meadows.
But while Isner was playing before what could count as a home crowd, del Potro got all manner of support throughout, from the blue-and-white flags or soccer jerseys dotting the stands to the repeated singsong chants of his nickname, “Delpo,” punctuated by clapping.
Those choruses resonated in the arena after key points, such as each time del Potro erased one of Isner’s break chances, three in all. Still, it was Isner who struck first, closing the opening tiebreaker with a 132 mph (212 kph) ace down the middle. That was the first set dropped by del Potro in the tournament.
He managed to take the next three, though, and now meets Nadal for the 17th time on tour.
Just a few hours after landing in Manila following his stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the Jakarta Asian Games, the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger suited up the moment he arrived at the Smart Aranera Coliseum.
His presence no doubt energized a San Miguel side that missed the services of four-time league Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo. The Cebuano slotman came in with a protective boot due to a right shin fracture he sustained in the Commissioner's Cup.
But the Beermen hardly needed the services of the SMB star center as Standhardinger pumped in a PBA career-high 36 points, to go along with 11 rebounds as the Beermen clobbered the NLEX Road Warriors, 125112 on Sunday.
The hard-banging Standhardinger showed no signs of fatigue though he was just a day removed from registering 27 points and 13 rebounds for Gilas in its 54point rout of Syria to finish fifth place in the Asian Games.
Instead, the former Nebraska and Hawaii standout came out with a lot of energy, making his first six attempts on the way to finishing 14-of-17 from the field in close to 28 minuets of action.
Standhardinger won the weekly citation after beating Ginebra forward Japet Aguilar, Magnolia guard Mark Barroca, Jio Jalalon and Rome dela Rosa, Phoenix forward Jason Perkins, TNT's Jayson Castro and NLEX's Ken Ighalo. - ATLANTA (AP) — Elena Delle Donne had a rather quiet night by her high standards.
No worries.
The Washington Mystics are headed to the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history .
Rookie Ariel Atkins, Kristi Toliver and Tianna Hawkins picked up the slack for the Mystics, who held off the Atlanta Dream 86-81 in the decisive fifth game of their semifinal series Tuesday night.
“Wow,” coach Mike Thibault said. “We’re here because we’re persistent, we’re resilient and we play together.”
The Dream led 71-69 with just under 7 minutes remaining but suddenly went cold at the worst time of a turnaround season. Washington seized the lead with a 9-0 run and survived a desperation 3-pointer by Tiffany Hayes, earning a spot in the Finals against Seattle.
Delle Donne was held to 14 points, far below the 24.7 she was averaging in the series despite missing Game 3 with a knee injury. She did make a big jumper with 1:41 remaining, and sealed the victory with four straight free throws in the closing seconds.
Yet this was really about Atkins, playing with the poise of a veteran while scoring 20 points. And Toliver, who came up huge in the first half and finished with 19. And don’t forget Hawkins, who chipped in with 17.
“That’s why I came to D.C. — to make history,” Toliver said. “It’s very special to do it with this group of people. We just have a great, great locker room. It’s an exciting time to be a D.C. fan and I’m glad I’m on the winning side of it right now.”
Alex Bentley scored 16 points to lead five Atlanta players in double figures. But the Dream couldn’t overcome the loss of star Angel McCoughtry late in the regular season to a knee injury.
“I just got done bawling in the locker room,” said red-eyed Nicki Collen, who earned coach of the year honors in her debut season for leading the Dream to a 23-11 record — an 11-win improvement over 2017. “I’m incredibly proud of this team. We’re further ahead than I thought we would be when I took this job.