Defending champions Sinner and Sabalenka lead entry lists for the US Open
Sinner earned his fourth Grand Slam title when he beat No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Sabalenka lost in the semifinals to Amanda Anisimova, who at No. 7 is one of four American women ranked in the top 8. The US led all countries with 30 players (16 women, 14 men) earning direct entry. Players who used a special or protected ranking to qualify included Nick Kyrgios, Petra Kvitova, and Sorana Cirstea.
Play in the main draw begins Aug. 24.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
2-time defending champion Jessica Pegula eliminated in Montreal by 386th-ranked Sevastova
MONTREAL: Two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula was eliminated in the third round of the National Bank Open, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to Anastasija Sevastova on Friday. Sevastova, a 35-year-old from Latvia who was ranked 11th in 2018 but has fallen to 386th, broke the third-seeded Pegula six times on 10 chances. 'Somehow, I was down 2-0 in the second set and started to play better and better,' Sevastova said. 'Third set, I played really good. 'Just trying to stay on the court as long as possible.' In the night session, Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek of Poland routed Eva Lys of Germany 6-2, 6-2. The second-seeded Swiatek advanced to face 16th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark, a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva. Sevastova is the lowest-ranked player to beat a top-10 player since Angelique Kerber edged Jelena Ostapenko last year at Indian Wells. Sevastova has played 24 WTA Tour-level matches in four years. She got a spot in the main draw with a protected ranking because of a knee injury. The loss continued a poor run for the fourth-ranked Pegula, who won her opener in Montreal over Maria Sakkari of Greece, but exited Wimbledon and the D.C. Open after one match in July. Sevastova will take on Naomi Osaka, who moved to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. Osaka, a former No. 1-ranked player from Japan, is playing her first tournament with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, She had five aces and converted 6 of 9 break-point opportunities to win the match in 1 hour, 12 minutes. 'She broke me a couple times, but she's a really good returner, so I can't take that personally,' Osaka said. 'I went in there knowing she's a great player, and if I give her a chance she's going to hit a winner on me, so I just tried to keep my pace and stay as solid as I could.' Sixth-seeded Madison Keys beat fellow American Caty McNally 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. 'Today I did a good job of bouncing back after the first set,' Keys said. 'Let go of the first set and move on. Happy I was able to do that.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
21 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Top-Seeded Alexander Zverev Advances in Toronto in the National Bank Open
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany beat Matteo Arnaldi of Italy 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday night in the third round of the National Bank Open to reach 500 match victories. The 28-year-old Zverev, the 2017 champion, is the first ATP Tour player born in 1990 or later to win 500 matches. He won on clay in Munich in April for his 24th tour title. 'I think I started playing better from the baseline. The longer the match went on, I started to find my rhythm a bit,' Zverev said. 'It was actually my backhand that was feeling a bit off in the beginning, which is strange. Doesn't happen very often. But after I found that shot, I was comfortable and I was happy about the level.' Zverev, ranked third in the world, ended up the top seed with top-ranked Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipping the hard-court event that still has a week left. No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic also are absent. Zverev advanced to face No. 14 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over countryman Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Earlier, Alex Michelsen of the United States upset third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Michelsen will face fellow American Learner Tien, a 7-6 (3), 6-3 winner over American Reilly Opelka. Fifth-seeded Holger Rune of Denmark advanced in a night match, beating Alexandre Muller of France 6-2, 6-4. Rune will play the winner of the late match between 10th-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia and Alexei Popyrin of Australia. Eighth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway topped Nuno Borges of Portugal 7-5, 6-4 to set up a match with 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia. Khachanov beat Emilio Nava of the United States 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1.
Arab News
21 hours ago
- Arab News
Nawaz's three-wicket over leads Pakistan to a 14-run win over West Indies
LAUDERHILL: Mohammad Nawaz took three wickets in an over to propel Pakistan to a 14-run win over West Indies in the series-opening Twenty20 cricket international Thursday in Florida. Pakistan was sent in to bat and posted 178 for six, led by Saim Ayub's 57 from 38 deliveries. Debate about that being above or below a par target at this venue was partially answered when West Indies openers Johnson Charles and 18-year-old Jewel Andrew, making his T20 international debut, scored at just over six an over to the halfway point in reply. After conceding 20 runs in his first three overs, left-arm spinner Nawaz dramatically shifted the contest. He started the 12th over with a breakthrough to dismiss Andrew for 35 and end a 72-run opening stand, and he added the wickets of Charles (35) and Gudakesh Motie (0) on the fourth and fifth balls as the West Indies slumped to 75-3. Skipper Shai Hope (2) scooped a full delivery from Ayub into the deep in the next over as West Indies lost four wickets for five runs. Ayub, who was voted player of the match for his half-century and bowling return of 2-20, said the pitch was challenging to play on so it was important to building partnerships and not panic. Some lofty tail-end hitting from Jason Holder, who struck four sixes in his unbeaten, 12-ball 30, and Shamar Joseph, who hit 21 from 12, helped West Indies to 164-7 and made the final margin more respectable. That lopsided contest ended any chance of the West Indies starting the series against Pakistan on a better footing after comprehensive test and T20 series losses to Australia. The Australians wrapped up a historic 8-0 sweep in the Caribbean earlier in the week. Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said his team 'started strong and finished even better.' A total of closer than 200 was in range for Pakistan early when Ayub and Fakhar Zaman (28) shared an 81-run second-wicket stand to get the score up to 107 in the 12th over. But Holder trapped Ayub lbw for 57, ending a 38-ball innings that contained five boundaries and two sixes to get the vital breakthrough. Recalled fast bowler Shamar Joseph kept the pressure on Pakistan's batting lineup and returned 3-30 from his four overs. The second and third T20s will be held in Lauderhill on Saturday and Sunday before an ODI series in the Caribbean.
