ATP
Alcaraz ignores disruptive Trump presence to win US Open
Donald Trumps’s faux-regal Sunday arrival at the US Open and the insane level of security inflicted on fans entering the grounds delayed the start of the US Open men’s final by 48 minutes.
But champion Carlos Alcaraz took absolutely zero notice of the notorious former New York real estate developer, defeating Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to win his second title here and make a return to world no’s. 1 and 2 …
Trump was roundly booed when he arrived at a private box and again during the national anthem. The US president and his possee left the final after just 90 minutes of play.
Worldwide TV broadcasters had been warned in a Saturday email from Open bosses not to air any jeering of Trump – presumably under the threat of future access restrictions or sanctions.
The world just got on with on-court business despite the disruptive presence of Trump and his trailing acolytes and hangers-on.
But the disruption to pre-match prep cannot be overstated, with eating, stretching and warm-up session totally blown up by the uncalled-for Trump delay.
Cowered Open officials officially bent the knee and sent the winner’s trophy up to the Rolex corporate box for Trump to savour during the final – a trashing of all previous trophy protocols.
Security was so onerous that by the end of the 38-minute opening set, thousands of ticketholders were still in the queue to enter the stadium.
Alcaraz finished up his victory on two and three-quarter hours to earn the seventh title of his career on court as he earned a sixth Grand Slam title.
Sinner saved two match points in the final game, but was comprehensively out-played as the pair met in the final of their third straight major this season.”It’s unbelievable what Jannik has been doing this season,” Alcaraz said. “His level has been great.
“I see you more than my family,” the 22-year-old Spaniard joked. “It’s great to share the court with you.”
He added: “It’s been a long three weeks, but a privilege to be part of the tournament.
“I eel at home here with all the fan energy. I try to play my best for the crowd.”
Alcaraz increased his lead in the ATP match-win category as he scored his 61st to become the second youngest man in Open era to win six Grand Slam titles.
Sinner, who won the title here a year ago, said he was simply out-played on th day.
“I tried my best, I could not do more,” the Italian said. “It’s been a long tournament, but I can’t wait to come back next year.”
Alcaraz drew first blood in a lengthy opening game as he broke Sinner to set the tone for the delayed final.
The second seed then repeated for a 5-2 lead before closing out the set, losing just three points on serve along with 11 winners.
Sinner began regaining momentum in the second set, taking a 2-1 lead and earning his first break points against Alcaraz in the fourth game and handing the Spaniard only his second break of the tournament to lead 3-1
Sinner extended to 5-2 and levelled the match at a set apiece but his momentum took a serious dive in the third set.
The world No. 1 found himself down 5-1 and saved face by winning a game before Alcaraz claimed a two-set-to-one lead.
Alcaraz now leads the series with Sinner 10-5.
Two-time champion Casper Ruud had to work for more than two and a half hours to overcome Jaime Faria, the Portuguese who put out Stan Wawrinka in the first round at the Gstaad Swiss Open on Thursday.
Faria was riding the momentum from Tuesday’s defeat of three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, set to retire this season and beaten in an opening match at his home venue.
Faria had his eye on a second upset as he faced Ruud, who lifted the trophy at this elite alpine village in 2021 and 2022.
Ruud ahd to dodge a bullet and mount a comeback to get through the second-round test against the Portuguese.
After dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker, Ruud played patiently as Faria saved five break points in the sixth game of the second set before failing on the sixth.
Ruud then pulled away for a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 victory, his first since Roland Garros.
“Sometimes it is hard to say when you get a good feeling and you start to win some games in a row,” the winner said.
“You try from the first game to the last, but suddenly something clicked in the middle of the second for me, luckily.”
He added: “I had to really fight hard and if I played one bad game in the second and he serves well, it could be over and it would be time to go home. But luckily I can extend the stay.”
The Scandinavian could join Spaniards Sergi Bruguera and Alex Corretja as three-time winners in the Alps, with Ruud now standing 10-1 here over his career.
Stefanost Tsitsipas said he slept soundly prior to finishing off a darkness-interrupted match on Thursday as he eliminated local Jerome Kym at the Gstaad Swiss Open.
The Greek who once cracked third in the world and the 186th-ranked Swiss returned to the clay after darkness on Wednesday night left them hanging at 5-all in the third set.
Tsitsipas revved up his game from the resumption to emerge into the quarter-finals 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5).
The second seed now standing 85th in the world after several poor seasons and a split with his father as his coach, said getting his rest was not a problem after the interruption.
“It was strange going to bed and not being finished. I visualised what I wanted to do, my shot patterns.
“It worked out pretty well.
“I had a good night’s sleep, I was not too stressed and I recovered to get ready for the continuation.”
After saving break points in the first game on Thursday, Tsitsipas triumphed in the final-set tiebreaker
“I’m relieved I was able to save a couple of break points.. I put my game together and made it )victory) happen again.”
The Greek now faces off against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech for a semi-final spot.
“I’m expecting a lot of big serves, the altitude (1050m) helps. I’ll try to build consistency around my own serve.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas was handed a reprieve due to fading light with his second round match at the Swiss Open Gstaad stopped with the Greek deadlocked with local Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-7 (2), 5-5.
The math had to be halted as night fell and electronic linecalling computers could not read the path of the ball on the clay in contrast to humans who could have carried on for a few additional minutes..
The 27-year-old Tsitsipas was taking the worst of it in the concluding stage after a promising start.against a journeyman opponent ranked 186.
Tsitsipas, his ranking down to 85th after once standing third in the world, lashed out verbally in the last few games, apparently frustrated with his racquet reactions.
The Greek was quick to make his point of an overnight stoppage to the chair umpire while Kym – who reached 5-all with a love service hold – left the court with a defiant fist pump for his public in this alpine resort village.
The cutoff came after just over two hours of play, with the contest to be concluded on Thursday. The winner reaches the Friday quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas produced his last notable result in April with a fourth-round showing at the Madrid Masters,
He is aiming for his second quarter-final of the season after Doha in February and his 2025 Barcelona 15 months ago.
Tsitsipas stands 10-1 vs. players ranked outside the top 100 this season with a sole loss to No. 104 Italian Matteo Arnaldi at the Roland Garros second round.
History repeats for Argentine spoiler in Gstaad
Ruud survives a scare to secure Gstaad quarters
Tsitsipas finishes off Kym after overnight pause
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