The US Open
Protest rocks Gauff match as Sabalenka flips the script
Coco Gauff ignored the 50-minute distraction of a climate protest in the stands at the US Open to defeat Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to book her second career Grand Slam final.
The 19-year-old will play for the trophy on Saturday against Aryna Sabalenka, who became only the third woman in the Open era to win a match after losing the opening set 0-6.
Sabalenka, who takes over the top WTA ranking on Monday, denied American Madison Keys in a 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (10-5) win.
Keys served for victory leading 5-4 in the second set but could not seal the deal; she went down in the tiebreaker as Sabalenka stayed in the fight.

Keys lost a break in the third set and saved two match points in the match tiebreak which closes out Grand Slam final sets before sending a return to lose after just over two and a half hours.
“I was all over the place (in the first set), Sabalenka said. “I’m just happy I was able to stay focused and finish.
“I don’t know how I won, she played incredible tennis.But somehow I turned around the match and won it.
“Being in this final means a lot to me, the reigning Australian Open champion said.

“In the final against Coco, I know most of the crowd will be for her.
“But I will go and do all I can, I’ll be fighting for every point, I will do my best.”
The Gauff match was interrupted with the American leading a set and 1-0.

Four protestors began shouting in the upper reaches of the vast arena with three being eventually led away by police while the other glued his bare feet to the cement floor.
Finally extracting him took up most of the time, while the befuddled players left the court.
The tournament explained the incident later: “Three of the four protesters were escorted out of the stadium without further incident.
“The fourth protester affixed their bare feet to the floor of the seating bowl. Due to the nature of this action, NYPD and medical personnel were needed in order to safely remove this individual from the stadium.
“The four protesters were taken into NYPD custody.”
Gauff came back out to repeat her victory of last month in the Cincinnati final against the Roland Garros runner-up, advancing to the final on her sixth match point – preceded by a 40-shot rally.
The final will be the second for the Floridian after losing the French Open title match last season to Iga Swiatek.
“I grew up watching this event,” the winner said. “it means a lot to be in the final.
“There’s a lot to celebrate but the job is not done yet. I hope you fans back me on Saturday (final).
“It was a tough match… I had leads, lost it. Serving for it. It (brought) a lot of emotional challenges.
“But I think I did a good job of staying focused. I’m just really proud of myself today.”
The winner said the protest delay was difficult to deal with.
“We didn’t know how long it was going to take. The supervisor and security said it could be as quick as five minutes or as long as an hour.
“It was tough to figure out if we stay warm or conserve energy.
“But it’s life. It happens. So I just tried my best to keep the momentum that I had going from winning the first set and the first game.”
Gauff won her 11th straight match, her longest career win streak.
She becomes the youngest American woman to make the Open semi-finals since Serena Williams nearly a quarter of a century ago.
Rome Masters
Alarm bells ring as Raducanu quits practice
Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon participation was flashing red on Saturday as the Briton quit a practice session while delaying her media availability by a day.
The Queen’s club finalist a fortnight ago stopped a training session with Anna Kalinskaya 10 minutes early while trailing 0-4 in a practice set.
The ove sparked frenzied British speculation about her fitness after the 2021 US Open winner was seen wearing a support cast on a foot earlier in the week.
Reports indicated that Raducanu might have been trying to avoid a mistake she made last month in Rome, where she did pre-event media and then withdrew injured from the Masters 1000 tournament.
Raducanu is due to begin her tournament in the first round against Croat Antonia Ruzic.
Main photo:- Emma Raducanu practices with her ankle strapped – by Roger Parker/ISF Ltd
Monterrey Open
Vekic needs five match points to win Queen’s
Donna Vekic dominated the opening set but had to come from a double break down in the second to win the Queen’s club title on Sunday 6-0, 7-6 (6) over Emma Raducanu.
The victory denied the British runner-up her first trophy since winning the US Open as a teenaged qualifier half a decade ago.
The one and three-quarter hour victory for the Croat lucky loser from qualifying round was match of two halves, with Vekic unchallenged in the first but made to battle before finally lifting victory with a second-set tiebreaker.
Raducanu was playing in her third career final and won her only title at the 2021 US Open. Vekic won her first trophy since Monterrey three years ago.
The 29-year-old Vekic, ranked 76th, was thwarted on her first four match point chances late in the second set.
Raducanu, cheered by a home crowd in west London, took the second set into a tiebreaker as Vekic drove long as the fight went into a decider.
The Brit rallied from 4-1 down before Vekic set up her fifth match point with a down-the-line winner and Raducanu’s shot landed wide a point later
The winner revealed that she had called upon her longtime coach from childhood to come join her team for the summer.
“Growing up and playing on the Tour, I was always jealous that the boys got to play on this grass,” she said of an event which only brought back the women’s event a year ago after a pause of half a century. .
“But since last year, we have the opportunity also.”
Vekic explained her coaching situation: “The coach that I worked with from age 12 agreed to come back and help this grass season.
“Without him, I would have not know about grass – my favourite surface. And without you I would not be here with this trophy.”
Raducanu made vast improvements this week which should aid her Wimbledon buildup.
“What a week it’s been,” the finalist said. “It was incredible for me to make the fina, playing in my home city where I feel the buzz.
“The crowd support was incredible and helped me to fight back in the second set.
“Today was a really tough match, Donna played well from start to finish.”
Raducanu will travel north for next week’s WTA event in Nottingham.
Main photo:- Lucky loser qualifier Donna Vekic wins Queens Title – by Mark Greenwood/ISF Ltd
ATP
Agassi seeking answers to Alcaraz wrist injury mystery
Andre Agassi is keen to unravel the mystery of the alleged wrist injury which has kept Carlos Alcaraz off court for nearly two months.
The 56-year-old Agassi asked the hard question during a tennis podcast, suggesting that the Spaniard owed the world an explanation on what is actually bothering him.
Alcaraz has not competed since April 14 in Barcelona, a day before handing in a second-round injury walkover, reportedly with a wrist problem
“It would be really helpful if he or someone close to him could clearly explain the exact nature of his injury, because at this point we can only speculate,” Agassi said.
Since his spring home pullout on home clay, Alcaraz has missed the Madrid and Rome Masters plus Roland Garros.
He is also out for Queen’s and Wimbledon with his availability for the North American summer hardcourt run a complete mystery.
“If it’s a form of tendonitis, is it a specific inflammation like dorsal capsulitis or a carpal tunnel syndrome-type issue? What exactly are we talking about, and what are the treatment options? I don’t know precisely what he has,” Agassi said.
The former world No. 1 American added: “If he only needs to manage pain or inflammation and opts for conservative treatment before considering surgery, then it’s a smart decision, even if it means missing some Grand Slam tournaments.
“If the situation is more serious and requires more complex interventions, the right decisions must be made very carefully, and the best specialists must be consulted. It is essential to allow the injury time to heal properly, because he still has many years of his career ahead of him.”
Despite his growing doubts, Agassi is able to look on the bright side of the situation.
“We could see an even more determined and aggressive Carlos Alcaraz upon his return, provided he manages to solve his only real problem right now.”
Main photo:- Carlos Alcaraz will miss Wimbledon this year – by Roger Parker ISF Ltd
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