THE NEW YORK A spectator was kicked out of a US Open tennis tournament early on Tuesday after German player Alexander Zverev said the spectator used Nazi-era slang.

When Zverev, the No. 12 seed, unexpectedly approached chair umpire James Keothavong and pointed toward the fan who was seated in a section behind the umpire, they were serving at 2-2 in the fourth set of their match against the No. 6 Jannik Sinner.

Zverev informed Keothavong, "He just used the most famous Hitler quote there is in this world." "That's not right,"

Turning around, Keothavong asked the fan to identify himself before requesting that spectators show both players respect. The fan was recognized by those sat close to him during the changeover just after Zverev held serve, and security removed him.

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According to USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier, Alexander Zverev was the target of a derogatory comment. "The fan was identified, and escorted from the stadium."

After the game, Zverev claimed that while he has received snide remarks from supporters in the past, none of them involved Hitler.

He began chanting the Hitler anthem from back then, according to Zverev. "'Deutschland über alles' was a little over the top.

But I believe he was getting embroiled in the fight for a while. I'm fine with it. Loud fans are my favorite. I adore seeing fans become moved. But given that I'm German and not very proud of my heritage, I think it was a bad idea for him to sit in one of the front rows, where I believe many people heard it. Therefore, if I simply don't respond, I believe that is negative on my part.

After Sinner suffered from severe cramping in the third set, Zverev went on to lose that set when he started to struggle in the hot weather. The 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 match, which lasted 4 hours, 41 minutes, was finally won by Zverev by winning the fifth set. In the quarterfinals, he will next face Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning US Open champion.

Moving past the fan's insult, according to Zverev, wasn't difficult.

To be honest, Zverev acknowledged that it was to his loss that he was unable to see the match's final two sets.

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Merciless De Minaur is fired by Medvedev from the US Open AAP
Sep 5, 2023, 07:00 AM
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Alex de Minaur's US Open run has come to an end thanks to a memorable fourth-round victory by Russian ironman Daniil Medevdev in New York.

Before the third-seeded 2021 Open champion surged to a 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-2 victory, De Minaur played some outstanding attacking tennis early on to raise expectations of an upset victory.

The world No. 13 seed from Australia was trying to get to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for a second time, but she was unable to keep up with Medvedev after losing a close second set.

Australia's participation in the singles is over thanks to De Minaur's departure, and the 24-year-old will likely move up the rankings to a career-high No.12 next Monday.

Theodore Medvedev Sarah Stier/Getty Images provided the image.
In the end, de Minaur claimed, "What happened out there had nothing to do with tennis."

It has a little to do with physicality alone. Without much downtime or rest, I played in a number of matches during the entire summer, and it now seemed to be catching up with me.

"I think this is the first time in my career that my fitness has failed me. It doesn't occur naturally. On every day of the year, I support myself.

The minor margins, small percentages, are quite big at this stage and level of competition, but with all the matches I played, my schedule, everything, I came to this point.

Medvedev, who finished second in 2019 before preventing Novak Djokovic from completing a calendar-year grand slam sweep two years ago, moves on to face eighth seed Andrey Rublev in an all-Russian quarterfinal.

That didn't seem likely against de Minaur at first; his aggressive play frightened the former world No. 1 and made a rematch of his victory over Medvedev in Toronto last month seem like a certain conclusion.

De Minaur sped through the opening set in 32 minutes by playing aggressive tennis, winning nine of nine points while storming the net and breaking Medvedev in the fifth and seventh games.

Midway through the second set, however, a magnificent tweener from Medvedev during a 34-shot winning run spurred the Russian into action.

De Minaur had to withstand five break points in order to hold for 2-2, but she was unable to recover after falling down 15-40 while serving at 4-5, when Medvedev tied the match at one set apiece.

In the fourth set, the Russian picked up the pace, dominating de Minaur from behind with two more breaks to go up two sets to one.

De Minaur lost serve twice again in the fourth set as Medvedev jumped out to a 5-1 lead before serving out the match after two hours and forty minutes.

"I had every confidence I could defeat him. De Minaur remarked, "I knew what I had to do to hurt him and I demonstrated it till my legs vanished.

Then, all of a sudden, I was forced to scramble and try out new strategies, but you can't do that while playing a player of Daniil's caliber.

De Minaur is inching closer to a top-10 ranking for the first time despite his exit, and he still has a chance to earn a spot in the season-ending ATP finals in Turin.

"I've had some great results, and I probably could have been higher (in the rankings)," the man added.

There is still plenty to do, including Davis Cup and Asia. The first week of Asia will be off for me.

"I need to take a break, and I intend to finish the year strong.

The ideal way to end the year would be in the top 10, Turin.

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Jessica Pegula is stunned by Madison Keys, and Aryna Sabalenka advances to the US Open quarterfinals.
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Sep 4, 2023, 11:32 PM
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THE NEW YORK Next week, Aryna Sabalenka will replace Iga Swiatek as the top player in the WTA rankings. It is assured of that. Sabalenka might very likely succeed Swiatek as the US Open champion based on how she is currently performing.

Sabalenka defeated No. 13 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 on Monday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium in her first match after it became clear that she would ascend to the top of women's tennis. This victory propelled Sabalenka into her fifth straight major quarterfinal.

Sabalenka said of reaching No. 1: "I've been pushing myself so hard to reach this goal all this year." It means a lot to me, genuinely. It is really important to my family. It's absurd. It's incredible.

The top-seeded Swiatek was defeated in the fourth round on Sunday night, hours after the No. 4 Elena Rybakina withdrew, and on Monday, the No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 5 Ons Jabeur, who finished second in New York last year, both suffered defeats.

Sabalenka was the only one of the top five ladies still in the tournament after that.

On Wednesday, she will compete against No. 23 Zheng Qinwen for a place in the semifinals. Marketa Vondrousova, the Wimbledon winner, will play against No. 17 Madison Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, in the second quarterfinal on the bottom half of the draw.

In an all-American match on Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Keys defeated third-seeded Pegula 6-1, 6-3, returning to the US Open quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.

Keys lost in the opening round at Cincinnati last month, but she seemed right at home on the hard courts in New York, where she finished second in 2017. She outshot her opponent with 21 winners.

After winning the Montreal title last month, Pegula was seen as one of the United States' best hopes after defeating Keys in their lone previous meeting from the previous year.

She lacked her normal firepower and finesse, though, on Monday.

Keys, who is participating in her 12th US Open main draw, said, "I've had so many fantastic moments in New York.

"It has been amazing to be able to at any time recover from any difficult positions I have been in matches," the player said.

In the second game of the first set, Keys broke Pegula's service with a backhand winner, and in game six, on the fourth attempt, she broke Pegula again.

As Pegula assisted Keys in the break with a double fault and a backhand error in the fifth game of the second set, she was obviously off her game and slammed her racket to the ground in annoyance.

In the sixth game, Pegula broke back right away, but Keys maintained her composure and took over when she broke her opponent's serve in the following game.

When the number one-ranked American dropped her serve once more when she fired a forehand ball into the net on match point, Keys, who is close friends with Pegula, pumped her fist in a restrained celebration.

In a courtside interview, Keys remarked, "It's always difficult having to play a friend... when we get on the court it's all business."

Tuesday will see the quarterfinal matches on the top half of the women's bracket: No. 10 Karolina Muchova vs. No. 30 Sorana Cirstea and No. 6 Coco Gauff vs. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion.

Zheng, a 20-year-old Chinese player, beat Jabeur, who had been ill, 6-2, 6-3, to go to a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time.