Page 32 - bon-dia-aruba-20210909

A32 sports
Diahuebs 9 september 2021

For 1st time, no US singles players in US Open quarterfinals

(AP) — On the day that The men he’s hopeful about quarterfinalist with a Grand
the U.S. Open quarterfi- include 20-year-old Jenson Slam singles title (he has 20),
nals began without any Brooksby, who flirted with and Barbora Krejcikova is the
Americans left in singles an upset of No. 1 Novak only female quarterfinalist
— the first time that’s Djokovic in the fourth round with one (this year’s French
ever happened at an event Monday night; 21-year-old Open). Karolina Pliskova
first held in 1881 — the Sebastian Korda, who reached is the only other woman in
man in charge of finding the fourth round at Wimble- the last eight with even one
and grooming the coun- don in July but stopped dur- appearance in a major final;
try’s Grand Slam champi- ing his first-rounder in New she was the runner-up at the
ons sought to look on the York because of food poison- U.S. Open in 2016 and at
bright side. ing; and 20-year-old Bran- Wimbledon in July.
don Nakashima, who beat
Sure, Martin Blackman, the highest-ranked American Plus, two players came
U.S. Tennis Association’s John Isner in the first round. through qualifying to get to
general manager of player the quarterfinals: Botic van
development, acknowledged Plus, Brooksby, 24-year- de Zandschulp of the Neth-
Tuesday in an interview at guys there. We just don’t have Slam titles and top-10 play- old Opelka and 23-year- erlands and Emma Raducanu
Flushing Meadows that hav- the world beaters,” said Reil- ers. But the challenges have old Frances Tiafoe gave the of Britain. Three quarterfi-
ing no men or women in the ly Opelka, an American who multiplied. The game is more U.S. three men in the fourth nalists are teenagers: Radu-
draws with nearly a week of was seeded 22nd and lost in global than it’s ever been.” round of the nation’s Grand canu and Carlos Alcaraz of
play to go is “very disappoint- the fourth round Monday. Slam tournament for the first Spain are 18; Leylah Fernan-
ing; there’s no ifs, ands or “I don’t think we will have a Part of his optimism comes time in a decade. dez of Canada turned 19 on
buts about it.” Sampras-Agassi era of, just, from the eye test. Monday.
dominance like that again. Djokovic was impressed
And then, moments later, It’s rare for any country.” In the women’s game, he enough by Brooksby to tell Blackman is well aware, of
he got around to beginning likes what he sees from the Arthur Ashe Stadium course, that one has to go all
a sentence with one of those That’s part of Blackman’s 21-year-old Sofia Kenin (the crowd after beating him 1-6, the way back to 2003 to find a
words: “But when we look take on things, too. 2020 Australian Open cham- 6-3, 6-1, 6-2: “America has Grand Slam title, at the U.S.
at where we’re heading, es- pion who missed the U.S. a bright future in tennis, for Open or elsewhere, for an
pecially on the men’s side, There is, simply, a lot of com- Open after testing positive sure.” American man: Andy Rod-
we’re in the best place that petition from everywhere. for COVID-19), 20-year-old dick’s triumph in New York.
we’ve been in 15-20 years.” Amanda Anisimova (a 2019 This U.S. Open was, it turns
“In the ’70s, you had five French Open semifinalist), out, as good an opportunity “Look, we’re all about win-
His justification for that countries playing profession- 17-year-old Coco Gauff (a as ever for new folks to get ning. That’s our culture and
lies, in part, in the numbers: al tennis,” he said, wearing 2021 French Open quarter- a seat at the table, perhaps at that’s our business and every-
There are 14 Americans in a blue jacket with “USA” in finalist) and a crop of other least in part because of the thing we do is very binary at
the top 100 of the ATP rank- white capital letters above his teenagers Blackman thinks absences of Serena Williams the end of the day. Either you
ings, the most since 1996; the heart. “It’s a completely dif- can make moves a year or (“We didn’t have The Queen win or you lose,” Blackman
13 men who got to the sec- ferent world. The standards two from now, such as Robin here,” is how Blackman put said.
ond round last week were the for American tennis have not Montgomery (who won a it), Roger Federer and Rafael
most since the 15 in 1994. dropped, at least from our second-round juniors match Nadal. “We need,” he said, “to see
perspective. Our standards Tuesday) or Hailey Baptiste. better results in the Slams
“We’ve got a huge group of are always going to be Grand Djokovic is the only male next year.”

British Open returning to Royal Portrush in 2025

(AP) - The British Open is mak- of that magic. championship, but for Royal Portrush pionship up,” he said. “We are pas-
ing a rapid return to Royal Por- to challenge them again in 2025. sionate that the Open is one of the
trush. “Coming back sooner became a real world’s greatest sporting events and to
conversation for us to reinforce that.” “We keep wanting to push the cham- do that, (it needs) big-time crowds.”
The R&A said Wednesday the world’s
oldest major championship will be Slumbers said in a video call that
back at the Northern Irish venue in Royal Portrush was now firmly part
2025, just six years after attendance of a 10-course British Open rotation.
records were broken on the Dun- There had been a contract drawn up
luce Links when it staged the British with Northern Ireland’s government
Open for the first time since 1951. for Portrush to stage the event three
times by 2040, starting with the 2019
Some 237,750 spectators attended the championship.
four days of the 2019 Open — a re-
cord in the championship’s 161-year “We are so excited about what could
history — as Irish player Shane Low- be achieved here in the future,”
ry won by six shots. A record 61,000 Slumbers said. “We see huge potential
spectators attended practice days, too. for Portrush to continue to develop
and enhance its status, and perhaps
R&A chief executive Martin Slum- achieve the same iconic status for
bers said there is a “tremendous ca- golfers throughout Northern Ireland
pacity to make it bigger and better.” that St. Andrews enjoys in Scotland.”
“The extraordinary scenes we had Before 2025, the Open will be held
that week were different — they felt at St. Andrews next year, Hoylake in
different — and we increasingly came 2023 and Royal Troon in 2024.
to the conclusion that there is some-
thing special about an Open here,” Slumbers said he expects St. Andrews
Slumbers said, “and that if we de- to break attendance records further
layed coming back, we may lose some next year for the 150th edition of the