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Team USA struggling to put up points in China

Published in Basketball

Sunday, 08 September 2019 07:30

SHENZHEN, China -- In the Rio Olympics three years ago, Team USA averaged 101 points a game with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony leading an electric offense.

In the 2014 World Cup in Spain, the Americans averaged 105 points with Irving, James Harden, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combining to shoot a sizzling 46% on 3-pointers.

Back in 2012 in the London Olympics, an absolutely loaded Team USA with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Durant, Anthony and Harden averaged an incredible 116 points in each 40-minute game.

That firepower was how the U.S. dominated those events, bludgeoning the opposition with scoring. But in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, that hasn't been the case at all.

The Americans are a perfect 4-0 after their quality victory over Greece on Saturday night and are all but assured a spot in the quarterfinals that begin Wednesday. A victory over Brazil on Monday night would clinch the top spot in their group and a more favorable matchup when the knockout round starts.

So they're getting the job done. But the days of offense to spare are in the past for now.

Ten days into the tournament, the U.S. is averaging just 87 points per game, only eighth best in the 32-team field. Frankly, it's remarkable that the team ranks as high as that, with a woeful 20th in field goal percentage at just 42.6% and 18th in 3-point percentage at 32.8%. With the closer 3-point line in FIBA play, that is a disappointing number to say the least.

The opposition is about to get much better, so it stands to reason Team USA is going to have to find some more offense at some point if it's going to win its third straight cup.

"We obviously want to shoot better, we have to get better," said Joe Harris, who is one of the few bright shooting spots, as he has made 58% of his 3-pointers in the four games. "Sometimes shooting is contagious, the rhythm hasn't necessarily been there."

Day after day in China, coach Gregg Popovich and various players have talked about the importance of defense with this combination of players. And they're playing it, they're active and they pressure the ball and they rotate and they cheer for each other. The Americans have been one of the World Cup's best defensive teams, giving up just 64 points a game on a very impressive 36% shooting.

You could go back to each of those past three offense-laden teams and point out how much better the Team USA defense has been with this group. For example, in Rio the Americans gave up 78 points a game. Nonetheless, the shaky offensive output is worrisome.

"The defense is ahead of the offense for sure, but that's expected with 12 guys who have never played together before," Popovich said. "Each day that we have we hope that our execution can get better and better and we learn as coaches what's best for these guys."

Kemba Walker has been the only consistent option, averaging 14.8 points and shooting 40% from 3-point range. Donovan Mitchell, who is being counted on for offense, is shooting just 44% overall and has gone through cold spells. Before he got hurt, Jayson Tatum was shooting just 32 percent. Khris Middleton, whose role for this team is to be a scorer off the bench, is shooting 39%.

"When you look at past USA teams, scoring has not been an issue. There's been a lot of talent," said Harrison Barnes, who was on the 2016 team. "For us, defense is how we're going to stay in games and compete and that's what has been carrying us right now."

Maybe "right now" lasts another week -- that's all they need. But it's a little bit of an uncomfortable position that the team isn't used to, worrying about points. There are times when the U.S. is generating good shots and missing. But the more the missed shots pile up, the more the opposition makes it harder on Team USA.

Over the past three games the Americans have seen healthy doses of zone defense as opponents look to cut off Walker's and Mitchell's driving ability. With that team 3-point percentage so low, it's a guarantee that will continue. The players aren't used to seeing zone, and a few weeks of practice against it doesn't break old habits.

"Teams are going to play zone against us and we have to be confident, we can't be reactive, we've got to be aggressive hunting shots," Harris said. "I think we'll inch our way there."

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Astros' Springer back after concussion absence

Published in Baseball

Sunday, 08 September 2019 09:57

All-Star outfielder George Springer is back in the Houston Astros' lineup Sunday after missing three games with a concussion.

Springer is leading off and playing right field Sunday against the Seattle Mariners.

He suffered the concussion on Tuesday against the Brewers after crashing into the center-field wall while making a catch in Milwaukee.

Springer is hitting .297 with 30 home runs and 78 RBIs this season.

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Injured Harper still not in Phillies lineup

Published in Baseball

Sunday, 08 September 2019 10:46

NEW YORK -- Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper is still out of the starting lineup because of an injured right hand.

Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said he hoped Harper could pinch-hit Sunday against the New York Mets if needed. Harper could start Monday night at home against Atlanta.

The Phillies began the day three games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wild-card spot.

Harper hasn't played since being hit by a fastball from Mets lefty Steven Matz on Friday night. X-rays were negative.

Harper is hitting .254 with 30 homers, 100 RBIs and an .869 OPS, including 12 homers and a .965 OPS in 30 games since Aug. 1.

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Wait ... is a pitcher singing the national anthem?

Published in Baseball

Sunday, 08 September 2019 07:29

On June 19, 2018, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steven Brault sang the national anthem before a home game against the Milwaukee Brewers. He crushed it, which should come as no surprise given his background.

Growing up outside of San Diego, Brault (rhymes with "salt," not with "so") started performing as a kid. His first show was "Rip Van Winkle," which led to roles in "My Fair Lady," "Guys and Dolls," and (of course) "Damn Yankees." In high school, he joined the choir and fronted a rock band called Off the Water (you can still find their tunes on Spotify). After graduating, Brault attended Regis University in Denver because it was the only school that would allow him to do a vocal performance major while also playing baseball.

The decision worked out pretty well, as Brault was eventually selected in the 11th round of the 2013 draft. Three years after that, he made his big league pitching debut with the Pirates. And two years after that, he made his big league singing debut.

Given that the 26-year old lefty/tenor listens to the anthem every day for his job -- and has now performed it in both the minor leagues and in The Show -- he's pretty much an expert. So we asked him to go deep on all things anthem, and some other music stuff, as he prepares to make his encore today at PNC Park.

Cardinal anthem sin: "People that do it too slow. People that add too much. Adding a little bit, making it your own? Totally cool. But adding a bunch of vocal runs and making the thing a completely different song? No. If you don't hit the right notes, that's annoying, but the main thing for all of us is pace. You can ask any major league baseball player. We love it when you just bang it out. Just sing it, sing it right, and just get through it and get done, and we can all be happy."

Best anthems: "It's very rare to have something that absolutely blows you away. I don't remember the woman's name, but I was in Triple-A with Indianapolis in '16, and this woman sang an absolutely incredible anthem. It was quick, but perfectly on pitch. Nice, colorful voice. It was just a great experience for everybody involved. Have you ever seen Jack Black sing the national anthem? Check it out online. He has one of the best anthems. It's really, really good. I love his voice. He can do anything. I've seen 'School of Rock' a million times."

Worst anthems: "Instrumental national anthems. I don't like the Jimi Hendrix one. You have to embellish it to make it interesting, but you have to keep it short. We saw a guy who's the head violinist at the National Symphony Orchestra in D.C. in 2017, the last weekend. And he was so good. He played electric violin, and it was a baseball bat that he made into a violin [Glenn Donnellan and his batolin]. I don't like the Whitney Houston one, either. It's just too long. It's too much. You can be a great singer, but you can still ruin the anthem. It's got to be perfect. Twice this [past] spring, we heard this guy play it on the steel drums, and it was pretty good actually. Very tropical."

Ever screw up the anthem? "No, thank god. There's only one time that I screwed up the words on stage in anything that I've done, and I remember it so vividly because I completely froze. I was in eighth grade, and this girl asked to me sing with her on 'Think of Me' from 'Phantom of the Opera.' I went on stage and I just froze. Froze. Didn't say anything. Just stood there sweating like crazy, frozen. And then badda-bing, badda-boom, the part ended, and I just walked right off stage. She kept singing, and I started crying backstage. I'll never forget that, and hopefully it won't happen again."

Anthem pet peeve: "Pair-oh-liss instead of pair-ih-luss. It's not a word. Through the pair-oh-liss fight? That is not a word. So that would be my pet peeve. Also, a lot of people, when they go 'by the dawn's early light,' they don't hit the right note on 'early.' They'll do something different in there. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not perfect. But my anthem was strong. I was happy with it."

#Pirates pitcher Steven Brault is slated to sing the national anthem on July 2. Here's Brault as an 11th grader in "Damn Yankees." (Courtesy Brault family) pic.twitter.com/lUBUMzFfpV
— Eddie Matz (@ESPNeddiematz) July 1, 2019

Idol or Voice? "I watched 'American Idol' a lot when it first came out, when I was younger, for the first few seasons. And then I watched 'The Voice' when it first came out because I thought it was a cool idea. But since then, not really. Now there's just so many variety shows, it's not fun. It's kind of overdone at this point. I thought about trying out for 'The Voice.' Two years ago, my agent and I were actually going to get a scheduled audition, but the only auditions they had were right before spring training, so then I would have to miss spring training to do the audition, and that's not going to happen."

Non-anthem rotation: "My favorite musician is Chris Cornell, the lead singer of Soundgarden and Audioslave. Temple of the Dog, all that stuff. I love Pearl Jam, and then getting into more recent stuff, I like rap. I like J. Cole, I like Logic. I still listen to a lot of musicals, too. Right now, I've been listening to 'Catch Me If You Can,' 'Waitress,' and obviously 'Dear Evan Hansen,' 'Hamilton,' and all those super-popular ones. I love 'Wicked.' I love, love it. I think I've seen it four times. Haven't seen 'Hamilton' yet, but I know every word. I just don't want to pay $400 a ticket. I'm just always late on those things. I usually see it on the second time around -- like 'Wicked,' I didn't see for the first two years. And then I saw it and I was like, god damn it, now I have to see it again and again and again and again."

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Brigid Kosgei runs fastest half-marathon ever by a woman

Published in Athletics

Sunday, 08 September 2019 06:28

Kenyan cruises to an incredible 64:28 at Simplyhealth Great North Run as British runners Charlie Purdue, Steph Twell and Hayley Carruthers clock PBs

With one of the most impressive performances in the history of women’s distance running, Brigid Kosgei stormed to the fastest half-marathon of all-time by a female at the SimplyHealth Great North Run on Sunday.

The Kenyan’s 64:28 saw her finish more than three minutes ahead of her rivals on a brilliantly bright and sunny day on Tyneside.

Magdalyne Masai, Linet Masai and Mary Keitany finished second, third and fourth with Charlotte Purdue excelling in fifth with a PB of 68:10 to move to No.3 on the UK all-time rankings as fellow Brits Steph Twell and Hayley Carruthers also ran PBs of 70:52 and 71:05.

Kosgei’s scintillating performance stole the headlines, though. The 25-year-old won the London Marathon earlier this year and looks in even stronger shape now than she was in April as she prepares for the Chicago Marathon in five weeks’ time.

The Great North Run is not eligible for record purposes but Kosgei’s run was 23 seconds quicker than Joyciline Jepkosgei’s world record of 64:51 set in Valencia in 2017.

Kosgei cut loose from the start and built up a big lead in the early stages. She passed 5km in 15:39 and 10km in 30:53 as she surged away from her fellow Kenyans.

“I was not expecting to run a record time. I just tried my best – that was all,” said Kosgei, who told AW she felt great throughout and that it bodes well for her upcoming marathon. “Today was great preparation for Chicago.”

Purdue was delighted to beat her PB of 69:46 and she will now train hard for a further week before tapering for the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

“My coach Nic Bideau said I was in great shape and he never lies,” she said. “He’s been on the bike with me in training and says I’m in PB shape in every event from 1500m through to marathon. So it was great to get a good time out there today and I felt good.”

Behind the runaway winner, Magdalyne Masai clocked 67:36, Linet Masai 67:44, Keitany 67:58, Purdue 68:10, Sinead Diver 69:32, Ellie Pashley 69:38, Fotyen Tesfay 70:26, Sara Drossena 70:28 and Twell’s 70:52 placed her 10th.

Paula Radcliffe and Liz McColgan are now the only Britons to run faster for half-marathon than Purdue, whereas for Twell it was a solid run as she prepares to race 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships in Doha ahead of the Frankfurt Marathon at the end of October.

In the women’s wheelchair race, Jade Hall made it a double British victory as she clocked 50:15 to beat Shelly Woods, who clocked 51:41.

Elsewhere, one week after winning the world 50km title in Romania, Alyson Dixon from local club Sunderland Strollers set a Guinness world record for fastest woman dressed as a superhero with 78:27.

Aly Dixon breaks the world record for fastest woman dressed as a superhero with 78:27. #greatnorthrun2019 #WonderWoman pic.twitter.com/jAdBkF7I7E

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 8, 2019

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Mo Farah wins title No.6 at Great North Run

Published in Athletics

Sunday, 08 September 2019 07:22

British runner’s winning streak on Tyneside continues, with a European half-marathon best to boot, but he has to work hard to beat Tamirat Tola

Of all Mo Farah’s six victories in the Simplyhealth Great North Run, he has rarely had to dig as deep as he did on Sunday.

The 36-year-old Briton was dropped by Tamirat Tola as the Ethiopian threw in vicious surges of pace in an effort to break clear. But Farah rallied and passed his rival to establish a clear lead before hitting the final mile on South Shields sea front.

The result was not only a hard-fought victory but a PB of 59:07 as Tola was left five seconds behind.

Farah’s time is also the fastest ever by a European runner. The Great North Run is not eligible for record purposes but he went quicker than Julien Wanders’ European record of 59:13 set in the RAK Half in February.

“I was confident early on,” said Farah, “but after eight miles I could feel it a bit and it felt a bit quick and I thought ‘surely he can’t keep it going’.

“He was pushing and pushing and at a couple of points he got a bit of a gap but I kept fighting and thought ‘don’t let him get a bigger gap’. I also know the course better than him.”

This was never going to be an easy race for Farah due to Tola’s pedigree. The Ethiopian took bronze in the Olympic 10,000m in Rio behind Farah three years ago and silver in the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in London in 2017.

Both athletes are training for autumn marathons, too. Farah is gearing up for a defence of his Chicago title in just over one month’s time while Tola is doing the New York City Marathon in early November.

“If we’d run an even pace through the race then we could have run a faster time rather than the pace going up and down,” Farah said, adding that he joked with Tola after the race by asking the Ethiopian why he’d run such an up-and-down pace.

The runners passed 5km in 14:08 and 10km in 28:29 – at which stage Tola was starting to crank up the pace with 4:23, 4:20 and 4:23 for the sixth, seventh and eighth miles respectively. It was easily inside sub-60min pace for the half-marathon and Farah began to show signs of tiredness as Tola eased into a lead of 10 metres or more. But the Briton is renowned for his gritty racing ability and he was determined to win his sixth consecutive title at the event.

Mo Farah hits 'em for six in the Simplyhealth Great North Run! British runner enjoys victory No.6 in the world's No.1 half-marathon on Tyneside. #greatnorthrun2019 #GreatNorthRun pic.twitter.com/VlJvKBsYgb

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 8, 2019

In third, Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands ran 59:55 followed by Britain’s Callum Hawkins with 60:39.

Bashir Abdi, Farah’s training partner from Belgium, clocked 61:11 in fifth followed by Eyob Faniel of Italy with 61:25, Daniel Mateo of Spain with 61:34, Takumi Komatsu of Japan with 61:35, Samuel Barata of Portugal in 62:01 and in 10^th Jack Rayner of Australia in 62:23.

Hawkins ran boldly in the early stages and went with the early pace but found things too hot when Tola began to surge at around the halfway mark. However, the Scottish runner, who is targeting the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, kept his composure and ran a strong final few kilometres to run within 39 seconds of his PB.

“It’s my fastest half-marathon during marathon training and I don’t think you can really compare it to my half-marathon PB,” said Hawkins, who was pleased with his effort.

In the men’s wheelchair race David Weir clocked 43:31 to beat Brent Lakatos by five seconds with Simon Lawson third.

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'I could have been more Serena' - Williams criticises 'inexcusable' performance

Published in Tennis

Saturday, 07 September 2019 17:56

Serena Williams branded her performance in the US Open final "inexcusable" and said it was the "worst match" she played during the tournament.

Williams, who turns 38 later this month, was beaten 6-3 7-5 by Canadian 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu, whose win marked her first Grand Slam title.

Defeat means American Williams is still chasing a record-equalling 24th major.

"I believe I could have just been more Serena today," said Williams, a six-time champion at Flushing Meadows.

"I honestly don't think Serena showed up. I have to kind of figure out how to get her to show up in Grand Slam finals.

"It's inexcusable for me to play at that level."

Andreescu, in the main draw in New York for the first time, dominated a 43-minute opening set to stun a partisan Arthur Ashe Stadium, going a break up in the very first game.

The 15th seed held match point at 5-2 in the second set before Williams staged an attempted comeback, winning five successive games.

"I was just thinking, honestly at that point, wow, this is terrible," said Williams. "Like you got to play better. I have to do better.

"I just couldn't go down like that, so I just wanted to play a little bit better."

Andreescu broke Williams' serve for the fourth time of the set to wrap up the win, making her the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title and the first teenager to do so since Maria Sharapova at the 2006 US Open.

Williams remains on 23 Grand Slam titles, one short of Australian Margaret Court's all-time record.

"I'm not necessarily chasing a record. I'm just trying to win Grand Slams," Williams said.

"It's definitely frustrating. But for the most part I just am still here. I'm still doing what I can do."

'I'm so close, yet so far away'

Williams has now lost her last four Grand Slam finals, last winning in Australia in 2017 before the difficult birth of her daughter later that year.

In 2018, she lost the Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber before a controversial US Open final defeat by Naomi Osaka, and was beaten in this year's final at the All England Club by Simona Halep.

Williams said her successive falls at the final hurdle were "truly frustrating" but vowed to keep going.

"Kerber doesn't count because I was exhausted," she said. "My baby was eight months, and that's tough.

"But all of it honestly, truly is super frustrating. I'm so close, so close, so close, yet so far away.

"I guess I've got to keep going if I want to be a professional tennis player. And I've just got to just keep fighting through it.

"I definitely did better than I did against Halep."

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From fake cheque to cashing £3.1m - Andreescu on 'crazy' reality of winning US Open

Published in Tennis

Saturday, 07 September 2019 19:17

Three years ago, a 16-year-old Bianca Andreescu wrote herself a fake cheque.

That cheque was a mock-up of the one given to the US Open champion.

Now, after beating the great Serena Williams 6-3 7-5 in Saturday's compelling final, the composed Canadian is ready to cash a real one worth about £3.1m.

"I've been dreaming of this moment for the longest time," the 19-year-old said of winning her first Grand Slam title, wiping away tears as the magnitude of what she had just achieved finally hit.

"For it to become a reality is crazy."

Crazy is a word which Andreescu, like most teenagers, readily uses to describe unexpected situations and one which has cropped up regularly in her chats with the media over the past few days.

Not without good reason.

Twelve months ago and struggling with injury, she lost in the first round of qualifying at Flushing Meadows and was ranked outside of the top 200 in the world.

But she has become one of the most talked-about young players on the planet following a remarkable rise this year.

Andreescu, whose Romanian parents Nicu and Maria emigrated to Canada in the 1990s, had only played six tour-level matches at the turn of the year.

Since then she has won prestigious WTA Premier titles at Indian Wells and Toronto, rising to 15th in the world as a result and raking in £1.79m of her £1.97m career prize money.

Now the gains are even higher after becoming a Grand Slam champion: she will climb to fifth in the world, take home a winning prize of £3.13m and, surely, become a face recognised by many outside of the parameters of Canada and tennis.

"I never really thought about being famous. I'm not complaining though," she smiled.

"My goals have been to just win as many Grand Slams as possible, become number one in the world. But the idea of fame never really crossed my mind.

"It's been a crazy ride this year. I can definitely get used to this feeling."

And the prize money? "Don't ask me that because I have no clue. I've never held that much money in my life!"

Succumbing to the trappings of fame and wealth at a young age looks unlikely for the warm teenager, who has been nurtured by father Nicu, an engineer, and mother Maria, a chief compliance officer for a finance firm.

Maria herself has become a popular figure, particularly among social media users, thanks to her striking look, bold fashion statements and as she brings Coco, Andreescu's pet dog, to sit on her lap during matches.

Andreescu, an only child, describes her as "the coolest person I know and my role model".

She also has her mum to thank for helping develop the mental resilience which she needed to block out a passionate home crowd at Flushing Meadows as Williams threatened to derail her hopes.

"I started meditating and visualising ever since I was 12 or 13 when my mum introduced it to me, and I know it wasn't such a big thing back then, but now it's getting more popular because I think if you can control your mind, then you can control a lot of things," she said.

"I think that's what's been working really well for me. I just kept doing that.

"When I'm on the court in front of these big stages, I'm really good at just blocking everything and staying in the zone."

Belief is not something Andreescu has in short supply, illustrated by the way she struts around the court - even on the cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium, even in her first Grand Slam final - with her head always up.

And that confidence exudes in a marvellous all-round game which has the variety to pull opponents apart, as well as having a killer forehand already rated as one of the best in the game.

Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion rated as the greatest female player ever, could not cope with the teenager's consistent depth as she was hustled out of a record-equalling major.

"I feel like Bianca plays well under pressure. She goes out and she plays hard," the 37-year-old said.

"She does what she does best, and that's move up to the ball, that's hit winners, that's play with a ton of intensity."

Andreescu had already earned six wins over top-10 players this year - Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Angelique Kerber (twice), Kiki Bertens and Karolina Pliskova - going into Saturday's final.

And Williams, who she led against in their Rogers Cup final in Toronto last month before the American retired with a back injury, became the latest victim.

This run to the US Open title means Andreescu has won 14 straight matches and an extraordinary 45 of her 49 matches this season.

She is the first teenager to lift a Grand Slam singles title since Maria Sharapova won the 2006 US Open aged 19 and matched Monica Seles' record of winning a major in the Open era on only her fourth appearance in a Grand Slam main draw.

While Andreescu's rise has been rapid, a dream-like year has also not been without its challenges.

She missed a large chunk of the season after suffering a shoulder injury at the Miami Open in March which, after an ill-judged attempt to play the French Open, forced her to miss the entire grass-court swing, making her swift ascent and formidable winning record even more remarkable.

"It's definitely a process of life. You're never going to have ups all the time," she said.

"So I think in those moments, you just have to deal with it the best that you can, which is to just keep fighting for your dreams and just stay as persistent and persevere as much as you can.

"I know in those moments you feel like you can't.

"But if you believe that there are good times ahead, then those tough moments are definitely worth it. I think it builds you as a character.

"I think everyone should go through it because it just makes you stronger."

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Teenager Andreescu stuns Williams to win US Open

Published in Tennis

Saturday, 07 September 2019 15:03

Teenager Bianca Andreescu stunned Serena Williams in a gripping US Open final to claim a first Grand Slam title and deny the American a 24th major.

Williams, 37, did not cope with the 19-year-old's quality in a 6-3 7-5 loss.

Canadian 15th seed Andreescu, in the main draw here for the first time, blew a double break in the second set before taking her third match point and falling to the ground in disbelief.

"This year has been a dream come true," Andreescu told the crowd.

"I am beyond grateful and truly blessed. I've worked really hard for this moment. To play on this stage against Serena - a true legend of the sport - is amazing."

To the disappointment of a stunned home crowd on a passionate Arthur Ashe Stadium, Williams has now lost four successive major finals.

"Bianca played an unbelievable match," Williams said. "I'm so proud and happy for you, it was incredible tennis out there."

Williams, seeded eighth, looked edgy throughout as she aimed to match Australian Margaret Court's tally of all-time major wins, handing over the first three of Andreescu's five breaks of serve with double faults.

By contrast, Andreescu played with the confidence which has marked her out as a star in a stunning breakthrough year.

She is the first Canadian to win a tennis major and the first teenager to win a Grand Slam since Maria Sharapova claimed the 2006 title at Flushing Meadows.

She is the first teenager to win their maiden Slam since Russian Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004.

Andreescu kept her nerve to take a third match point with a forehand down the line, dropping her racquet to the ground and then, after a warm hug with Williams, lying on the court with her arms spread out as she contemplated her achievement.

After returning to her feet, she used a hastily-arranged step ladder to climb into her player's box and embrace her nearest and dearest, including parents Nicu and Maria.

Andreescu blocks out crowd to complete remarkable year

Before the match, Andreescu said if someone told her 12 months ago she would be facing Williams in the US Open final she would have thought they were "crazy".

Tellingly, in a sign of her unwavering confidence, she said she would not have felt the same if they told her the same thing a fortnight ago.

Twelve months ago she lost in the first round of qualifying at Flushing Meadows and was ranked outside the top 200 in the world.

But she has become the most talked-about young player on the planet following a remarkable rise this year.

Andreescu, whose Romanian parents Nicu and Maria emigrated to Canada in the 1990s, had only played six tour-level matches at the turn of the year.

Since then she has won prestigious WTA Premier titles at Indian Wells and Toronto, rising to 15th in the world as a result and raking in £1.79m of her £1.97m career prize money.

Now she will climb to fifth in the world and take home another $3.85m (£3.13m) after this success.

Andreescu was fearless throughout her maiden Grand Slam final and unfazed by the occasion of playing an American icon on the biggest tennis court in the world.

Although the crowd was unsurprisingly backing Williams throughout inside an incredible noisy Ashe, the manner in which Andreescu coped and reset after seeing her double break in the second set disappear was remarkable.

At one point, Andreescu even put her fingers in her ears as the volume became particularly loud as Williams fought back from 5-1 down.

After her first Championship point went begging in the seventh game, another disappeared when Williams hit an ace for 30-40 in what proved to be the final game before Andreescu sealed victory at the third attempt with a forehand winner.

"I definitely had to overcome the crowd. I knew you guys wanted Serena to win," a smiling Andreescu said in her on-court victory speech.

"Obviously it was expected for Serena to fight back, but I tried my best to block everything out. I'm glad how I managed to do that."

Williams fails to get over the line again

Williams said after July's defeat in the Wimbledon final against Simona Halep that the weight of history was not a burden as she aimed to clinch that record-equalling 24th Grand Slam.

Yet, after also losing last year's Wimbledon final and a controversial US Open final against Naomi Osaka 12 months ago, this latest defeat inevitably leads to more questions about why she cannot get over the line.

With time seemingly running out for the six-time US Open champion, who turns 38 this month, it makes you wonder how many more chances she will have to earn her place as the greatest ever, at least in numerical terms.

However, BBC Radio 5 Live analyst Jeff Tarango is in no doubt she will reach more Grand Slam finals.

"I think Serena will pull it together. I don't have any doubt. She's going to be back, she's not going to give up," the American said.

If Williams was looking for a comfortable start following her three previous final defeats, that did not materialise.

Nerves again seemed to take hold as she produced two double faults to gift the opening game to Andreescu, leaving her chasing a deficit which she could not recover.

It was the first break point she had faced - and lost - since the first set of her fourth-round win over Croat Petra Martic.

The confidence she showed in the routine wins over China's 18th seed Wang Qiang and Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina were not apparent as Andreescu's depth and variety, plus her ability to absorb Williams' power, unsettled the American.

Williams, who had close friend Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, sitting with her family, could not play with the control she showed against Wang and Svitolina, producing 14 unforced errors in a loose opening set.

All of her nine previous defeats in Grand Slam finals came after losing the opening sets and this miserable record did not look like changing when Andreescu started racing away with the second set.

Williams looked dejected as she continued to struggle to land a first serve, regularly looking at her racquet and shaking her hand as though she had no answers.

Suddenly she started to provide them in a spirited fightback, only for two more unforced errors to creep in to stall her momentum as Andreescu broke for a sixth time.

"I was just fighting at that point [at 5-1 down in the second set], trying to stay out there a little bit longer. The fans started cheering so hard and it made me feel better and fight a bit more," Williams said.

"Bianca played an unbelievable match. If anyone could win this, outside of [sister] Venus, I'm happy it's Bianca."

'Andreescu is the real deal' - reaction

Tennis great Billie Jean King: "Congratulations to Bianca Andreescu on winning her first major title at the #USOpen. She is Canada's first Grand Slam singles champion! The Future is now. A phenomenal effort by Serena Williams until the very end.

2019 Cincinnati Masters champion Madison Keys: "Congrats Bianca Andreescu on your first Grand Slam. So happy for you! Always a fighter, always inspiring - win or lose Serena Williams. Such a great match to watch."

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep: "Congratulations Bianca Andreescu on an amazing performance and your first Grand Slam! Romania is very proud of you."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: "Congratulations Bianca Andreescu! You've made history and made a whole country very proud."

BBC Radio 5 Live tennis commentator David Law: "Andreescu was just magnificent for the first set and a half. We ran out of superlatives to describe the way she was playing. She has presence and buckets and buckets of ability. It's remarkable to see it in a 19-year-old. She is totally unfazed by her surroundings, it would appear. That is four Grand Slam finals in a row that's Williams has not been able to win, but I don't know how much more she could have done today. Andreescu is the real deal."

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Nadal chases 19th Grand Slam in US Open final against Medvedev

Published in Tennis

Saturday, 07 September 2019 18:08

Rafael Nadal will move within one of Roger Federer's haul of 20 Grand Slam titles if he beats first-time major finalist Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's US Open showpiece.

Second seed Nadal, 33, is the favourite to win his fourth title in New York.

Russian fifth seed Medvedev, 23, has lost just two of his past 22 matches, including a defeat by Nadal in August's Rogers Cup final.

"I would love to be the one who wins more Grand Slams," Spaniard Nadal said.

But he added: "I still sleep very well without being the one who has more Grand Slams."

Medvedev, the first Russian man to compete in a Grand Slam final since Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open, is aiming to break the grip of Nadal, Federer and Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic on the majors.

The 'big three' have won each of the past 11 Grand Slam titles, with Stan Wawrinka's victory here in 2016 making the Swiss the last man outside the illustrious trio to claim one of the sport's biggest prizes.

He will face Nadal for the second time in less than a month after the world number two won 6-3 6-0 in Montreal.

"It's great that I have this experience playing Rafa in the final of a Masters. I know what to expect. I know how to prepare for it," Medvedev said.

'This is just one more chance to catch Roger'

Nadal, who won his 18th Grand Slam with a 12th title at Roland Garros in June, was already considered one of the favourites in New York from the start of tournament, along with Djokovic and Federer.

That has been a familiar pattern over the past decade such has been the trio's dominance, which shows no signs of changing despite all three men entering their 30s.

The past 11 Grand Slams have been won by Nadal, 32-year-old Djokovic or 38-year-old Federer.

But the departure of 2018 champion Djokovic, who retired from his last-16 match against Stan Wawrinka with a shoulder injury, and Federer's quarter-final exit to Bulgarian world number 78 Dimitrov, has given the opportunity for Nadal to make a serious move in the race to be considered the greatest player of all time.

If Nadal lifts his fourth title at Flushing Meadows, he will move within one of Federer's tally for the first time.

"I always say the same: we still playing. Here we are," said Nadal, who will be competing in his third Grand Slam final this year and also reached the Wimbledon semi-finals.

"When I arrived here, my goal was to produce a chance to compete for the big thing again. Here I am.

"I have given myself another chance, as I did in Wimbledon, as I did in Australia, as I did in Roland Garros. That's the personal satisfaction. That's the personal happiness.

"I am happy about my career. I am very happy about what I'm doing. I'm going to keep working hard to try to produce chances.

"Sunday is just one more chance, that's all.

"If I am able to win on Sunday, it will be amazing. If I lose, I hope to keep having chances in the future to add things."

Medvedev doesn't want 'amazing' summer to end badly

Medvedev came into the final Grand Slam of the season as the form player on the ATP Tour after an impressive build-up on the North American hard courts.

The Russian, who broke in the world's top 10 for the first time in July, lost to Australian Nick Kyrgios and Nadal in the Washington and Montreal finals before going one better by beating Belgian David Goffin in the Cincinnati final.

And he has continued that form to become only the third man to reach all four finals in the same season during the Open era.

"This summer has been so fast and long at the same time," Medvedev said.

"Long because I've played so many matches. At the same time so fast because I haven't had any moment to just sit down and look back and say I've done amazing things.

"Hopefully I will have some time after Sunday. It's going to be the last match in the United States this summer.

"Of course, deep inside of me, I understand that what I've done these four weeks is amazing, even comparing to what I've done before.

"I don't want to stop. I will always work to be better. I will try to do my best every day."

Despite his success, some of Medvedev's actions over the past two weeks have not endeared him to the New York crowd, goading them with his provocative post-match celebrations and interviews.

Since being booed off court after his third-round and fourth-round wins, Medvedev has looked to shake off the role of pantomime villain and apologised for his behaviour, which has included angrily snatching towels from ball people and curtly 'thanking' the American fans for jeering him.

"I can only say I'm a really calm person in life. I actually have no idea why the demons go out when I play tennis," he said.

"Every time I do something wrong on the court, I'm sitting with myself, thinking 'I'm not like this in normal life. Why does it happen? I don't want it to happen like this'.

"So I have been working a lot on it, and I have improved a lot. Sometimes it still happens.

"But, talking about normal life, to make me angry you need to do something crazy for one week in a row.

"You need to, I don't know, come to my hotel, knock on my door at 6am in the morning for seven days in a row. Then I'm going to be maybe mad a little bit. If not, I'm really calm."

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