open Page 28 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
"That Stuff Sucked": How Roger Federer Was Defeated<em></em>
By now you may know that Juan Martin del Potro beat Roger Federer last night, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4....
Please Do Not Ignore Kevin Anderson, Who Is More Than Just A Large Man
Well, plenty of time has passed now, and people are still chattering about that crazy U.S. Open men’s quarterfinal, that four-set emotional roller coaster. That’s right, folks: Sam Querrey vs. Kevin Anderson....
Roger Federer Is Out
Following several close calls—needing five sets to beat the unseeded pair of Frances Tiafoe and Mikhail Youzhny in the tournament’s first and second rounds, respectively—Roger Federer is out of the U.S. Open, falling to Juan Martin del Potro tonight. ...
The U.S. Open Women's Semifinals Will Be All-American
For the first time since 1985, a major event will feature an all-American women’s semifinal. ...
Petra Kvitova's Drop Shot Was Ruthless
Tuesday’s quarterfinal collision between two great storylines—Venus Williams still rolling through Slams at age 37, and Petra Kvitova returning to the tour from a knife attack that severely injured her playing hand—grew tense in the third set, and perhaps peaked with this one shot, a highlight of th...
Where Did El Shapo Come From?
A friend of mine from Vancouver likes to joke that it’s possible to spot a product of Tennis Canada—Canada’s national governing body for tennis—from a mile away, like some kind of giant inflatable Tennis Person. These Tennis People are, in Tennis Canada’s own words, “full-time athletes” committed to...
Root For Sloane Stephens
CoCo Vandeweghe, Madison Keys, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens: Half of the remaining players in the U.S. Open are Americans, and as the draw is set up, it could be an all-American semifinal on Thursday. You should root for Sloane Stephens. ...
A Letter To Juan Martin Del Potro From A Guy Who Gave Up Too Early
QUEENS, N.Y.—Sir, I am sorry that I missed your U.S. Open tennis match on Monday evening. I missed it because I saw the first two sets and you looked dead in the water, an expression I’d assumed was about fish until looking it up last night and learning it had to do with boats. Anyway, down 6-1, 6-2...
U.S. Open Top-Seeded Players Are Already Dropping Like Flies
As the U.S. Open heads into its first weekend, let’s have a moment of silence for all the top seeds gone too soon....
Pro Tennis Player Can’t Stop Thinking About Those Mesothelioma Ads
If you’ve ever listened to the radio or watched daytime television, you know this ad: “If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma you may be entitled to financial compensation.” Of course you know this. There’s even a years-old meme....
A Beginner's Guide To Enjoying Tennis
We’re in the middle of the U.S. Open, that two-week phase of the solar year in which the average American citizen is most likely to be struck by tennis. It could be you. Or maybe you’ll watch 10 minutes of tennis and yell, “This shit is boring!” before returning to episodes of Chopped. Nobody would ...
The Kids Are Winning—Just Not The Ones We Thought
Sure, tell a story about tall boy who’d grown out of the pinstriped pajamas that Pharrell Williams designed for him, rolled down the swaggy calf-high socks after they got uncomfortable, and let himself be crushed under the weight of a half-dozen glossy features hailing him as the future. Alexander Z...
Caroline Wozniacki Doesn't Think Maria Sharapova Deserves To Be On Center Court
After her second-round upset loss to the perpetually underestimated Ekaterina Makarova, U.S. Open five-seed Caroline Wozniacki unloaded on both the USTA’s scheduling strategy and Maria Sharapova, who has played both of her matches so far on center court. Wozniacki doesn’t think this is right:...
Don't Wag Your Finger At Denis Shapovalov
No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the point of the match, and probably the point of the night, against 18-year-old potential trend-setter Denis Shapovalov early in the second set of their second-round clash on Arthur Ashe Wednesday night. Feeling the crowd’s energy and trying to pump himself after droppi...
Alexandr Dolgopolov Gets Miffed At Match-Fixing Questions, Says He Doesn't Have Many Online Friends
Former top-20 player Alexandr Dolgopolov came under the scrutiny of tennis’s anti-corruption group last week because of strange betting patterns around one of his matches. The Tennis Integrity Unit tends to speak in generalities rather than naming particular contests, but when asked, a spokesperson ...
Frances Tiafoe Is A Work In Progress, But Holy Crap Do I Want To Watch The Progress
It takes a lot to win a share of crowd loyalty in Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City in the year of the resurrection of Roger Federer. It takes so much that it did not appear remotely possible for anyone not named Rafael Nadal. But last night at the U.S. Open, over five improbable sets, someone ea...
Nick Kyrgios Hurt His Shoulder, Had A Mini-Therapy Session On Court, Smashed A Racket, And Lost
Nick Kyrgios, to his credit, did not retire after injuring his shoulder early in the third set of his first-round match against his fellow Australian John Millman. He lost the first set 6-3 and won the second 6-1, then clutched at his shoulder early in the third set. Picking up an injury in the firs...
Frances Tiafoe Pushed Roger Federer To The Edge
In a markedly soft U.S. Open field—no Novak Djokovic, no Stan Wawrinka, no Andy Murray—third-ranked Roger Federer was brought to the brink in the very first round by unseeded 19-year-old Frances Tiafoe, who took him five sets deep tonight....
El Shapo Gets His First Major Win
Denis Shapovalov, the 18-year-old Canadian hereafter known as El Shapo, achieved something big today: He wore a normal hat without a busted-ass strap....
What Bad Player Did You Inexplicably Love As A Kid?
Kids are captivated by the most random things, including some athletes who weren’t actually all that great. Let’s remember some guys—here are some of the Deadspin staff’s old, strange loves, with varying levels of explanation:...