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2024 US Open Tennis Women’s Singles Final: Aryna Sabalenka so dominant on the hard courts that sealed her third grand slam triumph in straight sets v USA’s Jessica Pegula

by Sports Benches

Aryna Sabalenka is now your 2024 US Open women’s champion following her straight sets win v USA’s Jessica Pegula 5-7 & 5-7 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. This is the first time she has won this major at Arthur Ashe Stadium following her runner-up finish last year to Coco Gauff while she continues to defend her 2nd straight Australian Open women’s title from 2023.

So close from Pegula who was so close to turning this around on both occasions including the 2nd set, having won some battles thanks to a brilliant start to the game along the way v the top-ranked opponent. She just couldn’t quite find the finishing touches unfortunately while Sabalenka won them all throughout the Final. It’s been a huge journey though to make it this far, especially when playing on home soil – hopefully we’ll see more of Jessica Pegula next year following a series of previous grand slam Quarter-Finals.

And what a game as always for Sabalenka  who got away with her third grand slam championship this time outside of the Australian Open in New York. There’s a reason or two why she’s so dominant in these hard courts and yet she’s done it once again also against a different grand slam finalist from start to finish. She didn’t even drop a set either when her finishing play was top-notch too as wondering who is really there to challenge Sabalenka now? Maybe Iga Swiatek, even though she’s normally good on clay or Coco Gauff if she can be good consistently on future grand slams other than late 23-early 24.

If the women’s final wasn’t enough, the US Open Saturday’s activities went on with the Men’s Doubles Final featuring own our Aussie pair of Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell v Germany’s duo of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz. Glad to say that Thompson and Purcell has done it in straight sets that marked their first major trophy together with Purcell’s 2nd since the 2022 Wimbledon tournament alongside Matt Ebden, even though their match wasn’t easy having felt so relieved to cross the finish line at the end of the 2nd set tiebreak. Sure that is going to help with Australia’s Davis Cup team run going into next week v France and Czech Republic as they’ve been in the big dance before and there’s no doubt they’re going to smash it once again.

Now that the Women’s Final is done, there’s one more game left on the US Open schedule tomorrow and that will be the Men’s Singles Final from 4am AEST between 2024 Men’s Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner v USA’s Taylor Fritz.

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2024 US Open Tennis Men’s semi-finals day in New York review: Sinner def. Draper in straight sets while Fritz caps off magnificent comeback after a long five-setter v Tiafoe

by Sports Benches

So there you have it, the 2024 US Open Tennis Men’s semi-final day at Arthur Ashe Stadium was a joy to watch – one was Jannik Sinner so dominant & top good for Jack Draper while Taylor Fritz held back strong v Francis Tiafoe after a long five sets out of the best American winner. 

Now it’s the current Australian Open champ Sinner v the ever improving American Fritz for Sunday’s big Final (Monday 4am) with Aryna Sabalenka v USA’s own Jessica Pegula up first for the women’s main event tomorrow (6am).

Semi-Final Match 1

First of all, it was never an easy game when playing at a top-notch semi for the first time by the rising Brit in Draper, who defeated our Aussie own Alex De Minaur in the quarters the other day. He had some great moments to begin with the first two sets where he was so close to tying Sinner 1-1 but was underwhelming for the majority unfortunately, having lost the first set for the first time in this tournament before being quickly wiped out in the end. 

Meanwhile, we haven’t heard much for a while from Sinner but he still had a terrific year though including today’s semi v Draper, as this will be his 2nd grand slam final also on a hard court. Gotta say he was at his best where his next match v Fritz is going to be as good as it gets. He was tested with great difficulty by the Brit before Sinner won all two sets with a 2-0 lead and the Italian simply wrapped up the game without a fuss to book his next biggest match yet in three straight sets.

Semi-Final Match 2

Now this second semi was the one Americans long wanted to see in front of a brilliant crowd including some celebrity guests with both Americans who played one stellar of a match. But again, one can go through to Sunday’s Final which Fritz won while another will have to be eliminated from the last four in Tiafoe.

Commiserations to Tiafoe having made a good start alongside some brilliant fight to try and keep himself in the game with the first and 3rd set wins. It’s a shame he began to have slipped away in the 4th and even 5th sets before it was too late unfortunately. It would’ve been great if Tiafoe kept on pressuring Fritz as if Tiafoe was closer towards activating match point; But at the end of the day, you’re looking at a fighter who always been there & done that at major finals before in Fritz.

And congrats to Fritz on a stunning win from behind to beat Tiafoe as he’s the next American to play in a US Open men’s final since 2003 winner Andy Roddick back in 2006. Sure he had some near set wins & had Fritz won it, the match would’ve finished like the first semis game but this is about someone who never gives up. All he wanted to do is walk away was the win to punch his ticket into the main event & he has done it in the toughest of circumstances where he will be tested once again in the hope of finally winning his home grand slam v Sinner after his ever-improving 2024 season at age 26.

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2024 US Open Tennis Women’s Singles semi-finals Day Review: Aryna Sabalenka off to another final this time v Jessica Pegula after Pegula’s stunning comeback from behind

by Sports Benches

The 2024 US Open women’s singles semi-finals day at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York saw two brilliant matches with one unbelievable comeback during the second match from behind. 

Yes, Americans – particularly the home fans- would’ve loved to see both of their own players play in the big dance this Saturday. But at least one is still not out of the race just yet though when she’ll be going up against one the world’s best as a new champion will be crowned since Coco Gauff was eliminated in the Round of 16.

Semi-Final 1

In the first game, 13th seed Emma Navarro never had an easy time out there against Aryna Sabalenka, having won some early battles in the process including the 2nd set that led into a tiebreak. But again, Sabalenka proved to be world-class as always en route to her 2nd straight US Open Final from start to finish in straight sets (3-6 & 6-7 via 2-7 tiebreak). 

It’s been a great 2nd half grand slam season for Navarro with back-to-back knockout matches as more to come but never an easy game unfortunately against Sabalenka who always been in the finals many times before. 

Speaking of Sabalenka, sure, she may not be good on clay (French Open) & the grass courts (Wimbledon). But she’s been excellent on the hard courts that earned her 2 x recent Australian Open titles & looks like this weekend will finally be perfect moment to add a US Open trophy for the first time.

Semi-Final 2

Now here’s something that’s going to cheer the home crowd up, Jessica Pegula may have had a rough start in the first set v Karolina Muchova, but she fought back though from behind that marked one of her best matches to date. She went from bringing up the 3rd set decider after tying 1-1 apiece with Muchova to booking her spot following an easy finish on what is going to be Pegula’s first grand slam Final right here at home in New York v Sabalenka. The final score was 1-6, 6-4 & 6-2.

If there’s one person out there who will try to stop Sabalenka in its tracks, it’s Jessica Pegula with her best grand slam campaign at age 30. She proved to Sabalenka what it takes to fight from behind in the hope of winning her first grand slam singles title also on home turf. She’s come from a long, long way whose parents are business people and NFL owners of the Buffalo Bills & no doubt this next match for Jessica is like her own Super Bowl but she will be up against one of the world’s elite stars in Sabalenka.

And Muchova did the best she can to secure a grand final spot since the 2023 Roland Garros tournament, especially when she just came back playing here following a wrist injury as she had a great run along the way up. She thought she could get there thanks to a flying start but just couldn’t keep it up unfortunately when it comes to her long form where Pegula turned out to be the better player. Will we see more of her next year? Sure as long as she can keep her good grand slam record up from here like regular 2nd week ties including an extended finals shot, etc.

Post-Notes

Now that the Pegula v Sabalenka women’s singles Final is all set, the US Open semi-finals day continues tomorrow with the men’s action. First up is Jannik Sinner v Rising Briton Jack Draper (who defeated Alex De Minaur in the QF the other day) followed by an all-American affair between Taylor Fritz & Francis Tiafoe.

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2024 US Open Tennis: Alex De Minaur’s another grand slam Quarter-Finals shot got run down by Briton Jack Draper in straight sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium

by Sports Benches

It wasn’t the match we hoped for when Alex De Minaur took centre stage on what has been another grand slam Quarter-Final of 2024 this time in the US Open & got easily beaten in straight sets by Briton Jack Draper at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

But proud to see him make back-to-back-to-back grand slam quarter-finals this year outside the Australian Open though where he fell short to Andrey Rublev in the Round of 16 tie back in January. Had he won this game, it would’ve still been difficult to walk into the semis either way by going up between the last Quarter-Final winner that’s going to start later on of Jannik Sinner (Italy) or Daniil Medvedev.

Yes, he’s getting back up to speed after that hip injury that ruled him out of the Wimbledon Quarter-Final match two months ago v Novak Djokovic. But as said, he simply wasn’t at his best today other than close 2nd set performance. 

Keep an eye on him going into next week with the Australian Davis Cup campaign against France & Czech Republic over in Valencia, Spain. He’s the glue to where the Aussies went all the way to back-to-back Finals in November last year and two years ago and hopefully he will help them go one better, so he can walk into Australian Open 2025 with an eye for a Quarter-Finals spot for the first time.

For now, Jack Draper is your winner en route to his first major semi-finals at age 22 after a brilliant performance from start to finish in straight sets (6-3, 7-5 & 6-2).

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Tennis news today: Carlos Alcaraz reigns supreme once again with his 2nd straight Gentlemen’s singles Wimbledon crown in straight sets from last night v Novak Djokovic

by Sports Benches

It has been another main event rematch of the best youngster Carlos Alcaraz v the best veteran Novak Djokovic at Centre Court for the 2024 Wimbledon Gentleman’s Singles Final after an incredible two weeks through the early rounds and then the 2nd week Finals until were left with the last two remaining in SW19. The winner of the Final belongs to Alcaraz, who was simply too good all along including that 3rd set arm wrestle through the very end of that stage, as he successfully defended his crown here for the second straight year in straight sets: 6-2, 6-2 & 7-6 via the 7-4 tiebreak. Now it will be a week-long break before the next Summer Olympics will arrive on what is going to be another two weeks beginning next Friday 26th July.

It’s a bummer from Djokovic whose grand slam run this year didn’t see him hoist any of the three majors so far & he’s only got the US Open left to hopefully finish things off on a high come early September, especially being the age of 37. He gave his all with class at times including the 3rd set to try and keep himself in the game but he was way off the pace for the most part unfortunately with Alcaraz being the better player throughout the Final. He might had some great battles both past, present and the future of these Spaniards – we’ll see how long he’s got left before he eventually calls it a day alongside Rafael Nadal.

And Alcaraz is the man of the hour and the day right now at SW19’s Centre Court following another brilliant performance during a Final on the grass courts last night. As said, he was too good through the first two sets over a veteran champion who is around the mid to late 30s. Now that’s without saying that Alcaraz had the easiest time ever when Djokovic did his best to keep him in check, particularly during the 3rd set. But at the end of the day as most elite champions need to do, Alcaraz demonstrated his toughness well through the very end of that stage to close out in three straight sets. What’s next for him now is to win the Olympic Tennis gold in Paris in a few weeks time, as well as winning the US Open again later this year & then he can go and finally be the next Australian Open champ come January 2025 at Melbourne Park – more to come soon enough.

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Tennis news: Barbora Krejcikova def. Jasmine Paolini for the Wimbledon ladies’ singles title for 2024 last night via the best of three sets

by Sports Benches

Last night’s Wimbledon ladies singles’ final of 2024 was epic where there were two first time finalists with Jasmine Paolini & Barbora Krejcikova but only one can settle to take home the Venus Rosewater Dish trophy at the finish line. At the start, Krejcikova had an easy 1st set lead but that doesn’t mean Paolini can’t either who also won an easy 2nd set battle brought this Final into a final set decider. It was neck and neck between those two in a one-set drag race but Paolini’s inconsistency to get the job done including at deuces forced Krejcikova’s hand, and she too found a way to get the job done past a series championship point attempts on has been her 2nd grand slam crown since the 2021 Roland Garros on the clay courts.

The final score at SW19 was 6-2, 2-6 and 6-4 as Wimbledon 2024 will wrap up tonight on the 14th and final day’s play with a main event repeat from last year between Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) v Novak Djokovic (Serbia) for the Gentleman’s singles Final.

Commiserations to Paolini with another grand slam runner-up finish following an excellent year so far, having built on that Roland Garros breakthrough with a couple of good wins here and there until the very end. She can be exceptionally mobile despite not being the tallest where the Italian had some good moments including that 2nd set comeback. She’s probably struggled to finish off the puzzle unfortunately when trying to win that arm wrestle towards the end. This is someone Italy should be cheering for on top of Jannik Sinner & Paolini will vow to keep on chasing that breakthrough title soon enough.

And what a moment for Krejcikova with another grand slam singles crown in a while over these last few years. She might be in and out of the Quarter-Finals on a couple of occasions since her 2021 Roland Garros breakthrough win, but the Czech never let her game slip away where class is permanent that gave her country another Wimbledon women’s singles crown after Marketa Vondrousova last year. She’s got some unfinished business ahead to have a regular crack in the last 8 during the 2nd week every year where she will need to keep that consistency at times. But other than that, she played another of her best matches last night & congratulations once again to Krejcikova who is now the new Wimbledon women’s singles champion.

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It’s the Spanish rising star Alcaraz v Seasoned Serbian legend Djokovic now for Sunday’s Wimbledon Final following their respective semi-final wins v Medvedev and Musetti

by Sports Benches

Daniil Medvedev’s hopes of a Wimbledon breakthrough Final will have to wait next time after he lost to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz despite having the opening set via the tiebreak. However, Medvedev just couldn’t build on that good start unfortunately where he lost it the whole way through no matter how close he was before it was too late, and that puts the Spaniard to the Final spotlight once again as Alcaraz had the better pull to wrap things up (7-6 via 7-1 tie, 3-6, 4-6 & 4-6). 

Then in the 2nd semi Lorenzo Musetti put up a best show on what has been his first grand slam semi-final at age 22 including the 2nd set that gave him a 2nd chance to try close things out at the tiebreak. At the end of the day though, it was Novak Djokovic who dominated Centre Court all along in straight sets – even when going up against another young gun wasn’t easy    before he found a way to settle the score with him (4-6, 6-7 via. 2-7 tie and 4-6). 

Now it’s the rising star v the seasoned veteran for the men’s singles trophy come tomorrow night. Novak still has some unfinished business left to add yet another grand slam title onto his big trophy cabinet & he won’t let that young superstar stop him that is the next big thing after his former arch-rival Rafa Nadal. Meanwhile, Alcaraz has been at the top of his game with lots of energy to outshine the Djoker to make it two Men’s Wimbledon titles – having just won the Roland Garros on clay last month on top of his Wimbledon crown last year as well as the US Open nearly two years ago. 

Two days to go now with the women’s singles Final later tonight at SW19, which is 2024 Roland Garros runner-up Jasmine Paolini (Italy) v 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic). Then it’s showtime to finish the 14th & final day’s play tomorrow night between Alcaraz v Djokovic on what has been another great fortnight of Wimbledon in 2024.

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2024 Wimbledon women’s singles semi-finals: Back-to-Back 3rd set finishers where four become two now with Jasmine Paolini v Barbora Krejcikova set for Saturday’s Final

by Sports Benches

Last night’s Wimbledon women’s singles semi-finals day at SW19 was really good to watch with back-to-back three set ties that went down the wire as four finalists now set to become two ahead of Saturday’s main event at Centre Court. It’s going to be Jasmine Paolini from Italy going up against another Czech Republic player but this time in Barbora Krejcikova. Three more days to go with the Men’s semi-final day kicking off tonight with Daniil Medvedev v Carlos Alcaraz followed by Lorenzo Musetti v Novak Djokovic, with Djokovic not required to play the last eight two days ago due to Alex De Minaur’s hip injury.

Semi-Final 1

Croatian Donna Vekic who defeated NZ’s Lulu Sun the other day in the last 8 got away with a fast start before Jasmine Paolini didn’t give up at all by holding Vekic back on both sets – even though it wasn’t easy to pull off at all. However, the Italian finally saw light at the end of the tunnel on what is going to be another grand slam singles final following her breakthrough at Roland Garros last month. She hopes to go one better having fell short to the Queen of Clay Iga Swiatek from Poland including her same doubles final appearance that next day as the final score was 6-2, 4-6 and 6-7 with the 8-10 tiebreaker.

This is a breakthrough Vekic should be proud of after finally being able to go through in her first grand slam semi-final hoping she can go all the way following a really good start. She just couldn’t get the best out of Paolini as the game goes on & that semi-finals exit at the deciding end was really unfortunate. Let’s hope she can overcome that inconsistency after a few past rare Quarter-Final outings.

Paolini is having the time of her life at 28 and the way she stood up to Vekic was unbelievable from the opening set down to finishing off her way towards the finish line via a close arm wrestle. She might not be tall but so quick to wrap things up that Vekic couldn’t do to stop the ball from slipping past her in its tracks. It’s not too late from Paolini to become such a late bloomer in the elite world of grand slam tennis as this next breakthrough awaits in the hope of finally winning a major there.

Semi-Final 2

Now that tie had same difficulty shared by both players, although that was done without tiebreaks. 2022 Champion from Kazakhstan Elena Rybakina had a brilliant charge to open the match with the opening set lead but the game wasn’t over just yet when Barbora Krejcikova had a terrific restart to level the scoreboard at 1-1. Although that 3rd set battle was another arm wrestle with Rybakina not holding back to try and hold off top spot, but it was Krejcikova who got away unscathed on what is going to be another big match-up since her 2021 Roland Garros Final triumph. The final score was 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4.

Good to see Rybakina bounce back from that early-round disappointment at the Australian Open back in January with back-to-back knockout matches so far this year including this tourney at Wimbledon as sure she’ll keep on doing better from here. The only thing that held back her is the inconsistency following a good start but then struggled to keep Krejcikova away from her sight including during the final set decider under pressure before it was too late that sealed her semi-final elimination outside the Top 2 spots. There’s the Olympics coming up in a few weeks time back on clay where she didn’t do bad there as said with the Roland Garros up until the last 8 & she also did well in 4th behind Elina Svitolina during the last Summer edition in Tokyo.

And Krejcikova is here to fly the Czech flag hoping to give her country another Wimbledon women’s singles trophy this time by herself. She had some issues at the beginning but has always been great to hold her ground v Rybakina for the most part where she brought up the 3rd set decider before she overcame such a tough arm wrestle towards the finish line and she has done it in the hope of taking her 2nd grand slam women’s singles’ title this time on the grass courts. Other than a couple of rare Quarter-Final appearances, she has never lost in a Final before & Saturday could be another one of her best days yet as we’ll see how the Czech will go against someone is so quick & mobile in Paolini.

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Thoughts on Alex De Minaur forced to pull out from Wimbledon due to a hip injury with Novak Djokovic now through to the another semi-final now via walkover

by Sports Benches

We thought we all have woken up this morning hoping Alex De Minaur has played in another grand slam Quarter-Final this time on the grass courts at Wimbledon, even if it means taking on Novak Djokovic. However, a hip injury stopped him from taking part unfortunately where he limped towards the end the other day v Arthur Fils in the R16, and that is going to take some time to recover at this stage. With that being said, Djokovic will go straight to the semis against 25th seed Italian Lorenzo Musetti – an opponent De Minaur would’ve like to face had he took part & win that upset.

It’s a bummer that he couldn’t bring himself to Centre Court just hours before his next scheduled match, having endured an excellent grand slam campaign so far this year. We know that recovery time means he will be out for the Olympics by representing the Australian Olympic Team, but you never know if he can recover in time for the US Open that will begin in late August-early September. If not, another good Davis Cup run followed by homecoming return in January would be the perfect chance for De Minaur to finally make such a big impact like Ash Barty.

For now, we wish De Minaur a speedy recovery while Wimbledon will continue with the semis tonight. It will begin with back-to-back women’s singles matches that will follow the same with the men’s singles matches throughout Friday night & overnight Saturday morning.

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Kiwi Lulu Sun’s fairytale Wimbledon run came to an end overnight by Donna Vekic despite leading the first set with Aussie Alex De Minaur set to take on Novak Djokovic tonight also in the Quarter-Finals

by Sports Benches

New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, who had fairlytale Wimbledon campaign up until the quarters, has just come to an end overnight despite leading the first set v Donna Vekic from Croatia. Plenty of passionate Kiwi fans stayed up overnight just to see her fly the New Zealand flag which was hug since she was born there, even though she spent most of her life across the US and Europe. As said, she fired off really well through the very end of the first set that gave Sun a 1-0 advantage going into the 2nd set.

Unfortunately, she just couldn’t hold on a bit longer when she was one set away at one stage before Vekic brought up the 3rd set decider, and Sun felt blown away & tiring towards the end with the Quarter-Final elimination on her third ever grand slams appearance at the age of 23.

The final score was 7-5, 4-6 and 1-6.

Anyways, glad Sun chose to represent NZ when she was looking to take part in the Billie Jean King Cup rather than Switzerland a few months ago. Now she will walk away with breakthroughs that will live with Sun forever when Sun first entered Wimbledon as a Qualifier much like her fourth round opponent Emma Raducanu back in the 2021 US Open that led to a spectacular breakthrough of her own with the women’s singles crown. Let’s hope this isn’t a one-off occasion by regularly going for last 16/8 runs next time.

Congratulations to the winner Vekic where she never let her standards slip away. She might have been disappointed at times earlier on that saw Sun take that 1st set advantage but she never gave up from the set down to equalise the Kiwi at 1-1 apiece and at the end of the day, she was the better player who got the away with the finishing touches as if it’s a two-horse drag race towards the final stretch. The Croatian will now take on Italian & this year’s Roland Garros runner-up Jasmine Paolini who defeated USA’s Emma Navarro easily in straight sets 6-2 & 6-1.

If one player from the Tasman isn’t enough, there’s always another one when Australia’s own Alex De Minaur will take on Novak Djokovic later tonight also for a spot in Friday’s semi-final. Yes, it’s gonna be tough match indeed but the Demon has earned his way so much on what is going to be another major Quarter-Final of his own off the back of Roland Garros last month where he lost to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. The Aussie sports fans will be right behind him for those staying up just like Ash Barty, Nick Kyrgios & Ajla Tomjlanovic in the past and let’s hope De Minaur can make up a storm v Djokovic.

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