Nadal retires injured, del Potro to face Djokovic in the U.S. Open final
New York : World No. 1 Rafael Nadal retired injured from his semi-final match against No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro. Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Novak Djokovic reached his eighth U.S Open final, defeating Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday.
Djokovic and del Potro will face each other in the finals on Sunday.
Nadal, the defending U.S Open champion, was trailing 7-6, 6-2 when a knee problem forced him to stop after almost two hours of playing time.
“It was difficult for me to keep playing. I was in too much pain,” he said. Nadal, who was bidding to win his 18th Grand Slam title, faced similar issues during his third-round match against Russia’s Karen Khachanov. This is the second time he has retired in a Grand Slam this year.
del Potro will return to a Grand Slam final nine years after his first, when he defeated Roger Federer at the U.S Open in 2009. He will play Novak Djokovic, who beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the other semi-final.
Djokovic is bidding to win his third U.S Open title and 14th overall Grand Slam title. He avenged his most recent last-four loss in New York — in 2014 vs. Nishikori, the only prior time they had met in Flushing Meadows.
“I came out of the blocks with great intensity and focus,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic missed last year’s tournament owing to an elbow injury. Should he win on Sunday, he will equal Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles. Only Roger Federer (20) and Rafael Nadal (17) will have more titles than him.
courtesy : thehindu.com
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Brazil's Ancelotti raises doubts about whether Neymar will reach the 2026 World Cup
Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.
“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.
Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”
The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.
On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.
Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.
“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.
Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.
“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”
Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
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