Rafael Nadal wins men’s US Open title over Kevin Anderson
September 11, 2017 by admin
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NEW YORK — Rafael Nadal against Kevin Anderson in the U.S. Open final shaped up as quite a mismatch — and that’s exactly what it was.
With his game at a high level at the end of an unusually easy path through a Grand Slam field, Nadal overwhelmed first-time major finalist Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to win his third championship at Flushing Meadows.
US Open tournament schedule, scores and coverage
Get the 2017 US Open tennis tournament’s dates, TV schedule, news coverage, live scores and results on ESPN.
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It is the No. 1-ranked Nadal’s second Grand Slam title of the year and 16th overall. Among men, only Roger Federer has more, with 19. Each of those two longtime rivals won two of the four majors in 2017, marking a return of both to the heights of their sport.
Not only did an injury-hampered Nadal not win a Grand Slam tournament in 2015 or 2016 — his first such shutouts since 2004, when he was still a teenager — but he didn’t even make it to a final in that span. It seems safe to say that, at age 31, he is once again the Nadal of old.
“Personally, it’s just unbelievable what happened this year,” Nadal said, “after a couple of years with some troubles, injuries, some moments playing not good.”
At No. 32, Anderson was the lowest-ranked U.S. Open men’s finalist since the ATP computer rankings began in 1973. The 31-year-old South African never had been past the quarterfinals at any major tournament in 33 previous appearances, so when he won his semifinal on Friday, he climbed into the stands to celebrate.
There would be no such joy for him on this day. Nadal simply dominated every facet of the two-and-a-half-hour final.
“I know we’re the same age, but I feel like I’ve been watching you my whole life,” said Anderson, who is less than a month older than Nadal. “You really have been an idol of mine. And it’s tough playing you. You proved it again tonight.”
Nadal added to his U.S. Open triumphs in 2010 and 2013 and improved to 16-7 in Grand Slam finals. For the first time since 2013, he appeared in three in a single season, losing to Federer at the Australian Open in January and beating Stan Wawrinka for his record 10th French Open trophy in June.
Nadal’s career haul also includes two trophies from Wimbledon and one from the Australian Open. All of his big victories have come while being coached by his uncle, Toni, who is now stepping aside. The U.S. Open was the last Grand Slam event of their partnership.
Not since Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2000 had a man won a Slam tournament without facing any opponents ranked in the top 20.
In New York this time, the bracket was weakened by the injury withdrawals of three of the top five men: past champions Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Wawrinka.
Plus, Nadal did not need to deal with Federer: The potential for a semifinal, which would have been their first U.S. Open meeting, was dashed when Juan Martin del Potro eliminated Federer in the quarterfinals. Nadal then beat del Potro, the 2009 champion who is now ranked 28th, in the semis.
Much like Nadal’s 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 win against Wawrinka at Roland Garros, the beauty of this match was not in its competitiveness — not by a long shot — but in an appreciation for one participant’s absolute superiority. Forehands whipped up the line. Two-handed backhands ripped cross-court with ferocity. Spinning, back-to-the-net returns of serves darted in at him at more than 130 mph and helped him break Anderson four times.
He even came up with some terrific volleys, winning the point on all 16 of his trips to the net. Anderson, meanwhile, finished 16-for-34 in that category. Another difference-maker: Nadal never faced a break point, though that was more a reflection of his talent once the ball was in play than any particularly dominant serving.
With Nadal standing way back to receive serves, nearly backing into the line judges, he neutralized Anderson’s most effective skill. Anderson came in having won 103 of 108 service games across six matches, but Nadal accumulated break points at will from the get-go — two in a six-deuce game at 1-all, another two in a five-deuce game at 2-all.
Anderson began trying to end points quickly with a volley. There were two problems with that. First, Anderson is not usually a serve-and-volleyer and so is no expert at that tactic. Second, Nadal is superb at summoning passing shots at extreme speeds and angles, especially when facing the sort of target provided by the 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Anderson, the tallest Grand Slam finalist in history.
It was only a matter of time before Nadal capitalized on a chance. Anderson let him do just that at 3-all, 30-all, double-faulting to offer up Nadal’s fifth break point of the match then badly pushing a cross-court forehand wide.
That made the score only 4-3, but the statistics were telling: Anderson had 21 unforced errors, and Nadal just four. A pattern had been established. When Nadal broke to lead 4-2 in the second set, that was pretty much it.
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WATCH: Browns use pre-recorded video messages from players before anthem
September 11, 2017 by admin
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In the moments preceding the Week 2 preseason game between the Giants and Browns, a dozen Cleveland players took a knee during the national anthem to protest social injustice. The group included tight end Seth DeValve, thought to be the first white player to kneel during the anthem. In response, the Cleveland police union announced that it wouldn’t hold the American flag during the Browns’ first regular season game.
But on Friday, the Associated Press reported that the Browns’ plan for Sunday’s regular-season opener would include players and coaches standing for the national anthem alongside police, firefighters, and military personnel. But before that, the Browns showed a pre-produced segment on the FirstEnergy Stadium video boards in which players expressed concerns about racial equality in America.
The video included messages from Browns players Joe Thomas, DeShone Kizer, Jamie Collins, Christian Kirksey, and coach Hue Jackson.
This also happened before kickoff:
The players also asked owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife Dee to join them on the field during the anthem, reports Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio who adds that “The video flows directly from the message given to players by Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown” after the Giants preseason game. “He suggested that they come up with an alternative, constructive approach to communicate their concerns regarding racial equality. And so they did.”
Brown reportedly told the team during that meeting, “do not disrespect your country, do not disrespect the flag.”
After the players protested before the Giants game, team leader Christian Kirksey told reporters, “We did it out of respect. No disrespect for anyone, we just felt like it was the right time and the need to do it.”
Rookie Jabrill Peppers added: “There’s a lot of racial and social injustices in the world that are going on right now. We just decided to take a knee and pray for the people who have been affected and just pray for the world in general.”
And DeValve, a 2016 fourth-round pick out of Princeton who is married to an African-American woman, said recent events in Charlottesville, Va., that left one woman dead and 19 injured, factored into his decision to join his teammates in protest.
“I myself will be raising children that don’t look like me, and I want to do my part as well to do everything I can to raise them in a better environment than we have right now,” DeValve explained last month. “So I wanted to take the opportunity with my teammates during the anthem to pray for our country and also to draw attention to the fact that we have work to do.”