New York: Because he's a player who has spent more time watching Roger Federer on TV than trying to beat him, it's safe to say Rhyne Williams will not win the US Open this year. But to say the 21-year-old's trip to Flushing Meadows has been less than a rousing success " well, that wouldn't be quite right, either. While Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and all those other big...
05:48 PM, Aug 25, 2012
New York: India's young tennis star Yuki Bhambri ousted eighth seed Horacio Zeballos with a three-set win to advance to the second round of the US Open men's singles qualifying event, here. Yuki pipped his Argentine opponent, who is ranked 86 places above him at 109, 4-6 6-3 7-6 (5) in the first round of the hard court Grand Slam tournament. Yuki will next take on Belgium's Maxime Authom, ranked...
01:35 PM, Aug 22, 2012
Moscow: Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova will miss the upcoming US Open to recover from injury. Kuznetsova, Estonia's world No. 15 Kaia Kanepi and Italy's 18th-ranked Flavia Pennetta were added to the US Open's list of withdrawn players on Monday, although organisers did not specify why any of the three had withdrawn. "I've pulled out of the US Open," Kuznetsova said on Twitter on Tuesday. "One of my very...
06:12 PM, Aug 21, 2012
Manacor: Rafa Nadal said he needs to make a full recovery from a nagging knee problem before returning to competition and hinted that his participation in next month's Davis Cup tie against the United States was also in doubt. The Spanish world number three has not played since crashing out of Wimbledon in a shock second-round defeat by lowly ranked Czech Lukas Rosol in June. He missed the Olympic Games...
09:06 PM, Aug 17, 2012
New York: Former US Open quarter-finalist Melanie Oudin has received a wild card into this year's tournament. The US Tennis Association announced on Wednesday the eight women awarded wild cards. The 20-year-old Oudin was the darling of the 2009 Open with her surprise run to the quarter-finals. But the American has struggled to maintain that form since and wasn't ranked high enough for automatic entry this year. Other Americans receiving...
10:18 AM, Aug 16, 2012
New York: Rafael Nadal withdrew from the US Open on Wednesday, sidelined by the knee tendinitis that has kept him out of action since his stunning loss at Wimbledon in late June. The third-ranked Spaniard reached the final at Flushing Meadows each of the past two years, winning the title in 2010 to complete a career Grand Slam, then losing to champion Novak Djokovic in 2011. "I am very sad...
09:25 PM, Aug 15, 2012
Mason: It has been an ongoing debate in the tennis world - does the current 'golden era' for the game feature a 'Big Three' or a 'Big Four' including Andy Murray? Some have argued that there is simply a 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, given that Murray has yet to win a grand slam tournament. Others have hedged their bets, suggesting a 'Big Three Plus...
11:14 AM, Aug 15, 2012
Mason: Australian Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 champion, has been given a wildcard spot in this year's US Open at Flushing Meadows along with American James Blake, the United States Tennis Association announced on Tuesday. Hewitt beat Wimbledon quarter-finalist Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-4 at the Cincinnati Open on Monday, making a good switch to the hard court surface after some decent form on grass. The 31-year-old pushed Novak Djokovic to three...
09:23 AM, Aug 15, 2012
Cromwell: A struggling Arjun Atwal shot a birdie in the flawless six holes that he managed to complete in the weather-hit second round and remained in the hunt to make the weekend cut at the Travelers Championship here. Atwal, who has disappointed this season with a series of missed cuts, is now even through 24 holes and has 12 more to play in the second round. He is currently on...
02:11 PM, Jun 23, 2012
Den Bosch, Netherlands: Kim Clijsters withdrew from the Unicef Open before the semi-finals on Friday because of a stomach muscle strain, saying she did not want to jeopardise playing in her last Wimbledon before retirement. Clijsters' physiotherapist, Sam Versleghers, said the 29-year-old Belgian felt the injury on Thursday during her tough two-set quarterfinal against Francesca Schiavone. The announcement came just hours before Clijsters was due to play Urszula Radwanska, who...
10:50 AM, Jun 23, 2012
San Francisco: Webb Simpson, who stormed to the US Open title on Sunday, has admitted he never had winning the prestigious golf title on his mind. "To be honest, I never really wrapped my mind around winning," said Simpson, who finished at 1-over 281 to outlast former US Open champions Jim Furyk, Michael Thompson and Graeme McDowell. "I wanted to just come out and continue to improve my game, continue...
01:57 PM, Jun 19, 2012
San Francisco: Webb Simpson won the US Open and put two more names into the graveyard of champions. Overlooked for so much of the week, Simpson emerged on a fog-filled Sunday at The Olympic Club with four birdies around the turn and a tough chip out of a hole to the right of the 18th green that he converted into par for a 2-under 68. He finished at 1-over 281,...
08:44 AM, Jun 18, 2012
San Francisco: Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk won the battle of par on Saturday at the US Open. Tiger Woods lost a lot more than that. McDowell showed the kind of fight that won him a US Open two years ago down the coast at Pebble Beach. He scratched out pars and finished with a 4-foot birdie putt that gave him a 2-under 68 and a share of the lead...
09:38 AM, Jun 17, 2012
San Francisco:There were no fist pumps for Tiger Woods, just a deep breath and a slow exhale. Jim Furyk walked most of the 7,170 yards at Olympic Club with his head down. David Toms couldn't think of a single shot he hit without his full attention Friday. They were not the survivors of the US Open. They were the leaders. And it's no coincidence that all of them have been...
10:48 AM, Jun 16, 2012
San Francisco: The lead at the US Open belonged to Michael Thompson. The buzz came from Tiger Woods. And the struggles came from the top three players in the world. Even as Thompson strung together four birdies on the back nine at Olympic Club that carried him to a 4-under 66, Woods put on a clinic on the other side of the course on Thursday morning on how to handle...
08:37 AM, Jun 15, 2012
San Francisco: With former world number one Tiger Woods seemingly back to his best, and defending champion Rory McIlroy not far off, this week's U.S. Open at the Olympic Club has whetted the appetite of fans and players alike. A host of other in-form players can lay claim to being genuine contenders for the year's second major, though an unpredictable winner is also likely given Olympic's uncanny habit of delivering...
01:45 PM, Jun 13, 2012
San Francisco: Paul Casey has withdrawn from the US Open, paving the way for a 14-year-old from China to become what officials believe to be the youngest player in championship history. Andy Zhang lost in a playoff at a sectional qualifier in Florida. He was the second alternate when the week began at Olympic Club. Brandt Snedeker also withdrew Monday. Casey pulled out because of a recurring shoulder injury. Zhang...
05:59 PM, Jun 12, 2012
Memphis: Indian golfer Arjun Atwal failed to get a berth into the US Open as he missed out on one of the nine cards available at the qualifiers in Germantown Country Club in Memphis. The US Open will be held at the Olympic Club from June 14 to 17. In the rain-hit qualifiers, Atwal shot 69 in the first two rounds played on the same day. Atwal, needing a birdie...
04:31 PM, Jun 06, 2012
London: British Open champion Darren Clarke has pulled out of next month's US Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco because of a troublesome groin injury. "I am extremely disappointed that I will be unable to play in the US Open. But I have to make sure I am 100 percent ready for the British Open at Royal Lytham in July and to do that I've been advised not...
12:31 PM, May 29, 2012
Washington: Former world number one Kim Clijsters has confirmed that she will bring down the curtain on her second career at the end of this year's US Open, Belgian news agency Belga has reported. The 28-year-old came out of retirement in 2009 after more than two years out of the sport, winning three more grand slam titles to take her career tally to four. Injury, which has hampered the Belgian...
09:48 AM, May 23, 2012
