Alcaraz drops his statement as Sabalenka explodes at press conference | Tennis | sports

Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz Both are through US Open The third round after convincing victories in the second round – but each of them is making headlines for what they said in their press conferences rather than for their performances on the field. The two-time women’s singles champion needed just 53 minutes to beat debutant Polina Iatsenko 6-1, 6-1 on Arthur Ashe Stadium, while last year’s men’s singles champion had to come from a set down before prevailing 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 over Jaime Faria.

elsewhere, Wimbledon Runner-up Karolina Muchova won Katie Poulter In 58 minutes, the British number one won just one match and admitted afterwards: “It was a bad day at the office.” Jacob Fearnley Toby Samuel also lost their second round matches, ending British interest in a men’s draw, with Arthur Ferry, Cameron NorrieHarry Wendelken and Jan Cwinski are already out; However, qualifiers Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones will still play against Marie Bouzkova and Iva Jovic, respectively, on Thursday.

Alcaraz criticizes the schedule

Defending champion Alcaraz said his four-month hiatus from tennis due to a wrist injury will not be the last long break he takes from the court. ATP Tour. The world number three announced his plans to miss future tournaments because their schedule is too tight, after claiming it was impossible to play them all.

Speaking in his press conference on Wednesday about the forced absence, he said: “I took more than I wanted, but given how tight the calendar is, it is clear that I do not want to have this break due to injury, but in the future, I will take some long breaks. Maybe not four months, but one month, two months, and miss some tournaments, because it is impossible to play them all.”

“They’re adding more important tournaments; in a way, they’re making us play. You can say no and decide your calendar, but there are some Masters 1000s, some Grand Slams, and we’ll be playing 40 weeks if we have to play every mandatory tournament the ATP asks us to play, so it’s impossible.”

“We see a lot of players getting injured and tired. If they don’t do something about it, we’ll see more in the future. Taking that break due to injury, it wasn’t good, but I’ll take some breaks and miss some tournaments in the future, for sure.”

Spiky Sabalenka

Sabalenka took umbrage with a New York Times journalist who asked her about having to attend so many events before the start of the US Open. In response to a question about her mood now that the tournament is starting, compared to last week when there was “a lot of parties and fun and things like that,” she began shaking her head in exasperation before cutting off the question.

“You guys are such a joke. Parties, fun, why would you say that? Why would you even think that? Like, what kind of question is that? Just because I posted some activity with brands, and you think I was partying, not working out?” “I’m not suggesting you were partying,” the reporter said, explaining himself. “I’m saying there are a lot of events and things like that. I’m not saying you go to parties.”

“I literally said that,” Spalica responded, to which the journalist replied, “Excuse me?” Before she sighed and asked, “Next question.” Continuing to clarify, Futterman said: “For anyone who’s unclear, I’m not suggesting that Ariana is having fun at these parties. I’m saying that she shows up a lot and there’s a lot to do, and there’s a lot going on, okay?”

Sabalenka agreed and said: “Go on.” They asked, “Now that the tournaments have started, do you find that you have become serious and a fighter?” This did not receive the same attention, as Sabalenka said sarcastically: “Oh, yes, I was not serious before that. Next question.” When another journalist began to ask another question, she returned to the journalist and said, pointing towards him with her right hand: “Think before you say anything.”

And Djokovic continues to conquer

Mariano Navone has reached the third round of a Grand Slam on hard courts for the first time after following up his first-round win on Novak Djokovic By beating Matteo Berrettini 3-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(4). He also matched his career-best performance, which came last year French Openwhere he beat Brandon Nakashima and Reilly Opelka before losing to eighth seed and eventual semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti.

Navone will now play his colleague ArgentinianThomas Martin Echeverry, who beat lucky loser Fernley, in a third-round match between the singles players ranked second and fifth. Francisco Cerundolo is No. 1, but Navone enters this tournament behind his younger brother, Juan Manuel, as well as Thiago Tirante, both of whom were eliminated in the first round.

Etcheverry and Navone have never played each other on the ATP Tour. Their last match was at the 2022 Uruguay Open, a Challenge Tour event. Their only other match was three years ago at the M15 tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour in their country’s capital, Buenos Aires. Etcheverry won in straight sets, despite being played on clay, as opposed to hard courts New York.