News Day FR

Rafael Nadal is finally nearing the end of his incredible career (Photo: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz “hopes” Rafael Nadal does not retire in November, despite rumors he will play his final event in the Davis Cup final.

Nadal, 38, is finally nearing the end of his incredible career and has spoken about plans to hang up his racket several times this year.

While the other stars of the Big Four, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, have already retired, Novak Djokovic will only leave when Nadal decides to lower the curtain.

The latest rumor is that Nadal will play his final professional event in Malaga in just two months – but Alcaraz is desperate for his fellow Spaniard to continue.

“I hope it won’t be the last time for him,” said Wimbledon champion Alcaraz when asked about Nadal’s possible retirement from the Davis Cup.

“It’s always great to have Rafa around. I miss him. I’m not going to lie, I missed him at the Laver Cup.

“Obviously, as much time as I get to spend with him, it’s a privilege for me. I don’t want to think this is a potential last dance for him in Malaga.

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz team up for the Paris Olympics (Photo: Getty)

“I just want to think that I will try to live or enjoy his time, enjoy seeing him on the field as much as possible.

“Obviously it’s a big support to have him on the team. He can bring a lot of experience to the Davis Cup.

More trends

Read more stories

“For me, it will be my first Davis Cup final. This is going to be a great experience for me.

“Having the chance to spend more time off the pitch, on the pitch too, with him, it’s going to be great for the Spanish team and I think for the country as well, that we play in Spain.”

Alcaraz and Nadal teamed up for the Paris Olympics this summer, but the duo failed to secure a doubles medal for their country.

The Spaniards lost in the quarterfinals against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

MORE: Roger Federer will ‘consider’ turning around in retirement to face Rafael Nadal, says agent

MORE: ‘They’re going to kill us’ – Carlos Alcaraz sends stark warning to tennis bosses

MORE: Carlos Alcaraz to miss Davis Cup tie as Spain face Australia

Rafa Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s Laver Cup because he could not play at his best as he works to regain full fitness, the Spaniard said on Thursday.

Nadal last played at the Paris Olympics, where he lost in the second round to Novak Djokovic, before skipping the US Open due to fitness issues.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner said he was targeting a return at the Laver Cup in Berlin, which will be held from September 20-22. “I am very disappointed to announce that I will not be able to participate in the Laver Cup in Berlin next week”Nadal said in a statement.

It’s a team competition and to support the European team I have to do what’s best for them and at that moment other players can help the team to win.

“I have many memories from the Laver Cup and was really looking forward to reuniting with my teammates and Bjorn for his final year as captain. I wish the European team the best of luck and will be cheering them on from afar.”.

Nadal last competed in the Laver Cup in 2022, when he teamed up with rival Roger Federer for the Swiss’ final match. A former world number one, Nadal is no longer in the top 150 of the rankings after battling injuries for two years.

NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Fritz rode a six-game run against a frustrated and flagging Frances Tiafoe to prevail 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in an all-American series at the U.S. Open on Friday night and reach her first Grand Slam final.

The No. 12 seed Fritz’s momentum-shifting victory over No. 20 Tiafoe — a pair of 26-year-olds who are close friends and have known each other since they played in under-14 tournaments — earned a showdown with No. 1 Jannik Pecher for the championship on Sunday.

Fritz will be the first American to reach a major final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. And if he can get past Sinner, Fritz would become the first American to win a Grand Slam trophy since Roddick did it 21 years ago at the U.S. Open.

“That’s why I do what I do,” Fritz said, his voice breaking. “That’s why I work so hard.”

On Friday, after leading 4-4 ​​in the fourth set, he took control of the match as Tiafoe’s strokes and usual confidence failed him. After a double fault that gave him a break to lead 4-0 in the fifth set, more than three hours into the game, Tiafoe threw down his racket. Fritz returned the favor with a double fault to end the next game, but he immediately broke and it was over.

Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian cleared in a doping case less than three weeks ago, cruised to a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 25 Jack Draper earlier Friday that saw both competitors treated simultaneously by trainers during the hour-and-a-half second set.

“It was a very physical match, as you can see,” said Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January. “I just tried to stay mentally on top.”

He had his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice during a game where the temperature hovered around 21C and the humidity was over 60%. During this break in the action, a vacuum cleaner was used to clean the floor behind the baseline and finish the clean-up job that Draper, a 22-year-old Briton, tried to do himself by wiping up his, er, mess with a towel.

There was no such drama outside of the Tiafoe vs Fritz match, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd could have been forgiven for not knowing who to root for in the first semi-final in New York between two Americans for 19 years.

There was a round of applause just before the first point, a curtain-raiser worthy of the spectacle that was about to unfold. Yet when Fritz broke to take a 3-0 lead, there was not even a roar, only polite applause.

The guest boxes seemed to reflect the contrasting personalities of the players. The excitable Tiafoe would mark a key moment by pumping his fist, clenching his teeth, swinging his racket or nodding his head as he strutted toward the sidelines, and his entourage — including coach David Witt, who worked with Venus Williams for many years, as well as Jessica Pegula, the American who defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the U.S. Open women’s final on Saturday — stood and applauded, point after point after point.

The group in Fritz’s softer corner was more selective in its celebrations.

For Tiafoe, who grew up in Maryland, it was his second time in a major semifinal. He lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at this stage in New York two years ago. Fritz, a Californian, had never advanced past the quarterfinals in one of his sport’s four most prestigious events until now, but his run to Friday included victories over a trio of guys who have combined to be finalists at six Grand Slams: Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.

Fritz started well Friday, hitting 135 mph, before Tiafoe recovered and won five straight games. Soon, that set was Tiafoe’s. In the next one, Fritz — who entered the match with a 6-1 lead in head-to-head play — was nearly perfect, winning 24 of 25 service points and playing 8 of 8 at the net. Tiafoe recovered quickly again, breaking early in the third set, which proved to be enough for that set, as he never gave Fritz a chance for a break. Tiafoe let the final game of the fourth set slip away, double-faulting twice and sinking a drop shot, part of an 11-point run for Fritz that helped give him a big lead in the fifth set.

There is no doubt which runner-up will receive the most support on Sunday.

Last month, rumors swirled that Pécheur failed two drug tests eight days apart in March but was cleared because he said traces of anabolic steroids — an ingredient in an over-the-counter cut treatment sold in Italy — inadvertently entered his system via a message from a team member he has since fired. The whole episode has been a constant topic of conversation as he has progressed through the US Open draw.

The longer the points went on between Sinner and Draper – who are friends and played doubles together at an event in August – the more things went in the Italian’s favour as the match stretched to more than three hours.

He’s as pure a ball-striker as you can get in the men’s game right now, and while Draper’s left-handed power and good hands – whether following his serves at the net or simply finding other moments to hit volleys, he won 22 of 34 points when he was advancing – have made some progress, Sinner has gotten better and better as the rallies have gone on.

Sinner won the point on 50 of 80 that lasted nine or more shots.

“Jannik plays at a very high level,” Draper said, “all the time.”

___

Tennis AP :

Day 15 in Jungle CampThe celebrities are using up their last reserves of energy. Little sleep, meager food and the fear of the next exam. Added to that are painful memories around the campfire when reality star Georgina Fleur (37) opens up about her relationship with her violent ex Kubilay “Kubi” Özdemir.

She had a turbulent on-off relationship with the businessman for years. They have a little daughter together, whom Georgina is raising alone in Dubai. In the camp, TV emigrant Danni Büchner (46) asks: “Where did you actually pick him up?”

Georgina Fleur and Kubilay Özdemir: It seemed like a fairy tale at first, but the love facade quickly crumbled

Photo: Star Press/Kay Kirchwitz

According to Georgina, she was set up by her own sister. But her first impression of Kubi was more bad than good. “He came in sweatpants and a dirty T-shirt,” she remembers. Her first thought: “Disaster!”

Nevertheless, there was a coffee or, in Kubilay’s case, three bottles of champagne. Georgina about the date: “We laughed ourselves to death. We got on well.” The result: a holiday together in Sardinia – the beginning of their relationship.

The illusion of a perfect world was soon over. Just a few months later, the sparks flew between the lovebirds. When asked by Kader Loth (51) why she didn’t leave Kubilay after the first argument, Georgina answers: “Because I’m stupid! I was in such a spiral. I loved him and couldn’t get out of it.”

Georgina Fleur (l.) tells fellow camper Danni Büchner (right hammock) and Kader Loth (right above) about her terrible relationship with Kubilay Özdemir

Photo: RTL

In 2020, the couple took part in the RTL show “Das Sommerhaus der Stars”. Kubi also had no control over himself on TV. After a spitting attack on ex-Bachelor André Mangold (37), he and Georgina were kicked out of the show.

A year later, Georgina Flower pregnant. But instead of happiness, things escalated shortly after the birth. Enough for the 37-year-old. “When he told me this crass black eye with broken nose hit me in front of the baby in my apartment, I said: that’s enough! Thanks to my daughter, I found the strength to leave him.”

Kubilay Özdemir admitted the horror act exclusively to BILD on TV! Georgina’s black eye cannot be overlooked

Photo: BILD Live

Kader Loth says on the jungle phone what everyone is probably thinking: “For me, a man who hits a woman is not a man.” Danni Büchner knows from her own experience: “It is hell when you are treated like that, beaten like that.”

Now Kubilay Özdemir also speaks

Kubilay has now been a sober alcoholic for two years. “I want to have contact with the child as soon as possible – sooner rather than later,” he explains in an RTL interview.

“I apologize for everything. May I be forgiven,” says Kubi, and he assures: “I have worked on myself.” But he does not want to sit down with Georgina. Kubi: “This is self-protection for the good of the child.”

It remains to be seen whether Kubi and Georgina can come to an agreement. At the moment, the fronts are (still) hardened.