They will be happening again, when in Beijing, the No. 1 Jannik Sinner was darn close to win it, but in the third tiebreaker, the Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz rose up so high. He won it 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3). He was down 0-3, and then he decided to try to put it away, when he had a chance to nail it. He sure did.

“I never lost hope,” said Alcaraz. “Honestly I knew that [when I started it] that every tiebreak Jannik plays is almost to his side. I thought that in the third set, I’m not going to lie, 3-love down, two mini breaks for him. So I didn’t lose hope, but I thought, ‘Okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close.’  I played great points just to make 3-all and after that I just thought to go for it. If I lost it, at least I went for it. So that’s all I thought in that moment.” 

There rivalries is tremendous now, as both of them have won the Grand Slams, and also, in the ATP 1000’s. In 2024, Sinner has won the Australian Open and the US Open, and Alcaraz won Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 

That know each other very well, so on the court, they can go for it, early, or to be patient.  On Wednesday, in the tiebreaker, he pushed himself, and mixed it up, close to the lines. Now it is in the fall, they can play  each other again, but it is hard to know. Or perhaps they can turn it around and show some amazing shots. 

Before that, in the semis this week,  Sinner beat Bu Yunchaokete 6-3 7-6(3), a pretty tough match, but the Italian cracked his forehand and his backhand in the tiebreaker, and he pushed him down. However, Yunchaokete is a coup, beating Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti , and Karen Khachanov, the top 15 players. He is young, and he is also very consistent.

Sinner recently won the 2024 US Open, and he is much more real, set after set. But he still wants to show that he is incredible, with his massive first serve, and his better return. Yet the No. 2 Alcaraz is also playing tremendous, also winning three Grand Slams. He is super smart, in the court. On Tuesday, in the semis, Alcaraz beat the former US Open  Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3 — again. The Russian can play amazing, on the baselines, but he can also back up. Maybe Medvedev is lost, thinking about what he has to do, and recover.

Also in Beijing, there was a lot of the fans who wanted to see with Coco Gauff versus Naomi Osaka. Both of them have some terrific finals, and they can mash the ball, especially with there hard backhand. Yet they split, but then, Gauff won  the second set, 3-6, 6-4. The third set could be wonderful.However,  Osaka retired, as she felt sick. See you later. Ouch, although,  Osaka looked pretty good this week, but she has had a tough year.

 “I wasn’t sure if it was her hip or back, I just knew that towards the end she could barely jump on her serve,” Gauff said, “so I knew that it was something that, in the moment, was probably bad but hopefully it’s something that’s not a long-term thing.”

Gauff needs to win a title during the fall, as she hasn’t won a tournament since January. She really wants, too.

NOTES

That was an odd match, when Paula Badosa beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-0. The American must have been out of it…

In Tokyo, the Frenchman Arthur Fils won it all, beating Ugo Humbert in three long sets, and he was so in to it, and soon enough, next year, he will reach into the top 10. He is already No. 21, so he will move up the change…

The No.7 Zheng Qinwen keeps on chucking, still winning a lot. She just beat Amanda Anisimova in three sets, as she can rally for a while, and then when she gets a chance to smash the ball, she will. She will face against Badosa, which should be a few, wild points.

It is in the fall, with the players generally resting, as they have attended various events for over eight months. Those who win a lot and will go deep, their bodies can get sore, especially in the summer. It has happened for many, many years.

Right now, even if they pull out, they will be thrilled. Not forever, but darn close.

Next week, they will play at the Beijing, China Open, a big event. It is not a Grand Slam, but it is important, as many top players will go.

Last year, Iga Swiatek won Beijing, but the current No. 1 pulled out a couple of days ago. She could be hurt physically, or perhaps she wants to re-set it. At the US Open, she lost against Jessica Pegula.

The pullouts can be staggering. Beyond Swiatek, another four are hurt in China, including Maria Sakkari, Danielle Collins, Bianca Andreescu and Ons Jabeur.

The good news is that the 2024 US champion Aryna Sabalenka will play in Beijing, along with Jessica Pegula, when Sabalenka beat the American in the final two weeks ago. They could face off again. Or maybe Coco Gauff will win it, as she hasn’t won an event since January. She has to improve her up-and-down forehand. 

Right now in the Laver Cup, there are a lot of very good male players in Berlin. Will it survive year after year? It is hard to tell, but at least they are very enthusiastic. Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe are playing from the Americans, with some excellent players like Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Francisco Cerundolo, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and others. Fritz did reach the final at the US Open, and he looked very good, but will he finish in the top 5? A huge challenge. 

They must play the Laver Cup as there is a massive amount of money. Gigantic.

After that, they can fly to the China Open and try to win it with the No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Andrey Rublev. Sinner is way up with the ranking, but he could skid and not end in the year the top dog. He hopes.

In a sense, is that the players who reached the finals at the Grand Slams were satisfied. Or, if they lose, then they can be seriously disappointed?  Both Americans, Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula lost at the 2024 US Open finals when he went down versus Jannik Sinner in three sets,  and she lost against Aryna Sabalenka in two sets. It was somewhat close, but not close enough. 

Perhaps in 2025, the Americans will win a Slam for the first time, but you never know. They are not that young, and for sure, they have improved a lot, but each month, the players globally push themselves, and they improve a lot, such as the Italian Sinner and the Belarussian Sabalenka.

The 23-year-old Sinner has won two Grand Slams, and Sabalenka has won three. That is very impressive, on the top of the baseline, crushing it from their massive forehand and backhand. Right now, they are better players than Fritz and Pegula. 

In the third set, Fritz broke him, and he did have a chance to win the set, but Sinner attacked him again, very deep, and broke him. See ya. He won it 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. Hello.

“I’d say he’s improved a little since I beat him in straight sets at Indian Wells in 2021. The biggest improvement by far is his serve,” Fritz said.

“I played last year in Indian Wells, and he had already improved his serve. I think he was very, very good at that point, and he had just been injured and pulled out of many tournaments when he was already deep into it. He was very close to improving now with confidence and winning, but I think he was very close to the level at that point; he had yet to show all the results. If I want to go to, like, the 2021 Indian Wells, yeah, the serve and the movement, massive improvements. Then it was also much easier to hurt him from the ground. So he’s much faster and a lot better out of the corners. His serve is really good now.”

It took Sinner a while, but as he said, gradually, he grew up on the court. He was much more solid, and also, a few years ago, he would get angry when he couldn’t put the balls in. Yet this year, he calmed down, and he tried again. 

Can Fritz finally win a Slam in 2025?  If he does, the last time the  American men won it at a Slam was in 2003, when Andy Roddick grabbed it.  That was a long time ago. It could be the No. 7 Fritz or someone else. But although he lost at the 2024 US Open, he feels good.

“I think that’s just extremely reassuring to me that I could get to this point, just playing solid tennis. I know there’s still much room for improvement,” Fritz said. “And something I’ve said throughout my entire career, whether it’s when I won my first ATP point or I won my first challenger, or I made my first round of 16 or whatever it is, I’ve always said once I do something once, I just feel a lot more confident in being able to do it again.  That’s something that’s always stuck with me. Sometimes, it’s taken me some time to get to a certain achievement, but I’ve always felt like once I’ve done something, I gain a lot of confidence that I can do it again.  So it is a great feeling to have gotten to this point, knowing that I’m playing well, but I’m playing very within myself, and I feel like it’s repeatable.”

How about the No. 3 Pegula, who is 30 years old?  She played terrific over the past six weeks, winning Toronto, reaching the final in Cincinnati against Sabalenka, and then,  another final at the US Open. However, Sabalenka beat her again. She is a better player. Not that much, but more.

However, Pegula could continue to hit the ball harder and serve better, too. Her second serve is so-so, but she has advanced at the net and to put it away.

“My movement and my serve has gotten a little bit better. So I think certain parts may be a little more consistent than they used to be,” Pegula said. “I’m sure there’s other days where maybe I’ve served better. But as far as a baseline, it’s not as much up and down throughout the weeks and through matches. I would say the same for my movement.  Not quite, but I think with those other things, maybe that’s why it may seem like I’m playing my best tennis.”

She is, but is it good enough? She did stun the No. 1 Iga Swiatek, and she also beat Karolina Muchova in the semis. Those were two terrific wins. Yet in the final at the US Open, Sabalenka hit some amazing winners at the end, mashing the ball. Pegula could beat her during the fall, or next year, or maybe with the other American, Coco Gauff will start to rise again. Maybe not soon, but soon enough.  Pegula is awake.

“I think maybe I handled the moment a little bit better this year, with just having maybe a different perspective of I had a rough start to the year, and I didn’t expect to be doing this well in the hard court swing, and I was able to kind of flip that script,” she said. “So I think when I came here, it was almost less pressure because I was just happy I was in another quarterfinal. My slam record this year was not great. So I think maybe that perspective helped me through that moment, and then I was able to have a great match in the semi, come from behind, and put myself in a chance to win a Grand Slam. I will take a lot of confidence from this.”

 Aryna Sabalenka over Emma Navarro

The rising American Navarro has had a fantastic tournament, and when she gets on the court, she may be calm and locked in. Yet Navarro has never played in the semis at the Grand Slam, and while she has gone deep this year, this is a new day.

However, the Belarus Sabalenka who won the  2024 Aussie Open, should be much more composed. She can crush her forehand and her backhand, and she can attack early and often.  Her serve has improved over the 12 months, and she can jump in the returns.

The former NCAA champion for the University of Virginia, Navarro, can also try to attack and control it. When she sees the ball in the middle, she puts it into the corners, from the left and the right. She is intense and earnest.  Navarro thinks that she can knock her down in the third set when they are playing, but Sabalenka understands what she will do. At Roland Garros, Sabalenka beat her 6-2, 6-3. She will do it again, this time on the hardcourts, to kick her down,  6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Jessica Pegula over Karolina Muchova

Finally, the 30-year-old Pegula reached the semis for the first time.  She has been working for so many years, and in the quarters, she couldn’t do it all four Grand Slams, but on Wednesday, she took down Iga Swiatek 6-2,6-4. That was massive because Swiatek messed up so many errors, and Pegular hit some terrific shots deep, crosscourt, and on the line.

The Czech Muchova has also had a terrific event, shutting them down. She has so much talent with her strokes and reads it daily. Yes, she can become exhausted when she can’t find the lines, but she can be steady if she wants to. Muchova is on the role again; now, her body is 100 percent. She can hit in all directions and also spin it flat, too. She has gone deep in the Slams, so she will be controlled on the court and go up into the net. When she does, she usually puts it away.

Pegula won’t push her around, and she will mix it up heavily. Over the past five weeks, Pegula began to find out where to go and bring it back. She truly knows where she can go and drive. Pegula finally made it into the semis, so now, she can reach the final. That would be almost stunning. Yet first, she has to play spectacularly. Why not? Pegular will win 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Alexander Zverev over  Taylor Fritz

They have played each other nine times, which is a lot, and the German has won it five times, and he lost four titles. Even? I would say, yet. This year, Zverev beat him in Rome, on the clay, and then at Wimbledon, Fritz took him down in five, exhausted, sets. They have been playing a lot time, in the matches, and they first went each other, over eight years ago. So for sure, they know each other well. 

Both can like to rally and try to split with their forehand and backhands, crosscourt, or down the line. They can strike on the return in the second serve. They can also run to the net, bend, and touch it. It is a toss-up, and while Zverev almost won the 2020 US Open, he slipped up in the fifth set in the tiebreaker against Dominic Thiem. Zverev must think he can go away, but he has to prove it. However, he will edge against Fritz and take it in four, extended sets.

Emma Navarro over Paula Badosa

The former NCAA champion Navarro stood up, and in the third set, she nailed it very deep. She beat the 2023 Grand Slam winner, Coco Gauff, and her shivers went away. She can nail the ball with both sides, and while she still has more work to do this year, she has been much more consistent.

Badosa has also been much more consistent, and she also likes to rally. Yes, there are times when she doesn’t hit it deep, yet she can also go for it with her strong backhand. 

These have played together once, and Badosa took it in Rome in three difficult sets. The Spaniard can hustle and change it up, but this time, Navarro will out-hit her on the hardcourts, and she can drive it, forehand versus forehand. The American might be super nervous, but this time, early in the day, she will breathe and win it in three feral sets.

Qinwen Zheng over Aryna Sabalenka

Somehow, Zheng won it on Sunday/Monday, at beyond 2 am, which was a record. But still, her forehand, her backhand and her first serve are so flat, hard, and gigantic. Yes, the Chinese player can go off, but in reality, after she hits a bad shot, she can still walk over and start again. She did win the Olympics a month ago, so she is flying high. 

However, to beat the 2024 Aussie champion Sabalenka will be very difficult. Belarus is finally playing terrifically, as last month, her body was so-so, so she wasn’t playing wonderfully. But now, she is locked in, and the No. 2 won Cincinnati a few weeks ago. She is one of her biggest hitters, out there. Both of these two will go for it early, and try to put it away. To win the match, they have to use their first serves and crush it when she returns. Zheng is still pretty young, but she is moving up words. Zheng will win it, in two tiebreakers. 

Frances Tiafoe over Grigor Dimitrov

The Bulgarian Dimitrov can look great, and then he can look slow on the court. Yes, when he is on, he can do almost everything, but the reason why he has not won a Slam was because his one-handed backhand is phenomenal, but it can also be too short. 

The American Tiafoe can also look terrific, but the same thing because, in 2024, he lost a lot all over the place. Now he is playing much better, but how he got there again is hard to tell. 

Dimitrov beat Tiafoe three times and only once. He is older and has more experience, yet Tiafoe loves playing in front of the crowds in New York, and he will try to be super consistent. There will be some tremendous rallies, side to side, and very deep at night. Tiafoe will seize it in five sets.