US Open: Despite deadline drama, Soares, Makarova clinch title

Soares and Makarova admitted that they only entered the tournament with 30 seconds to spare.

NEW YORK:

Brazil’s Bruno Soares and Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova captured the US Open mixed doubles title on Thursday, but admitted they only entered the tournament with 30 seconds to spare.

They beat Czech Kveta Peschke and Poland’s Marcin Matkowski 6-7, 6-1, 12-10 before revealing the deadline drama, which was sparked by Soares needing to find a new partner after first choice Jarmila Gajdosova was ruled out.

“A couple of minutes before the sign in, I started looking for Katia, because with her I would be in,” said the Brazilian. “Five minutes to go, I’m in the referee’s office and I find out Katia is practicing in the park. So I had to run, actually my coach did that. He went running all the way over there and talked to her and called me like with 30 seconds to go and said, ‘You can sign.’ So very last minute, 11:59, I signed us in. I guess it worked out.”

Soares became the first South American player to capture the title after runner-up efforts last year by Argentina’s Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank and by Argentina’s Mercedes Paz and Pablo Albano in 1997. Peschke settled for a runner-up spot for the second time in three years, having lost in the 2010 final alongside Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi.

Pretenders take aim at last king standing Djokovic

Defending champion Novak Djokovic tackles Spanish bulldozer David Ferrer for a US Open final spot today determined to preserve the Grand Slam stranglehold of himself, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The world’s top three have confidently parcelled out 29 of the last 30 majors between them but, for the first time in more than eight years, a Grand Slam has reached the last-four stage without either Federer or Nadal still involved.

Federer, the 17-time Grand Slam title winner, was knocked out in the quarter-finals while Nadal, the holder of 11 majors, never even made it to New York, forced to rest his increasingly troublesome knees at home in Spain. That leaves 25-year-old Djokovic, battling to win a sixth major, as the sole survivor of the golden generation at Flushing Meadows.

The Serb has certainly looked the part, reaching a sixth successive US Open semi-final - and 10th in a row at all Grand Slams - without dropping a set. If he gets through, either Andy Murray, four-times a runner-up at the majors, or Tomas Berdych, Federer’s conqueror and a major finalist just once, will be waiting in the tomorrow’s championship match.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2012.