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World number one Novak Djokovic faced the final of the ATP and WTA Western & Southern Open on Friday despite a neck problem, while Japan’s Naomi Osaka got rid of stress to advance as well.
Djokovic was treated twice by a coach for neck problems, but recovered to defeat eighth seed Spanish Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) in the COVID-19 quarantine bubble of New York where the US Open begins. Monday.
The 33-year-old Serbian improved to 22-0 this year despite allowing three breaks in the third set of the three-hour marathon.
He will face Milos Raonic in Saturday’s final after the Canadian, 0-10 all-time to Djokovic, knocked out fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Fourth-seeded Osaka won a semi-final match she once vowed not to play, saving 18 of 21 break points to beat Belgian Elise Mertens 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) and reach the final. of Saturday.
There she will play two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, who beat eighth British seed Johanna Konta 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Osaka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, initially withdrew from her semifinal in protest of the Jacob Blake police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
But when the ATP and WTA followed suit and postponed all the semifinals to Friday, he changed his mind and played.
“I just wanted to raise awareness in the tennis bubble,” he said. “I think I did my job.”
The US Open set-up is generally played in Cincinnati, but was moved in the wake of the deadly virus outbreak.
Djokovic, winner of five of the last seven Grand Slam events, including the Australian Open, had the coach work on his neck with 2-1 up in the second set, then broke and held a 4-2 lead.
Bautista Agut hit a forehand volley-winner with a Djokovic drop shot to break it in the seventh game.
Djokovic received further treatment, rested while the roof was closed to prevent rain at Louis Armstrong Stadium, then broke Bautista Agut to force a third set when the Spaniard sent a long backhand.
Djokovic sent a long forehand to fall behind 2-1, but it was broken in the fourth and again in the sixth with a brilliant backhand winner en route to a 5-2 lead.
Serving for the match in the ninth game, Djokovic broke in love when Bautista Agut fought back. The Spaniard broke again in the eleventh game when Djokovic scored a forehand, but returned the break in the twelfth game with a long forehand to force a tiebreaker that Djokovic swept, helped by his 13 and 14 aces of the match.
“That was a strange match. I don’t know how I won. He was the best player, ”said the number one in the world.
Reluctant leader Osaka
Osaka, of Haitian and Japanese descent, said she was “sick to her stomach” and “exhausted” by repeated violence against blacks by US police, echoing a move by the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks to boycott a game. playoffs for the same reason.
“Honestly, I didn’t even think it would be a big deal,” Osaka said on Friday.
“I always thought it would be nice if someone started tennis. I’m more of a follower. I was waiting and waiting and then I realized that I was going to have to take the first step. “
Osaka, 22, said her big personal gains from the move were “confidence and really being more aware of the impact my voice could have.”
But he was concerned about how other players would react.
“I don’t want to be blamed for a day’s break because their schedule is messed up,” he said.
“I was scared, but they were very nice.”
Mertens supported Osaka and was unfazed by the intermittent state of the party.
“I totally understand her reason 100%, so I totally support her as well,” Mertens said.
Osaka, champion of the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open, broke with a 2-0 lead and again in the eighth game to take the first set in 38 minutes.
It broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set before Mertens advanced the next four games. Osaka bounced back in the seventh game and, after struggling in the tiebreaker, won when Mertens hit an open backhand.
Raonic praised Osaka’s move, saying: “It is a human right not to have that fear. I hope there is a change in the future and that we as athletes can be a small part of that. “
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