Tennis: Bautista Agut beats Safiullin in Barcelona
he Spaniard, who is chasing his 12th ATP Tour crown this week, will meet seventh seed Karen Khachanov in the second round.
Carlos Alcarez and Alexander Zverev’s quarterfinal match at the 2023 US Open was attended by the former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. While Alcaraz was taking a break, MS Dhoni was seen seated directly behind him. In the video posted by Star Sports Network, Dhoni and two of his buddies could be seen conversing and having fun. The moment the camera noticed him in the audience, it zoomed in on him.
MS Dhoni has previously attended the US Open, so this is not his first time. He travelled with Kapil Dev, Vikas Khanna, and others in 2022. The former Indian captain has won a tennis championship in addition to attending the game as a spectator. MS Dhoni and Sumeet Kumar Bajaj won the doubles competition in the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) Tennis Championship in 2022.
Like us, @msdhoni is a tennis fan too 🥹
Advertisement
Indian cricket sensation Mahendra Singh Dhoni was in the audience for the quarter-final clash between @carlosalcaraz & @AlexZverev 🎾#SonySportsNetwork #USOpen | @usopen pic.twitter.com/STPmLlCdvS
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 7, 2023
Speaking of the Carlos Alcarez vs. Alexander Zverev quarterfinal match, Alcaraz advanced straight into the semifinals on Thursday after defeating the German player Zverev 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The 20-year-old will now compete against Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open winner, in the semifinals. Alcarez also got one step closer to being the first person to win back-to-back championships at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer did so from 2004 to 2008. Alcaraz has amassed a Tour-best 58-6 match record this year after winning six tournaments already.
Zverev had a great first serve night, winning 73 percent of the points he put in play with his first serves, but he only won seven of the 25 points he faced with his second serve.
Early in the second set, the 12th-seeded Zverev reported experiencing discomfort in his left hamstring. He went on to say that this made it difficult to sprint and push off effectively to serve. Zverev, who left the court for a medical timeout prior to the third set and was cited by AP as saying, “I didn’t give up,” added, “but there is very little you can do, in a way, against Carlos then.”
Advertisement
