Zheng 0-1 Anisimova* (indicates server): The American takes the first set after some very strong serves. From the first game it is clear that this will be an interesting matchup with the two players having such different strengths.

The US Open has begun. We start with two matches; the first is about Louis Armstrong, when Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen takes on Amanda Anisimova, whose best result at a Grand Slam was the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2022. On court 16, German-born Briton Jan Choinski takes on Roberto Carballés Baena. He has qualified for the main draw for the first time in his career.

Jack Draper has been put on the defensive after receiving widespread criticism for his controversial point during his fourth-round win over Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Cincinnati Open.

Draper, another one Hoping to impress, the Brit attempted to cap off an excellent performance against Auger-Aliassime with a serve and volley, but instead of hitting a forehand half volley, Draper inadvertently grounded the ball, which bounced and dribbled over the net. The umpire, Greg Allensworth, missed the double bounce and a frustrated Auger-Aliassime patiently explained why Draper should have lost the point.

The Brit offered to review the point if they could watch the video footage, but he maintained he was unsure what had happened and was eventually declared the winner.

I’ve always valued myself for being honest and a good person. Forget tennis – that’s one of the most important things in my life. So to see that, and for the first time to see people talking negatively about you – and questioning your integrity and stuff like that – it’s obviously hard to see.

I don’t blame people for doing that. Of course, if you watch it in slow motion, from the sidelines, it’s very clear that it’s an illegal shot. There’s no doubt about it. But when you’re in the thick of it and you’re serving wide and the player hits a 95 mph ball at your feet, you just put your racket down and I didn’t know what was happening. I looked straight at the umpire. I think I tapped it because I thought it was going into the bottom of the net, and it hit the net and went over. It was just a split second of madness.

Emma Raducanu’s familiar face is in New York and is “inspired” to be back where she won her first and only Grand Slam.

Tennis in 2021 was perhaps the sporting highlight of the 2020s for Britain as Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam with her victory at the US Open.

The British No. 2 has spoken this summer about finding the joy in tennis again, which had been difficult for so long. The results she has enjoyed over the past four months have confirmed those sentiments. Raducanu has reached the quarter-finals or better in four of her last six tour events, enjoyed a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon and played a defining role in Britain’s victory over France on clay in the Billie Jean King Cup.

I feel so proud when I come here. Walking past my picture every day. Walking past my name on the trophy every day. I think that’s such an epic achievement and these two weeks I’ve accomplished it. I come back with such a different perspective. Just joy and pride and it inspires me to want to do more.

Although Sinner has said that he did not receive preferential treatment, many disagree. Novak Djokovic can “understand” that. The Serb has called for a change in anti-doping rules following the recent case against Sinner.

We see a lack of standardized and clear protocols. I can understand the feelings of many players who wonder if they are being treated the same. Hopefully the governing bodies of our sport can learn from this case and come up with a better approach for the future. Collectively, something needs to change, and I think that is clear.

Many players – without naming any (because I’m sure you already know who) have had similar or very similar cases, where they didn’t have the same outcome. And now the question is whether it’s a question of money, whether a player can afford to pay a significant amount of money for a law firm that would then represent their case more efficiently. I don’t know. Is that the case or not? That’s something that I really think we need to collectively explore further.

Carlos Alcaraz reacted cautiously when asked about his rival’s positive test:

In the end, they found him innocent and he’s in the tournament. I don’t think there’s much more to discuss and I certainly don’t have much to say. It’s something that’s talked about (in the locker room).

As mentioned, Sinmaker is the word on everyone’s lips. The Italian has had an explosive year: in January he won his first Grand Slam in Melbourne and at Roland Garros he became number one in the world.

The Italian was in the media for the first time since the results were announced in New York last week. While the moderator tried to block questions on the subject after only one was asked, Sinner seemed prepared to respond to all questions at length and was fully engaged with his questioners.

I’ve been thinking about this for months, but I just (reminded) myself that I didn’t do anything wrong. I always respect these rules, and I will always respect these rules of anti-doping. Just a relief for myself to have this result.

Every player who tests positive has to go through the same process. There is no shortcut, there is no other treatment, it is all the same process.

Sinner starts his US Open campaign against American Mackenzie McDonald, who is ranked 119th in the world.

Preamble