Vasek Pospisil was feeling run down after dropping back-to-back sets in the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday.
But a timely visit by a physiotherapist early in the fourth set helped turned things around for the 30-year-old Canadian.
Pospisil rallied to beat No. 8 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time in his career.
The Vancouver player, already dealing with an abdominal strain, added a right quadriceps strain to his ailments sometime during Saturday’s match, and called for a medical timeout two games into the fourth set.
WATCH | Vasek Pospisil advances to U.S. Open 4th round for 1st time:
Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil defeated Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-5, 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the first time in his career to advance on Saturday afternoon. 3:32
“At that point I knew there was no room for error so I just said: ‘well, OK if I play a perfect match now, if I win two more sets I can win the match,’ and yeah, it just happened that way,” said Pospisil.
“I played aggressive, I executed extremely well. … I played a pretty flawless two sets there in the fourth and fifth.”
Pospisil said both injuries are manageable, but he’ll monitor them before his next match Monday against No. 21 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia.
Auger-Aliassime sweeps way into 4th round
Later Saturday, No. 15 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal crushed Corentin Moutet of France 6-1, 6-0, 6-4, making him the third Canadian man to advance to the fourth round of the Grand Slam tournament.
Aliassime cruised through the first two sets before Moutet battled in the third.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime pulls off outrageous tweener:
Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal goes up 5-0 in the second set of his third round U.S. Open match with a dazzling tweener and soft finish. 0:28
“It was interesting, because even though you win the first two sets easily, you got to forget about those,” said Aliassime. “You’re up two sets to love. That’s mainly it. Obviously it’s better than being down.
“I was looking at it like, OK, even if he’s playing better, I knew his back is against the wall, he now has nothing to lose. He’s going to try everything.”
Record 3 Canadians into round of 16
Auger-Aliassime and Pospisil joined Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the round of 16. Shapovalov beat American Taylor Fritz in five sets on Friday.
Before this tournament, three Canadian men never had advanced to the third round of the event in the same year. Now, Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime and Pospisil are four wins away from matching fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu’s feat from last year when she captured the women’s title at the event.
No Canadian man has reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, going 0-12 in the round of 16.
Pospisil, ranked No. 94, came into the match 0-3 in his career against Bautista Agut.
Saturday’s win was Pospisil’s second straight upset of the tournament. He beat fellow Canadian and No. 25 seed Milos Raonic in the second round.
Pospisil looked to be heading towards defeat after losing the second and third sets against Bautista Agut, but a late break put the Canadian ahead 5-3 in the fourth before he easily served out the set.
Pospisil earned an early break in the fifth set en route to a 3-1 lead, then broke Bautista Agut once more to go up 5-2.
“(The physiotherapist) really, really helped it big time when he came onto the court,” Pospisil said. “He loosened up (the quad) and strapped it which really seemed to do wonders for it and I really didn’t feel it on my serve after that.”
Pospisil had 19 aces and 70 winners, including on the final point. He converted four of eight break points and saved 12 of 15.
Pospisil avenges Davis Cup defeat
Bautista Agut was part of the Spanish team that defeated Canada in the Davis Cup final last November. Pospisil had been on a tear throughout that tournament, but did not get a chance to play in the championship round. Bautista Agut beat Auger-Aliassime in the first rubber of the final round before Rafael Nadal topped Shapovalov to claim the championship.
Pospisil is 0-2 against de Minaur, with both losses coming in 2018. The Canadian has enjoyed a resurgence in his game, however, after returning from back surgery to repair a herniated disc in January 2019.
“I’m definitely playing better now than I was (in 2018),” Pospisil said.
Auger-Aliassime, 20, dispatched his opponent in under two hours, including a quick 28-minute second set.
Moutet, ranked 77th in the world, was no match for Auger-Aliassime after upsetting No. 23 seed Dan Evans of Great Britain in a suspended match that didn’t finish until Friday.
Auger-Aliassime will next face the winner of a match between No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria and No. 31 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia.
“I can obviously take a lot of positives from my win today,” Aliassime said. “With the way I served, I was only broken once, which didn’t really have a huge impact on the score at the end. I can be happy with that.”
No. 12 seed Shapovalov plays No. 7 seed David Goffin of Belgium in the fourth round Sunday.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
