Today in
our
Daily Dose of Social Media, we review the most important activities and
entertainment from ATP and WTA players. The image of the day was provided by
world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, who suffered an ankle sprain during his training
session with
Francisco Cerundolo.
As the
final preparations for the start of the US Open main draw take place, Ben
Shelton and
Coco Gauff participated in a fun Q&A where they complimented
each other. Additionally,
Andre Agassi revealed his picks for the tournament,
while
Daria Saville gave fans a glimpse of the food at Flushing Meadows.
New footage
reveals Alcaraz's ankle twist
Carlos
Alcaraz suffered an unfortunate fall during practice this Friday, twisting his
ankle just three days before his debut at the 2024 US Open. The 4-time Grand
Slam champion twisted his right ankle after a bad step while executing a
backhand during a practice session with Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo (No.
29).
The 2022 US
Open champion immediately stopped the session, which was supposed to continue
in front of the public at the Louis Armstrong Court. The Spaniard is set to
play against Li Tu (No. 190) on Tuesday, August 27. You can find the video of
his ankle twist during practice here.
Ben Shelton
and Coco Gauff share laughs in US Open Q&A
In a fun
video shared on the US Open social media channels,
Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff
answered each other’s questions, where both young Americans chose potential
careers for each other if they weren't tennis players, along with aspects of
the other’s game that they admired. The video also featured
Taylor Fritz in a
solo interview.
"If
Coco wasn’t a tennis player, she’d probably be an actress. I don’t know if
you’ve seen her episode on All American, but it was pretty fire. A little
cameo," said Shelton.
"It
was pretty bad," responded Coco. "I feel he would be like, you know,
at the basketball games, they have like a hype DJ, like an MC. Like hyping up
the crowd, I can see that."
They then
asked Shelton if there was any aspect of Gauff’s game he’d like to incorporate
into his own: "I’d take a few things, you know, return of serve, movement,
athleticism, backhand, mentality, I’d take any of those," he said. "I’d
keep my serve, I’d keep my volleys," Shelton added.
Gauff, on
her part, commented: "I would take movement, I would take forehand, and I
would take serve. And volleys!"
Saville
Agassi names
his US Open picks
Andre
Agassi was one of the honored guests during Fan Week leading up to the US Open.
The former world No. 1 participated in the legends matches events and partnered
with Carlos Alcaraz to face John McEnroe and
Novak Djokovic.
In a brief
interview with Tennis Channel, Agassi was asked to share his picks for the US
Open, which starts on Monday, August 26: "I don’t know, I don’t really
pick. I mean, I kind of root. I’m rooting for an American to break through in
their backyard; we have 5 in the top 20. I mean, Tommy Paul’s athleticism, the
way Taylor hits the ball as quick as the courts are playing,” he said.
"Ben
Shelton with the way he’s serving, Sebby (Korda) with the way he’s hitting it.
Tiafoe could come, you know, coming off last year, he could have turned the
corner last week, so I’m kind of hoping to see one of them do something really
special."
Agassi was
also asked if he sees any player who resembles his style of play, and he
acknowledged that tennis has changed a lot and isn’t played the same way.
However, he mentioned the "great ball strikers" like Fritz and Korda
as similar to him.
Saville's food tour video
Daria Saville seems to be following in the footsteps of her
friend Daria Kasatkina in the world of video blogs. The former world No. 20
made several appearances on Kasatkina's YouTube channel and began making her
own videos during the Olympic Games, showcasing the facilities in the Olympic
Village.
Now at the US Open, Saville continues to release videos that
give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the tournaments. One aspect that varies
at each tournament depending on the organization is the food, and Saville
showcased the wide variety of options available to athletes at Flushing
Meadows: “Food options at main dining at the US Open,” wrote Saville in the
video.
In the video, she showed the pasta station, the salad bar,
fruit bowls and sandwiches, meat, taqueria, hot plates, sushi, and more. She
also showed the large dining hall where all the tennis players and their teams
eat.
Del Potro chooses from the Big-3 in a fun interview
Former US
Open champion
Juan Martin Del Potro responded to a fun “Which Would You Choose”
interview about the Big-3. The Argentine has been participating in activities
leading up to the start of the year's final Grand Slam, including his return to
Arthur Ashe, where he paired up with his compatriot and 1990 US Open champion
Gabriela Sabatini.
This time,
“The Tower of Tandil” chose between the members of the Big-3 for different
activities. He was first asked, “Who would you go on vacation with?” and he
chose Novak Djokovic, “because I know him and he’s a lot of fun."
He was then
asked, “Who would you invite to play football?” “Football, Rafa, he plays
football very well.” Next, they asked him who he would choose to cook for him,
and he decided on the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, highlighting his discipline
and meticulousness in making a great dish.
Finally,
Del Potro was asked which result he would change against one of those rivals if
he could. The Argentine chose the 2018 US Open final, where he lost to Novak
Djokovic.