New York Views
US Open photos that grabbed me
NEW YORK — Tennis is having a moment again. More than a million fans came through the gates over the three weeks of the US Open this year, beginning with qualifying week. That attendance figure was a record, and it felt like it, particularly if you were there about half an hour before the start of a night session.
It was a tournament full of plot twists and some major upsets, none bigger than Botic van de Zandschulp beating Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. The reigning champions - Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic - also went out early. But in the end, the new champions were no surprise as Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, the same hardcourt masters who won the Australian Open in January, swept to victory without being pushed to the brink.
In my book, it will go down as a good US Open but not a true grand cru. Perhaps that’s because it’s been a grinding, overbooked Olympic season, and it certainly did not hurt Sabalenka’s and Sinner’s chances in New York that they both missed the Paris Games.
Here are some of the images that caught my eye at the US Open from some of the best in their business:
Feeling the heat. By Al Bello of Getty Images.