Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/916935
ITFWORLD WINTER 2017 33 www.itftennis.com Sloane Stephens had returned to competition at Wimbledon after a 10-month break following foot surgery. Nadal and Federer, but the Swiss, whose preparations had been disrupted by a back problem, lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine, who had beaten Federer in the final to win his only Grand Slam title at the 2009 US Open, had reached the last eight by staging an astonishing comeback to beat Dominic Thiem 16 26, 61 76(1) 64. Del Potro took the first set of his semifinal against Nadal before running out of steam, winning only five more games. Murray's withdrawal had left Alexander Zverev, the world No. 4, as the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the draw, but the German fell to Borna Coric in the second round. With Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also suffering early defeats, Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta was the highest-ranked player left in the bottom half by the end of the third round. The world No. 19 became the first man to beat four qualifiers in a single Grand Slam tournament, his victims including the 18-year- old Canadian debutant, Denis Shapovalov, who reached the fourth round by beating Daniil Medvedev, Tsonga and Kyle Edmund. Carreno Busta's best run at a Grand Slam event was ended in the semifinals by Kevin Anderson, who had sunk to No. 80 in the world rankings at the start of the year after a series of physical issues, including a recurrent hip problem. However, the 31-year- old South African's form and fitness picked up during the summer and he cruised through the early rounds at Flushing Meadows. He then beat Sam Querrey in a heavyweight quarterfinal before overpowering Carreno Busta to secure a place in his first Grand Slam final. Anderson was the first South African man to play in a Grand Slam singles final since Kevin Curren at the 1984 Australian Open and, as the world No. 32, was the lowest-ranked men's finalist at the US Open since the rankings were launched in 1973. Sloane Stephen won the battle of two Grand Slam final debutantes when she beat close friend Madison Keys Kevin Anderson was a surprise finalist