TOKYO:

Taylor Fritz said Friday he expects Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to continue dominating Grand Slams but he “can’t count on them not being there” if he wants to win one.

World number one Alcaraz and number two Sinner have contested every Grand Slam final this year, with American Fritz the last player to break up the duopoly.

Fritz, now the world number five, reached last year’s US Open final, where he lost to Italy’s Sinner.

Fritz, who beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) at the Japan Open on Saturday, said he could not afford to be afraid of meeting the top two if he wants to win his first Grand Slam title.

“I can’t count on making it happen on maybe the one-off Slam where they have a random loss or something like that,” Fritz said.

“I need to be able to play at a level where, on a day at a Grand Slam, I can be able to beat one of them and make it happen that way.

“I can’t count on them not being there — I feel like they’re always going to be there,” he added.

Fritz reached last year’s US Open final by capitalising on the huge hole left by the shock early exits of Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

He saw off 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals after defeating eighth seed and 2022 finalist Casper Ruud in the last 16.

“I beat who I was supposed to beat to make it to the final, and it’s becoming more apparent that that’s probably not going to happen that often,” said Fritz.

“So if you want to do it, you’re going to have to go through one of those guys.”

Fritz beat Alcaraz at the Laver Cup last week and he could face the Spaniard again in the final in Tokyo this week.

Alcaraz started his campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez on Thursday but the Spaniard hurt his ankle early in the match.

Fritz, the tournament’s number two seed, struggled at times against world number 51 Borges but booked his place in the quarter-finals against American Sebastian Korda.

“I put myself in trouble by going down breaks when I wouldn’t do that normally,” said Fritz.

“But I did a good job to fight back and get back in the sets when I was down.”

The Indian team has run into trouble ahead of its high-stakes clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final tomorrow.

According to media reports, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has expressed concerns over the fitness of all-rounder Hardik Pandya and batsman Abhishek Sharma just before the crucial encounter.

The reports indicated that during Friday’s thrilling Super Four stage match against Sri Lanka, both Hardik Pandya and Abhishek Sharma suffered hamstring injuries.

Hardik Pandya reportedly sustained the injury after bowling the first over and left the field.

He remained off the field for the rest of the innings.

On the other hand, Abhishek Sharma was seen holding his right thigh during the 9th over.

He then walked off the field in the 10th over due to a hamstring issue and did not return during the second half of Sri Lanka’s innings.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, bowling coach Morne Morkel expressed concern over the fitness of both players, stating that their injuries would be assessed.

He added that Abhishek Sharma is likely to play in the final against Pakistan on September 28, while a final decision on Hardik Pandya will be made on Saturday, September 27.

PHOENIX — Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve blasted the officials after Minnesota’s 84-76 loss to the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of their series Friday, saying it was “malpractice” to have them work a WNBA playoff semifinal game.

Reeve was ejected in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter after Mercury guard Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and sealed the win with a layup.

Collier was on the floor in pain after her left leg made contact with Thomas on the play, resulting in Collier coming down hard on the side of her ankle. No foul was called. Collier hobbled to the bench, and Reeve said afterward that the ankle injury was “probably a fracture,” though she did not elaborate.

The Lynx did not have an update on Collier’s status for Game 4.

“If this is what the league wants, OK, but I want to call for a change of leadership at the league level when it comes to officiating,” Reeve said after the Lynx fell behind 2-1 in the series. “The officiating crew that we had tonight, for the leadership to deem those three people semifinal-playoff worthy, it’s f—ing malpractice.”

After Thomas scored, Reeve had to be restrained as she ran onto the court to berate one of the officials. As the ref walked away, Reeve followed him and received her second technical of the game, leading to an ejection.

Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman and two assistant coaches tried to hold back Reeve. Associate head coach Eric Thibault also got a technical for yelling at the refs.

Reeve was eventually escorted off the court but not before shouting at some fans at PHX Arena.

Collier, who sat out the final 21 seconds, finished with 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

The game featured 15 lead changes, and neither team led by more than eight points. But the Lynx were limited to just nine points in the fourth quarter, and the Mercury took control.

Phoenix stars Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper combined for 65 of the Mercury’s 84 points. The trio scored the Mercury’s last 29 points, including all 21 in the fourth.

In her postgame remarks, Reeve was incredulous after Collier did not attempt a free throw Friday.

“We were trying to play through it, trying not to make excuses. But one of the best players in the league, she had zero free throws and she had five fouls,” Reeve said. “She had her shoulder pulled out and finished the game with her leg being taken out.”

Reeve added: “I can take an L with the best of them. I don’t think we should have to play through what we did.”

Then, before walking out of the news conference without taking questions from reporters, Reeve said, “They’re f—ing awful.”

Reeve is the latest coach to speak out against the officiating this postseason. After Game 2 between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever, Aces coach Becky Hammon said that the physicality in these playoffs would not be allowed in other leagues.

When Reeve was asked about the officiating before Game 3 in Phoenix, she said the limited number of fouls being called in the Lynx-Mercury series wasn’t a positive. In Game 1 of the series, the teams combined for only 10 free throws, the fewest in a playoff game in league history.

Reeve said she didn’t want a “foul fest,” but said anything that limited freedom of movement or was an obvious infringement needed to be called.

“We’ve talked about how dangerous it can be,” Reeve said before Game 3. “And you’re hearing it from the other series. You’re hearing from other coaches. You’re hearing Becky talk about it. When you let the physicality happen, people get hurt.”

The Lynx have one day before their must-win Game 4 on Sunday.