Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 8, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba C2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEW YORK — Aryna Sabalenka was two points away from what eventually would be a second consecutive U.S. Open title when she had what should have been a routine — easy, even — overhead smash. Instead, while backpedal- ing, she dumped the ball into the net, giving her opponent, Amanda Anisimova, a break chance. After that excruciating miss Saturday, Sabalenka dropped her racket on the blue court and smiled a rueful smile. She began to feel the sorts of emotions that got the better of her during losses in the finals at the Australian Open in January and French Open in June bubble up. She tried to compose herself. “I just let the doubt get into my head,” Sabalenka explained. “But then I turned around and I took a deep breath in, and I was like, ‘OK. It happens. It’s in the past. Let’s focus on the next one.’” So everything was fine from there? Well, no. “She broke me,” Sabalenka said with a loud laugh. “I was like, ‘OK. … Reset.’” It took another 15 minutes to complete the job, but the No. 1-seeded Sabalenka did reset, un- like at those earlier title matches in 2025, and was able to kneel on Arthur Ashe Stadium’s court while covering her face with her hands after beating Anisimova 6-3, 7-6 (3). That made Sabalen- ka the first woman to earn the trophy at Flushing Meadows in consecutive years since Serena Williams in 2012-14. “I truly really admire her,” said No. 8 seed Anisimova, a 24-year- old American who heard raucous support from the 24,000 or so spectators. “She puts in a lot of work, and that’s why she’s where she is.” Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, earned her fourth Grand Slam trophy — all on hard courts — and avoided becoming the first woman to lose three major finals in a season since Justine Henin in 2006. Sabalenka was the runner-up to Madison Keys at Melbourne Park and to Coco Gauff at Roland-Gar- ros. Those defeats helped on Satur- day. “After the Australian Open, I thought that the right way would be just to forget it and move on. But then the same thing hap- pened at the French Open,” said Sabalenka, who showed up at her post-match news conference with a bottle of Champagne and a pair of dark goggles atop her head. “So after French Open, I figured that, OK, maybe it’s time for me to sit back and to look at those finals and to maybe learn something, because I didn’t want it to happen again and again and again.” As Anisimova kept making things close again, and the crowd kept getting loud, Sabalenka reminded herself to focus on herself. It worked. When Anisimova trailed Sa- balenka 2-0, 30-love as Saturday’s match began, some fans might have wondered: There’s no way there’s going to be a repeat of the Wimbledon, right? That’s because Anisimova’s first major final, in July at the All England Club, end- ed with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout against Iga Swiatek. But Anisimova grabbed the next four points to break back, capping the game with a back- hand winner and a forehand win- ner. That got folks on their feet, shouting, and Anisimova exhaled as she walked to the sideline. Soon, she led 3-2. That was another moment that could have thrown Sabalenka. Nope. She took the next four games and that set. It began pouring before the match, so Ashe’s roof was shut and its artificial lights were on. That was a problem from Anisi- mova, who said she had a hard time seeing the ball during serve tosses. The setup also created wind- less conditions, ideal for two ball-strikers who really can bring the power with good contact. And that’s what they both did. Some exchanges were breath- taking — to them, certainly, and to those in the stands who gasped at the power during longer points. The rewards can be huge, as can the risks, and Anisimova was seeking the lines with full cuts off both sides. “I think I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today,” said Anisimova, who buried her face in a towel after the match. Of Sabalenka’s first 13 points, just one came via her own winner. The others? Six unforced errors and six forced errors by Anisimova. By the end, Anisimova had nearly twice as many winners as Sabalenka, 22-13, and nearly twice as many unforced errors, too, 29-15. “There was two moments where I was really close to lose control,” Sabalenka said later, “but … I told myself, ‘No, it’s not going to happen. It’s absolutely OK.’” — The Associated Press M ONTREAL — The first time Ken Dryden walked into the Montreal Ca- nadiens’ locker room in 1971, his teammates immediately knew he was different. “We looked at him and we thought he was coming from another planet,” recalled his defenceman Serge Sa- vard in an interview on Saturday. “We didn’t see hockey players coming into the dressing room with books under their arms. After practice, he was going to McGill University.” In fact, Savard remembers that at first, members of the team doubted Dryden, with all his other interests, would have a great future in hockey. But they were happy — and perhaps a bit astounded — to be proved so wrong. Dryden won six Stanley Cups in eight seasons, five Vezina trophies as the league’s top goaltender and backstopped Canada past the Soviet Union in the monumental 1972 Summit Series, quickly becoming a beloved figure in Montreal. “He was the best goaltender of his time,” Savard said. But also much else — an author, a lawyer and a politician who retired from hockey in his early 30s. “He did a lot of things, and every time after doing something, he would look at you and say, ‘What’s next?’ That’s Ken Dryden,” Savard said. Dryden died Friday at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer. Savard, who grew closer to him in recent years at 1972 team reunions, was stunned when Dryden’s wife, Lyn- da, delivered the news Friday. She told him Dryden had lived with cancer for two years and had known for months he couldn’t be cured, but kept it private within his immediate family. Other former Canadiens were equal- ly blindsided. “I had no idea he was even sick,” former defenceman Larry Robinson said. “I’m just … I’m dumbfounded. It’s a sad day, very sad day.” Robinson, who spent years clearing the crease and blocking shots in front of Dryden, called him “a smart person, but great player.” “Not only was he so graceful in the net, he’s a big guy and you think that he took up half the net,” Robinson recalled of the six-foot-four netminder. “He was so good that we just basically took him for granted sometimes. We wouldn’t play that well, and he would keep us in games. “They would say how strong we were, but they forgot that Kenny kept us in the game for three quarters of the game.” For sports writers accustomed to post-game monosyllabic and rote answers from athletes, Dryden was unique, becoming known as a dream and a nightmare for delivering thoughtful — yet long-winded — an- swers. “Ken never spoke in single sentenc- es. He never spoke in phrases. He never gave you a yes or a no answer,” said Dave Stubbs, a hockey historian and columnist at NHL.com. “You knew that what you were going to get from Ken was going to be very profound. “Ken certainly had a very different take on the game of hockey and the game of life than anyone else I’ve ever known in professional sports.” After his playing career, Dryden would go on to work as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs between 1997 and 2003 before embarking on a career in federal politics. “Ken Dryden absolutely transcend- ed the game of hockey,” Stubbs said. “Many professional hockey players, their lives are defined by hockey. Hockey was only a small part of Ken’s life. It was a great springboard into the other things that he did.” Dryden put his thoughts on paper in The Game, widely regarded as one of the greatest sports books of all time, detailing life as a professional hockey player on the 1978-79 Canadiens. “Ken was ahead of his time,” Savard said. “He was talking about climate change 50 years ago.” Goaltending legends of the past and present who followed in Dryden’s footsteps delivered heartfelt tributes on Saturday. Martin Brodeur, a Montreal-born Hall of Famer, said he “always looked up to Ken Dryden.” “He revolutionized the position and rose to the occasion in big moments,” Brodeur wrote in a social media post with a photo of Dryden taken by his father. “Beyond his greatness on the ice, he was a remarkable person, and the hockey community will miss him dearly.” Carey Price — the latest in the Ca- nadiens’ lineage of star goalies, from Jacques Plante to Dryden to Patrick Roy — thanked him for his “service not only as a Canadien, but also as a Canadian.” “With a heavy heart, I extend my deepest condolences to the Dryden family,” Price wrote on social media. “You helped me as a young goaltender and I will always be grateful for your thoughtful words of encouragement.” A bouquet of flowers was placed by Dryden’s plaque outside the Bell Centre. At Percival Molson Stadium, the Montreal Alouettes honoured him with a moment of silence before their CFL game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Dryden was born in Hamilton but grew up in Toronto’s Islington neigh- bourhood. On nearby Sainte-Catherine Street, fans of all ages reflected on his legacy. “He’s one the Canadiens’ great goal- ies,” said Tristan Dubé-Rioux, wearing a Canadiens sweater. “I remember especially his mask. I was sad he died, but I’m happy he played for the Canadiens.” For 46-year-old Brandon Ferguson, the lasting image is Dryden resting his hands on top of his stick — a pose im- mortalized in the “The Goalie” statue outside Montreal’s Raymond-Bourque Arena. “Leaning on the stick going, ‘Yeah, pucks down there, when it crosses the red line, I’ll be interested again,” Ferguson said at McLean’s pub on Peel Street. “A truly good Canadian, a sports icon that was always just a real- ly thoughtful, intelligent individual.” — The Canadian Press SPORTS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2025 “The things … I did well in London,” Sinner said, “he did better today.” Alcaraz took a week off after Wimbledon and then immediately got to work, spending 15 days with Ferrero focusing on one thing and one thing only: beating Sinner. “I studied that match,” Alcaraz said. During his defeat at Wimbledon, Alcaraz was caught by a camera telling his team in Spanish: “From the back of the court, he’s much better than me.” Perhaps that’s why Alcaraz was so aggressive Sunday with his sledgehammer of a forehand. Whenever the small- est opening presented itself, Alcaraz barged through with that shot. Sinner had dropped a total of one service game in his pre- ceding three matches, but Alcaraz broke right away Sunday and five times in all. These guys have combined to collect the past eight Slam trophies — four each — and 10 of 13. Novak Djokovic, the 24-time major champ eliminated by Alcaraz on Friday, took the other three. Both Sinner, who had won his past 27 hard-court matches at majors, and Alcaraz offered glimpses Sunday of why they are so good, although it was rare that both were at a peak simultaneously. An hour and 20 minutes in, it was a set apiece, after Al- caraz ceded one for the first time all tournament. As Sinner worked his way into things, he would celebrate points by pumping a fist toward his guest box, which includ- ed Olympic champion ski racer Lindsey Vonn. Ah, but it was Alcaraz who appeared to have more tick- et-buyers on his side. They regaled him with standing ovations. For one partic- ularly magical volley at a hard-to-believe angle that struck just before the ball hit the court — even Alcaraz himself liked that one, saying “Wow!” and breaking into a wide grin. For one special overhead smash to a corner with the tailing movement of a firefly. And so on. Sinner, needless to say, wasn’t as pleased by those sorts of strokes. He bounced his racket off the ground and caught it after one lost point. He exhaled and shook his head after another. Sinner simply doesn’t see that sort of stuff from anyone else. And these numbers say as much about Alcaraz as they do Sinner: Over the last two seasons, Sinner is 1-7 against Alcaraz — and 109-4 against everyone else. That one win for Sinner over Alcaraz came at Wimbledon. Less than two months later, Alcaraz reversed the result to cap what he called “the best tournament so far that I have ever played.” — The Associated Press ALCARAZ ● FROM C1 THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Dryden rests on his stick in his iconic pose during a 1979 game. RYAN REMIORZ / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Ken Dryden waves to the crowd as his No. 29 is retired during a 2007 ceremony in Montreal. Hockey world remembers Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden DANIEL RAINBIRD Canadiens legend stood tall on and off ice GRAHAM HUGHES / THE CANADIAN PRESS Flowers are shown at a plaque in honour of former Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden outside the Bell Centre in Montreal Sunday. Sabalenka defeats Anisimova to defend U.S. Open crown HOWARD FENDRICH YUKI IWAMURA / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Aryna Sabalenka beat Amanda Anisimova for her second straight U.S. Open women’s singles title Saturday in New York. ;