Stan Wawrinka never got to defend his 2016 U.S. Open title, forced to miss last year's tournament because of a knee injury that dropped him far down the rankings.
The U.S. Tennis Association made sure he has a spot this year.
Wawrinka and former women's No. 1 Victoria Azarenka received wild cards Tuesday for the year's final Grand Slam tournament. So did Svetlana Kuznetsova, another U.S. Open champion.
Wawrinka's ranking has fallen from No. 3 to No. 151 after he needed two left knee surgeries that have limited him to just 21 matches on tour this season. The three-time Grand Slam champion reached the round of 16 last week at the Rogers Cup in Toronto before falling to top-ranked Rafael Nadal, and beat 12th-seeded Diego Schwartzman in the first round of the Western & Southern Open on Monday.
Azarenka has twice won the Australian Open and was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2012 and 2013, but she didn't play in Flushing Meadows last year because of a custody dispute with her son's father. She is ranked No. 87, one spot ahead of Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open champion who won the title recently in Washington.
The July 16 rankings were used to determine direct entries into the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 27.
The USTA provided additional spots through wild cards, including to rising American teenagers Amanda Anisimova and Claire Liu. Anisimova, 16, was the 2017 U.S. Open girls' singles champion. Liu, 18, was the 2017 Wimbledon girls' singles champion and reached the second round in the main draw in London this year.
Also receiving wild cards on the women's side were USTA Girls' 18s national champion Whitney Osuigwe, U.S. Open wild-card challenge winner Asia Muhammad and Harmony Tan of France. An additional spot will go to an Australian woman.
American men Noah Rubin, Tim Smyczek and Michael Mmoh received entries into the main draw, along with USTA Boys' 18s national champion Jenson Brooksby, U.S. Open wild-card challenge winner Bradley Klahn, Corentin Moutet of France and Jason Kubler of Australia.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Blowing late leads has become a hallmark of Manchester United's season.
Erik ten Hag hopes that changes when Liverpool comes to Old Trafford on Sunday. United is still clinging to hopes of a Champions League spot, despite a stunning 4-3 loss to Chelsea on Thursday night.
United first gave away the lead in the 10th minute of stoppage time at Stamford Bridge and then the game a minute later — both goals coming from Cole Palmer.
That followed a blown lead in a 1-1 draw at Brentford last Saturday. United had just recovered from celebrating Mason Mount's goal in the 96th when Kristoffer Ajer tied it three minutes later.
“We can beat the best teams in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said. “When you beat them in the Premier League, you can do it across Europe, but we need to learn how you win games ... how you bring games over the line and get the three points. We have to step up."
Dropping five points in the past two games is “very expensive,” he added.
“Games are running out. We know that and we have to catch up and we are now many points behind,” Ten Hag said. “It will be difficult. We will keep fighting.”
With eight games remaining, United is nine points behind fifth-place Tottenham and 11 points back of fourth-place Aston Villa. Because of a format change to the Champions League next season, the Premier League might get a fifth spot in Europe's elite club competition.
Blowing leads is not a new problem.
United exited the Champions League at the group stage — in last place. They gave away second-half leads in three of those games: a 3-2 home loss to Galatasaray; a 4-3 defeat at Copenhagen; and a 3-3 draw at Galatasaray.
The good news? United has actually closed out a big win recently — over Liverpool 4-3 after extra time in a thrilling FA Cup quarterfinal match. Marcus Rashford tied it at 3-3 before Amad Diallo's winner at Old Trafford.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp pointed to uncharacteristic errors that they'll need to avoid this time.
“We were really good that day but didn’t finish the situations off in extra time,” Klopp said. “We made mistakes we didn’t make before at all. We better play a really good football game to be honest, if we want something there.”
First-place Liverpool holds a two-point lead over Arsenal heading into the weekend.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Manchester United's head coach Erik ten Hag gives instructions from the side line during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Manchester United players react after referee award a penalty to Chelsea during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in London, Thursday, April 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
