NEW YORK (AP) — Lyudmyla Kichenok was supposed to get married this week to Jelena Ostapenko's coach.
A run to the U.S. Open women's doubles championship forced a change of plans.
Kichenok and Ostapenko won the title Friday for their first major as a team, beating Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-3.
Kichenok said she and Stas Khmarskiy were engaged more than a year ago. When they arrived for the tournament, they made plans for the wedding to be in New York.
“We were figuring out all the things, where we can do that. And, yeah, he found a spot here and he just booked an appointment for Wednesday,” Kichenok said. “He told me that. I was like, ‘OK, yeah, let’s go.’”
Instead, Kichenok and Ostapenko were playing their semifinal match Wednesday.
“I think it's a good excuse to postpone it a bit,” Ostapenko said during the trophy ceremony.
Kichenok and Ostapenko, the No. 7 seeds, began the season with a loss in the Australian Open final. They were too good in Flushing Meadows, where they didn't drop a set and won $750,000.
It was the fifth title together overall for Ostapenko, a Latvian who won the 2017 French Open in singles, and Kichenok, who dedicated the victory to her home country of Ukraine.
“They are fighting really hard for our freedom right now and I just hope I can give them some encouragement,” Kichenok said, “and my heart is with them.”
Kichenok and Ostapenko raced to a 4-1 lead before Mladenovic and Zhang fought back to tie it at 4-all. Ostapenko and Kichenok regained the lead when Ostapenko finally held serve during a 22-point game that lasted more than 12 minutes, and they won the set in the next game when Zhang double-faulted.
After falling behind 2-0 in the second, Kichenok and Ostapenko surged back as Arthur Ashe Stadium began to fill up with fans waiting for the first men's semifinal between No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 25 Jack Draper.
Mladenovic and Zhang fought off three match points — the last when a video review confirmed that Kichenok had hit the ball twice on an attempted volley — before the champions wrapped it up on their next chance.
Mladenovic has won six Grand Slam doubles titles but fell to 0-3 in the U.S. Open final.
“But I still like the place. It’s OK,” she joked afterward.
Zhang was looking for her second trophy in New York, having teamed with Sam Stosur for the 2021 title. She and Mladenovic shared $375,000.
“For me the biggest motivation is I wanted to put our name on this trophy,” Zhang said. “But we will fight next time.”
As for her wedding, Kichenok only knew that it would now be “somewhere, somehow.”
“No plan yet,” she said. “Maybe Las Vegas or in Europe somewhere.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Lyudmyla KIchenok, of Ukraine, returns a shot to Kristina Mladenovic, of France, and Zhang Shuai, of China, as partner Jelena Ostapenko, of Latvia, looks on during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Kristina Mladenovic, of France, and Zhang Shuai, of China, high five after a point against Jelena Ostapenko, of Latvia, and Lyudmyla KIchenok, of Ukraine, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jelena Ostapenko, of Latvia, right, hugs Lyudmyla KIchenok, of Ukraine, after defeating Kristina Mladenovic, of France, and Zhang Shuai, of China, in the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jelena Ostapenko, of Latvia, left, and Lyudmyla KIchenok, of Ukraine, wave to the crowd after defeating Kristina Mladenovic, of France, and Zhang Shuai, of China, in the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida gas stations struggled to keep up with demand Tuesday as long lines and empty pumps compounded the stress for residents planning to hunker down or flee as Hurricane Milton approached the state's western coast.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a morning news conference that state officials, including the Florida Highway Patrol, were working with fuel companies to continue bringing in gasoline ahead of Milton's expected landfall on Wednesday. Troopers escorted 27 fuel trucks to stations Monday night, DeSantis said.
Patrick De Haan, an analyst for GasBuddy, said “replenishments are happening,” but about 16.5% of Florida stations were out of fuel as of Tuesday afternoon — up from 3.5% a day earlier. More than 43% of the stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area had no gasoline as of late Tuesday morning, according to GasBuddy.
DeSantis outlined replenishment efforts during his morning news conference.
“We have been dispatching fuel over the past 24 hours as gas stations have run out,” DeSantis said. “So we currently have 268,000 gallons of diesel, 110,000 gallons of gasoline. Those numbers are less than what they were 24 hours ago because we’ve put a lot in, but we have an additional 1.2 million gallons of both diesel and gasoline that is currently en route to the state of Florida.”
DeSantis stressed that there wasn't a fuel shortage.
“That’s technically correct. Fuel is flowing, but stations can’t keep caught up,” De Haan said. “But it’s hard to tell somebody that's at a pump with a bag over it that there’s no shortage.”
“You've got to have patience,” Stephanie Grover-Brock, a Tampa resident in line for gasoline in the Riverview area, said Tuesday morning. “It's a little aggravating. You've got to be patient, be determined and just have grace.”
Nearby, motorist Ralph Douglas said some gas stations in Ruskin, where he lives, ran out of gas, but he was able to find fuel elsewhere.
Also in line was Martin Oakes of Apollo Beach.
“I was able to get some gas yesterday, but then they ran out,” Oakes said, waiting in a slow-moving line. “So now I'm trying to get gas here again and, you know, long lines, trickling gas pumps.”
Oakes and Grover-Brock said they were not in evacuation zones and did not plan to leave.
Ned Bowman, spokesperson for the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association, said the situation was typical for a Florida hurricane — with demand peaking and some stations temporarily running dry. He said suppliers are “constantly” moving fuel to stations.
“Have patience,” Bowman said. “It's out there.”
AAA told The Associated Press it would advise Floridians to “take only what you need” and if evacuating, to avoid letting one's gas tank get too low before looking for a place to fill up.
DeSantis said during his news conference there is enough gasoline for those who are evacuating.
“You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” DeSantis said. “You can evacuate tens of miles. You do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.”
McGill reported from New Orleans.
This story corrects that more than 43% of the stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area had no gasoline as of late Tuesday morning, not Wednesday morning.
Motorists wait in line to fill gas tanks Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Riverview, Fla., before Hurricane Milton makes landfall along Florida's gulf coast. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 12:15 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. (NOAA via AP)
A sign on a home lists hurricane names in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in New Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Gas pumps are covered at a station Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Clearwater Beach, Fla., ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Highway signage announces the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton and the evacuations zones on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
