By: Jillian Wright
It was a rough first day at the 2015 US Open for the Australian players. Five players were in action today, but only the 55th ranked Sam Groth advanced to the second round. John Milman, Matthew Ebden, Daria Gavrilova and Casey Dellaqua all fell short.
Sam Groth vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Big hitting Aussie Sam Groth advanced in the first round of the 2015 U.S. Open (4-6, 6-1, 7-5) over Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) who was forced to retire after dropping the third set.
With the win Groth advances to the second round where he will meet Tommy Robredo (26th seed) who beat Michael Berrer (6-2, 6-2, 6-4) earlier in the day. Last year, Groth defeated Albert Ramos-Viñolas in the first round but lost to Roger Federer in straight sets in the second round (4-6, 4-6, 4-6).
The 27 year-old Groth dominated the second set with a withering serve and volley game reminiscent of Pat Rafter and Pete Sampras. The Court Six crowd was treated to a close up view of Groth’s explosive first serves and nasty second serve kickers. His 65% success rate on first serves kept Dologpolov on the defensive throughout the second set. Dologpolov struggled to retaliate and his anemic 47% first serve stat did not help. Groth recorded 15 aces in the match.
Dolgopolov recovered from the 6-1 second set beat-down and jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the third. Dologpolov looked smooth and relaxed while Groth seemed tight and a bit bewildered. In the third game Groth sprayed forehands and backhands while Dologpolov cruised to an easy win at love.
Groth continued to play erratically through the sixth game which Dologpolov won easily again at love. Down 5-2 and serving in the eighth game Groth started to recapture his mojo. Back-to-back aces saw Groth move to 40-15. Dologpolov fought back to deuce but Groth fed Dologpolov two nasty second serves which he returned long.
Serving at 5-3 with the set on his racket Dologpolov had several opportunities but could not close out Groth. After multiple deuces and several well-played rallies Dologpolov faltered. He hit a backhand deep over the baseline and followed that with a forehand into the net. Finally Groth broke serve with a huge forehand after another long rally and closed to 5-4. Dologpolov continued to tighten up but still had plenty of chances as Groth’s first serve deserted him. Dologpolov lost control of his groundstrokes and could not capitalize on Groth’s second serves. Groth won the last three games to win the third set 7-5.
Groth was very aggressive throughout the match attacking the net on his service and also on return of serve. This can be very effective on the fast U.S. Open surface. But if Groth is going to challenge Tommy Robredo and advance to the third round he will need much more consistency from his first serve.
John Millman vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky
The Brisbane native, 72nd ranked John Millman, lost to Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, who is ranked 60th, in four sets (6-1, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4). Millman hit only one winner in the match and failed to convert any of the five break point opportunities in the third set. Stakhovsky served well, with 16 aces and a high winning percentage on both his first and second serves.
Matthew Ebden vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Matthew Ebden, who came through Qualifications, had a difficult draw facing the 17th seed, Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian looked in good form and showed no lingering effects of the loss to Andy Murray in the Round of 16 in Cincinnati ten days ago when he blew a 5-2 lead in the final set.
Dimitrov won 78% of his 1st serve points and 76% of his 2nd serve points and gave Ebden only two break point opportunities. Dimitrov converted six out of nine break point chances. Dimitrov played aggressively on both wings and caused Ebden to have 46 forced errors and 28 unforced errors in the match. Ebden did have some success at the net but when he tried to match power with power, Dimitrov won that battle. Next up for Dimitrov is Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan who beat Yen-Hsun Lu in straight sets.
Daria Garvilova vs. Daria Kasakina
There were high expectations for Daria Gavrilova at the US Open. Her draw changed dramatically when the 3rd seed, Maria Sharapova, withdrew due to a right leg injury. Gavrilova could be in contention for the WTA Most Improved Player this year. She reached the Round of 16 in Miami, beating Sharapova in straight sets in the second round. Gavrilova made it to the Semi-Finals in Rome with a win over Ana Ivanovic, who was ranked 7th at the time. In Toronto, she upset the French Open finalist Lucie Safarova in the second round. Gavrilova started the year ranked 233 – her current ranking is 38.
However, Gavrilova failed to take advantage of the situation. In addition to Sharapova withdrawing from the tournament, four seeds in her quarter of the draw were eliminated in the first round: Ivanovic, Suarez-Navarro, Jankovic and Kuznetsova. The Lucky Loser, Daria Kasatkina of Russia, who is ranked 133, bested Gavrilova. The match went three sets (6-2, 4-6, 7-5). Gavrilova settled down after a shaky first set. The feisty Aussie won the second set and played a close third set. She was very unhappy with a line call late in the third set that gave Kasatkina a break to go up 6-5. They played the match on Court 11, which does not have Hawk-Eye, so the call could not be reviewed. Kasastkina held her next service game to win the match. She plays the 17-year-old Ana Konjuh from Croatia in the next round.
Casey Dellacqua vs. Anett Kontaveit
Casey Dellacqua looked a bit rusty in her first round match against the Qualifier Anett Kontaveit losing in straight sets (7-5, 6-2). She went down 0-2 quickly in the first set but then picked her game up. Dellacqua broke back in the tenth game to make it 5 all, but lost the next two games to lose the set. She had trouble holding her serve in the second set and lost it in just 27 minutes. The 19 year old from Estonia faces the 31st seed, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.
Day 2 Preview
The Aussies will be hoping for better results on Day 2 at the US Open. The prime-time match that everybody will be talking about is Andy Murray vs. Nick Kyrgios. A difficult first round draw for the talented Kyrgios. The number 3 seed is in top form and has beaten Kyrgios in each of their previous three meetings. In addition, Kyrgios is dealing with the backlash from is extremely inappropriate remarks during his match with Stan Wawrinka in Montreal on August 13th.
The fan favorite, Lleyton Hewitt (who received a wild card), will be in action facing Alex Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan. This will be Hewitt’s final appearance at the US Open; he will be retiring after the 2016 Australian Open.
The highest ranked Australian man, Bernard Tomic seeded 24th, will play Damir Dzumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thanasi Kokkinakis will face the 12 seed from France, Richard Gasquet. The 95th ranked James Duckworth will square off against Hyeon Chung of Korea. The leftie John-Patrick Smith will play the veteran Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.
Sam Stosur will be seeking revenge against the Hungarian Timea Babos, who ousted Sam in the first round in Cincinnati two weeks ago. Jarmila Gajdosova , with a ranking of 76, Will play the 26th seed Italian, Flavia Pennetta. Ajla Tomljanovic, ranked 63, will play another Italian, Karin Knapp who is ranked 34.
