US Open Day 2 Preview: Five Must-See Matches - UBITENNIS
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Grand Slam

US Open Day 2 Preview: Five Must-See Matches

Kim Clijsters, Andy Murray and both of the Williams sisters begin their campaigns today.

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Serena Williams at Media Day (usopen.org).

Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters will play her first Grand Slam match in eight years.

That same year at this event, Andy Murray won his first Major.  Today he will vie for his first win at a Slam since the 2018 US Open.  Also on Tuesday, both Williams sisters will be in action, with Venus having a tough draw in a top 20 seed.  And the two men who have come closest to ending The Big 3’s reign at the Majors, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, will begin their 2020 US Open campaigns.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (21) vs. Kim Clijsters (WC)

Kim’s retirement came here in 2012 at the hands of Laura Robson, at an event she was champion of three times.  Her return began earlier this year, with respectable losses to Garbine Muguruza and Johanna Konta.  She then played and impressed last month in World Team Tennis.  Kim had to pull out of the Western & Southern Open last week with an abdominal injury, but reportedly should be good to go today.  Her opponent is far from an easy draw.  25-year-old Alexandrova was one of the hottest players on tour before the pandemic shutdown.  She was the champion in Shenzhen, and a semifinalist in St. Petersburg.  However, Ekaterina has a losing record in her career at the Slams.  Based on how well Kim was hitting the ball in World Team Tennis, I give the slight edge to the four-time Major singles champion.

Karolina Muchova (20) vs. Venus Williams

Venus is playing in her 22nd US Open singles draw.  In her 21 previous appearances, she has never lost in the first round.  But with only two wins since last year’s event, she’s unseeded and thus faces a top 30 player in her opening round.  Muchova was a quarterfinalist at last year’s Wimbledon, and claimed a hard court title last September in Seoul.  Karolina possesses a lot of variety in her game, and may prove to be a frustrating opponent for a rusty Venus.  With a lack of recent wins, and the lack of a partisan crowd cheering her own, Venus will need to call upon the fighting spirit she’s so often displayed over her long career to avoid an opening round loss.

Roberto Bautista Agut (8) vs Tennys Sandgren

Bautista Agut was a semifinalist last week, and was just a few points away from handing Novak Djokovic his first loss of the year.  The 32-year-old veteran continues to improve his level of play, and is the rare Spaniard that excels on hard courts.  Likewise, Sandgren has found success on this surface, having reached the Australian Open quarterfinals two of the last three years.  He infamously failed to convert seven match points against Roger Federer this past January in Melbourne.  This first round encounter could be grueling, between two players who are prone to long best-of-five matches.  Bautista Agut is the favorite to advance, in a tough section of the draw where red-hot Milos Raonic may be waiting in the third round.

Karen Khachanov (11) vs. Jannik Sinner

This is one of the most appetizing first round matchups, featuring two big, up-and-coming ball-strikers.  24-year-old Khachanov had a breakout 2018 season, highlighted by his Masters 1,000 title victory in Bercy.  19-year-old Sinner was the champion at last November’s ATP Next Gen Finals, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final.  Their first career meeting today will likely be the first of many to come.  The experience of Khachanov should be enough to advance here, as Sinner only has one career match win at a Major.  But early in his career, Jannik has already shown off some flashy play mixed with grit, and is capable of the upset to start the day out on Court 8.

Grigor Dimitrov (14) vs. Tommy Paul

This is a rematch from the last Major, when the American claimed this biggest victory of his career.  On that day, Paul let a two-set lead slip away, but managed to persevere and win in a fifth set tiebreak.  That was on the heels of an impressive fall on the Challenger circuit, where Tommy accumulated 17 match wins from September to November.  Dimitrov was a semifinalist here a year ago, but is just 8-6 this season.  And Grigor battled COVID-19 earlier this summer, derailing his training for a significant amount of time.  Dimitrov received some unfair blame for the spread of the virus amidst the mess that was the Adria Tour.  In a match that feels like it could go either way, Dimitrov’s eagerness to avenge his previous loss, and to show that he’s fully recovered from the virus, may be the deciding factors.

Other Notable Matches on Day 2:

23-time Major champion Serena Williams (3) vs. Kristie Ahn, who made a surprise run to the fourth round here a year ago. 

2012 champion Andy Murray vs. Yoshihito Nishioka, who has not played a match since February.

Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin (2) vs. Yanina Wickmayer, who reached the US Open semifinals back in 2009.

Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem (2) vs. Jaume Munar, a 23-year-old from Spain ranked outside the top 100.  Thiem lost in the first round of the US Open a year ago, as well as his opening match last week.

Last year’s finalist, who became the villain of the fortnight, Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Federico Delbonis, a 29-year-old veteran who has only won four hard court matches at Majors in his career.

Order of play (All times local, -5 hours from BST)

Arthur Ashe Stadium

From 12:00pm:
Andy Murray (Gbr) v Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn)
Kristie Ahn (USA) v (3) Serena Williams (USA)

Not before 19:00pm
(20) Karolina Muchova (Cze) v Venus Williams (USA)
Federico Delbonis (Arg) v (3) Daniil Medvedev (Rus)

Louis Armstrong Stadium

From 11:00pm:
Nao Hibino (Jpn) v (10) Garbine Muguruza (Spa)
Jaume Munar (Spa) v (2) Dominic Thiem (Aut)
Yanina Wickmayer (Bel) v (2) Sofia Kenin (USA)
(7) Madison Keys (USA) v Timea Babos (Hun)
(14) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) v Tommy Paul (USA)

Court 4

11:00:
MacKenzie McDonald (USA) v (30) Casper Ruud (Nor)
Lauren Davis (USA) v Alize Cornet (Fra)
Corentin Moutet (Fra) v Jiri Vesely (Cze)
Salvatore Caruso (Ita) v James Duckworth (Aus)
(15) Maria Sakkari (Gre) v Stefanie Voegele (Swi)

Court 5

11:00: (16) Elise Mertens (Bel) v Laura Siegemund (Ger)
Heather Watson (Gbr) v (9) Johanna Konta (Gbr)
Thiago Seyboth Wild (Bra) v (23) Daniel Evans (Gbr)
Victoria Azarenka (Blr) v Barbara Haas (Aut)
Frances Tiafoe (USA) v Andreas Seppi (Ita)

Court 6

11:00:
Andrey Kuznetsov (Rus) v Sam Querrey (USA)
Claire Liu (USA) v Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spa)
Feliciano Lopez (Spa) v Roberto Carballes Baena (Spa)
Ivo Karlovic (Cro) v Richard Gasquet (Fra)
(18) Donna Vekic (Cro) v Kristyna Pliskova (Cze)

Court 7

11:00:
Sorana Cirstea (Rom) v Christina McHale (USA)
(31) Marin Cilic (Cro) v Denis Kudla (USA)
Katerina Siniakova (Cze) v Kaia Kanepi (Est)
(5) Aryna Sabalenka (Blr) v Oceane Dodin (Fra)
John Millman (Aus) v (22) Nikoloz Basilashvili (Geo)

Court 8

11:00:
Jannik Sinner (Ita) v (11) Karen Khachanov (Rus)
Vera Zvonareva (Rus) v Leylah Annie Fernandez (Can)
Christopher O’Connell (Aus) v Laslo Djere (Ser)
Viktoria Kuzmova (Svk) v Catherine McNally (USA)
Sachia Vickery (USA) v Taylor Townsend (USA)

Court 9

11:00:
Margarita Gasparyan (Rus) v Monica Puig (Pur)
Norbert Gombos (Svk) v Radu Albot (Mol)
Anna Kalinskaya (Rus) v Nina Stojanovic (Ser)
Marcel Granollers (Spa) v Kamil Majchrzak (Pol)
Bernarda Pera (USA) v Zarina Diyas (Kaz)

Court 11

11:00:
Ysaline Bonaventure (Bel) v (25) Shuai Zhang (Chn)
Jeremy Chardy (Fra) v (10) Andrey Rublev (Rus)
(8) Roberto Bautista Agut (Spa) v Tennys Sandgren (USA)
(21) Alex De Minaur (Aus) v Andrej Martin (Svk)
Kim Clijsters (Bel) v (21) Ekaterina Alexandrova (Rus)

Court 12

11:00:
Sumit Nagal (Ind) v Bradley Klahn (USA)
Taro Daniel (Jpn) v Gregoire Barrere (Fra)
(27) Ons Jabeur (Tun) v Katarzyna Kawa (Pol)
Iga Swiatek (Pol) v (29) Veronika Kudermetova (Rus)
Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) v Ugo Humbert (Fra)

Court 14

11:00:
Emil Ruusuvuori (Fin) v Aljaz Bedene (Slo)
Vasek Pospisil (Can) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger)
Jil Belen Teichmann (Swi) v Aliona Bolsova (Spa)
Gianluca Mager (Ita) v Miomir Kecmanovic (Ser)
Vitalia Diatchenko (Rus) v Olga Govortsova (Blr)

Court 15

11:00:
Tsvetana Pironkova (Bul) v Ludmilla Samsonova (Rus)
Natalia Vikhlyantseva (Rus) v Katrina Scott (USA)
(29) Guido Pella (Arg) v Jeffrey John Wolf (USA)
Marton Fucsovics (Hun) v Hugo Dellien (Bol)
Patricia Maria Tig (Rom) v Kurumi Nara (Jpn)

Court 17

11:00:
Viktoriya Tomova (Bul) v (22) Amanda Anisimova (USA)
(15) Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can) v Thiago Moura Monteiro (Bra)
Leonardo Mayer (Arg) v (25) Milos Raonic (Can)
(26) Sloane Stephens (USA) v Mihaela Buzarnescu (Rom)
(6) Matteo Berrettini (Ita) v Go Soeda (Jpn)

Grand Slam

Australian Open Considering Switching Women’s Final To Sunday In Future

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The Australian Open could become the first Grand Slam to break away from the tradition of women playing their singles final first. 

According to a report from the Australian Associated Press, tournament chief Craig Tiley is open to making such a move which wouldn’t require any approval from either the WTA or ATP. However, they would likely need to consult with players first and no changes are set to be made in 2025. 

The reasoning for making such a change is due to the women’s final usually being shorter than the men’s best with it being a best-of-three set match. Compared to the men who play the best-of-five. Their thinking is that due to the length of men’s matches increasing in recent years, staging it on a Saturday would enable more people to watch the entire match compred to a Sunday when many are consious about staying up late due to the working week starting on Monday. 

This year’s Australian Open saw Jannik Sinner bounce back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a epic encounter that lasted three hours and 46 minuites. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka required an hour and 17 mnuites to beat China’s Qinwen Zheng and capture the title. 

Should such a switch take place, it is estimated that the Sunday finale would end at around 10:30pm local time instead of after midnight, which would make it more appealing to fans. Furthermore, it could throw the women’s final more into the spotlight. 

However, there will be obstacles that need to be addressed. The most significant for the Australian Open will be trying to ensure that their 48-hour recovery period between best-of-five-set men’s matches will still be followed. 

This year was the first time in history that the Melbourne major took place over 15 days with play starting on a Sunday. Organisers claimed that the move was done in order to prevent the number of late-night finishes. However, it has little effect on any matches that took place after the first round. 

It is throught that now the event is held over 15 days, it gives more room for organisers to schedule the men’s final for a Saturday. The proposal was discussed during this year’s Australian Open’s official debrief. 

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Grand Slam

It Wasn’t The Same Old Story On Sunday Down Under

Jannik Sinner won his first Grand Slam title on Sunday.

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(@janniksin - Twitter)

It’s been the same old story at the Australian Open for a long time in the men’s game.

One of the greats almost always would take the top prize Down Under. Either Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer or even Stan Wawrinka always prevailed since 2006 at Melbourne.

And then came Jannik Sinner in 2024.

None of the other superstars were still around for Sunday’s final.

A DIFFERENT AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Yes, this time it was a different Australian Open.

But actually Sinner may have written his own story when he upended Djokovic in the semifinals. Without that experience, the slender Italian may not have been able to handle the pressure that Daniil Medvedev sent his way in the final.

Sinner was ready for the finish line after shocking Djokovic in the semifinals. It just took time to get there.

Sinner played within himself most of the last three sets of the final. A first-time Grand Slam finalist, Sinner played as if he belonged there in those three sets.

But, oh, those first two sets when Medvedev dominated play with his backhand from the middle of the court. Backhands usually are reserved for the backhand side of the court, but not with the tall Russian on the court.

SINNER DIDN’T PLAY HIS GAME AT FIRST

In a similar manner as women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka, Sinner followed up a big semifinal win with his own Australian Open title. Only, Sinner had to fight for five sets to accomplish his dream Down Under with a 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Medvedev.

Sinner appeared to play far differently from his victory over Djokovic when he controlled the court with his aggressive play and power.

This time, Sinner started things conservatively with few aggressive winners, repeatedly leaving the corners wide open for Medvedev’s crafty, but hard hit strokes. Medvedev made Sinner  pay a price with a style of play that was just the opposite.

Medvedev played close to the baseline and aggressively hopped on balls with his backhand in whip-lash fashion. He hardly had to move as he conserved energy.

THE STRATEGY ALMOST WORKED TO PERFECTION

Medvedev’s strategy worked like a charm until Sinner served the ninth game of the third set as Medvedev once needed only six points for a possible Grand Slam title. Sinner managed to overcome a deuce score to win that game.

Medvedev fell behind 30-0 serving the 10th game of the set and then Sinner got his first set point. Sinner made it stand up and it was a new game after that.

Sinner didn’t appear to be ready for Medvedev’s game the first two sets, but the Italian then came alive. He became prepared for Medvedev, even after losing the first two sets.

Of course, Sabalenka got her boost from a surprising, but solid win over talented Coco Graff in the women’s semifinals. Sabalenka then was never really challenged by Qinwen Zheng in the final.

Sinner’s final was much different.  He was somewhat lucky to escape with  a win.

Medvedev almost wrapped up the title in the ninth game, but it didn’t happen. As a result, Sinner may have started his own success story in Grand Slam finals.

James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award  for print media. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.

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Australian Open Daily Preview: Daniil Medvedev Plays Jannik Sinner for the Men’s Singles Championship

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Daniil Medvedev during Friday’s semifinals (twitter.com/AustralianOpen)

The men’s singles and women’s doubles championship matches are on Sunday in Melbourne.

Across the last 10 hard court Majors, Daniil Medvedev has now advanced to six championship matches, half of which have come in Melbourne.  In those finals, Medvedev is a meek 1-4.  However, this is the first time Medvedev is looking across the net at a man not named Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic, the two winningest male singles players of all-time at Grand Slam events.

And Medvedev can thank Jannik Sinner for that, who for the third time in their last four meetings, defeated Djokovic in Friday’s semifinals to reach his first Major final.  Since adding Darren Cahill to his team 18 months ago, one of tennis’s best coaches of all-time, Sinner’s game has continually and significantly improved, most evident in his three victories over Djokovic since November.  On Sunday, the most dominant male player of this fortnight looks to break more new ground in his young career.

Earlier on Sunday, in the women’s doubles championship match, it’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko (11) vs. Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens (2).  This is a first Major final for Kichenok, and a first in doubles for Ostapenko.  Su-Wei has won seven Majors in doubles, including her first mixed title earlier this week, and is 7-1 at this stage of Majors.  Mertens has won three Majors in women’s doubles, including Wimbledon in 2021 alongside Su-Wei.


Jannik Sinner (4) vs. Daniil Medvedev (3) – Not Before 7:30pm on Rod Laver Arena

Through six rounds, Sinner has dropped just one of 19 sets, which came against Djokovic in the semis.  But even that match was a rather comfortable win for the Italian, who lost only six games in the three sets he claimed.  Jannik has not just been the best ATP player this fortnight: he’s been the best ATP player since the last Major, with a record of 26-2.  The 22-year-old is 10-4 in ATP finals, with this of course being by far the biggest of his career to date.

Medvedev endured a much more complicated path to this final, completing 25 out of a possible 30 sets, which included three five-setters.  Two of those came in the last two rounds, against Hubert Hurkacz and Sascha Zverev.  Daniil has spent six more hours on court than Jannik, and has played for over 11 hours during the second week alone.  He is 20-16 in ATP Finals, with all 20 titles coming at different events.  But Medvedev can be rather streaky in finals: after losing five in a row, he won seven of eight, yet has now lost his last three.

And those last two losses came at the hands of Sinner, who beat him in both Beijing and Vienna.  Jannik also defeated Daniil in the semifinals of the ATP Finals in November, though all three of those recent matches were tight.  Prior to that, Medvedev had dominated their head-to-head 6-0, which includes two finals earlier in 2023.  All ten of their meetings have taken place on hard courts, and this is their first at a Major.

Based on their recent history, as well as their individual form this fortnight, I favor Sinner to win his first Major on Sunday.  While he’ll surely be nervous in the biggest match of his life, and could experience an emotional letdown coming off ending Novak’s undefeated record of 20-0 in Australian Open semis and finals, Jannik will be the much fresher player on this day.  Plus, he will feel confident after those three recent wins over Daniil, who has a lot of scar tissue to overcome in Major finals.  And after facing Medvedev so much within the past year, Sinner is well-versed on how to take advantage of Daniil’s deep return position.


Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.

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