US Open Daily Preview: 2021’s Last Major Begins with a Stellar Day 1 Schedule - UBITENNIS
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US Open Daily Preview: 2021’s Last Major Begins with a Stellar Day 1 Schedule

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3 years ago

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A look at Arthur Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (twitter.com/usopen)

For the first time since January of 2020, a Grand Slam event will be staged with 100% capacity, a welcome change from the fan-less US Open of a year ago.  And Monday’s Order of Play offers some big names, blockbuster matchups, and compelling stories.

Action on Arthur Ashe Stadium kicks off with a rematch of the 2017 women’s singles final, followed by the 2012 men’s singles champion taking on the third seed.  The night session features a two-time champion, as well as a 2019 finalist facing a 2013 semifinalist.  And elsewhere on the grounds, two of the sport’s most tenured, well-liked players may contest the last matches of their respective careers.

Each day, this preview will analyze the five most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.

Simona Halep (12) vs. Camila Giorgi – 11:00am on Grandstand

Since tearing her left calf muscle three months ago in Rome, Halep has only played two matches, as she also suffered an adductor injury in Cincinnati.  Her coach Darren Cahill revealed on ESPN that Simona has been skipping some practice days this past week to rest that latest injury.  So the two-time Major champion is not 100%, short on match play, and only 1-2 at this event since 2017.  That’s the year she drew 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in the first round.  A year later, she was upset by the always-dangerous Kaia Kanepi.  In 2019, she was taken out in a third set tiebreak by American Taylor Townsend.  Now she faces the red-hot Italian, who just two weeks ago won the biggest title of her career in Montreal.  Giorgi has taken 14 of her last 19 matches, and she’s exactly the type of player that Halep can feel helpless against: a big-hitting baseliner.  Camila has become more selective as to when she goes for her signature winners, often waiting until she’s in a winning position.  Their only other match occurred six years ago in Miami, which went to Halep in straight sets.  But an injured Simona, and a much-improved Camila, could be the recipe for another first round upset.

Madison Keys vs. Sloane Stephens – 12:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium

The women’s championship match from four years ago was the pinnacle of both players’ careers.  But 2021 has not been kind to either woman.  Madison’s season has never recovered since a positive COVID test prevented her from traveling to Melbourne.  She has a 10-12 record, and is on a four-match losing streak.  Sloane started the year on a four-match losing streak of her own, and suffered tremendous personal loss, as multiple close family members passed away due to COVID.  Stephens found some success on clay, but went just 2-3 this summer on hard courts.  Overall Sloane leads their head-to-head 4-2, though they’re 1-1 this year, having split two clay court contests.  They have not played on this surface since their US Open final.  In their return to Arthur Ashe Stadium, I favor the 2017 champion.  Sloane is the better player in longer rallies, and has a bit more confidence than Madison currently possesses.

Stefanos Tsistipas (3) vs. Andy Murray – Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Murray is one of only three men in the draw who have won this event (Djokovic, Cilic).  Like Keys, Andy wasn’t able to travel to Melbourne due to a positive test.  He is only 6-6 on the year at tour level, and 0-4 against top 20 players, failing to secure a set.  That’s a bad sign when you draw the No.3 seed in the opening round.  And no one has won more matches this year than Tsitsipas, who is 48-14.  Defeating one of the world’s best players in the best-of-five format feels like too tall a task for a man who has battled multiple severe injuries over the last four years.  At an event painfully missing four all-time greats (Serena, Venus, Federer, Nadal), it’s great to have Andy competing.  Let’s just hope this isn’t the last time we see him on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Naomi Osaka (3) vs. Marie Bouzkova – Not Before 7:30pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium

No one in the tennis world has garnered more attention over the last three months than Osaka, from her decision to skip press conferences and eventually withdraw from the French Open, to lighting the torch at the Tokyo Olympics.  Yet almost none of the talk about Naomi has related to her actual tennis, as she’s only played five matches this summer.  That is not ideal preparation for the defending champion, who inspired many a year ago not only with her performance, but her social activism.  While currently not in top form, she remains a heavy favorite on Monday evening, against a player who is 1-9 lifetime at Majors.  However, the 23-year-old from the Czech Republic is far from a pushover, and has earned victories within the last few years over the likes over Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, and Simona Halep.  So this should serve as a litmus test of how confident the four-time Major champ is feeling.

Daniil Medvedev (2) vs. Richard Gasquet – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Over the last few years, Medvedev has been the best hard court player not named Djokovic.  The second seed has gone 56-11 on this surface since last season, with five titles.  And as per Tennis Abstract, he’s won 23 of his last 24 hard court matches against players ranked outside the top 20.  That’s a category Gasquet falls into, as the former World No.7 is now ranked 79th.  The 35-year-old Frenchman is 1-8 against the top 10 within the last two years.   However, he’s yet to be dominated by Daniil.  Last fall in St. Petersburg, Medvedev required three sets to put away Gasquet.  And three years ago in Montpellier, the veteran defeated the Russian 6-3, 6-0.  But in 2021, Daniil is a far more developed player, and should be able to easily dispatch of Gasquet in front of a New York crowd that went from loathing to loving Medvedev in 2019.

Other Notable Matches on Monday:

Garbine Muguruza (9) vs. Donna Vekic – The US Open has easily been the worst Major in Muguruza’s career, as she’s 7-8 lifetime.  Vekic was a quarterfinalist two years ago, though she’s only 10-10 this season, and underwent knee surgery in February.  They have split two previous meetings.

Andrey Rublev (5) vs. Ivo Karlovic (Q) – Rublev has now collected 41 wins in each of the last two seasons.  Karlovic came through qualifying, and the 42-year-old has stated this may be his last professional event. 

Danille Collins (26) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro – Similarly, a cancer-free Carla announced she will retire after this tournament.  Collins went on a tear this summer, winning 12 straight matches and two titles.  They’ve also split two prior encounters.

Marin Cilic (30) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber – The 2014 champion has achieved the third round or better at this event in every appearance since 2011.  He’s 5-7 against the 37-year-old German, though Kohlschreiber has lost four of his last five matches.

Angelique Kerber (16) vs. Dayana Yastremska – The 2016 champion is 14-2 in her last three tournaments.  Yastremska missed much of 2021 due to a doping suspension, which was eventually reversed.  She’s just 3-5 since returning to action

Casper Ruud (8) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Ruud has amassed 50 wins over the last 12 months, while Tsonga is only 1-8 during the same span, as he’s long battled lower back issues. 

Daria Kasatkina (25) vs. Tsvetana Pironkova – This should be a fun matchup between two of tennis’ most creative players.  Pironkova was the surprise of last year’s event, with a run to the quarterfinals in her first tournament since 2017.  Kasatkina has rediscovered her form this year, resulting in 33 match wins and four finals.

Barbora Krejcikova (8) vs. Astra Sharma (Q) – Krejcikova has now claimed 25 of her last 28 matches.  Sharma is a 25-year-old Australian who was a mixed doubles finalist in Melbourne two years ago.

Victoria Azarenka (18) vs. Tereza Martincova – Azarenka was the runner-up last year, but is yet to reach a tour final this season.  Martincova is a 26-year-old Czech who advanced to the final of Prague last month.

Aryna Sabalenka (2) vs. Nina Stojanovic – Sabalenka has accumulated 38 wins this year, but is only 4-3 since reaching her first Slam semifinal at Wimbledon.  Stojanovic is 1-6 in her singles career at Majors. 

Roberto Bautista Agut (18) vs. Nick Kyrgios – Bautista Agut is surprisingly only 2-3 the last three years at this tournament, and a subpar 25-20 in 2021.  Kyrgios has only played 13 matches in the last 18 months due to the pandemic as well as injuries, and went 1-3 on hard courts this summer. 

Monday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Paris Olympics Daily Preview: Osaka Plays Kerber, Nadal Teams with Alcaraz

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11 hours ago

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26/07/2024

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Naomi Osaka practicing this week in Paris (twitter.com/ITFTennis)

Olympic tennis gets underway on Saturday in Paris, on the grounds of Roland Garros.

While not traditionally thought of as an Olympic sport, the tennis event at the last several Summer Olympic Games has provided some of the sport’s most memorable and emotional moments.  Representing their country at the Olympics is one of the biggest achievements in the lives of many tennis players, and the 2024 event being staged at Roland Garros is unquestionably a very special one.

This will be the last tournament in the careers of a pair of three-time Major champions: Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber.  And this will be the last Olympics, and likely the last time playing at Roland Garros, for 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.  Rafa’s status for singles is in doubt, but he is committed to playing men’s doubles alongside four-time Major champ Carlos Alcaraz.

Nadal and Alcaraz will play their opening round doubles match on Saturday evening, while Kerber faces fellow multi-time Major champ Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster first round contest to close out the night session.  The day session sees both of the top seeds in the singles draws, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek, play their opening round matches.

The draws for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles will all be played across the next nine days in Paris.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Saturday’s play begins at 12:00pm local time.

  • Alcaraz and Nadal practicing this week (twitter.com/ITFTennis

Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni [ARG] (6) vs. Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal [ESP] – 7:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier

Eight years ago, Nadal won the gold medal in men’s singles at the Rio Olympics, alongside Marc Lopez.  And eight years before that, he claimed the gold medal in men’s singles at the Beijing Olympics, notably defeating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.  Now he goes for a third gold medal, teaming with the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon men’s singles champion.

But this is a physically compromised, 38-year-old version of Rafa, who has only played six events within the last 18 months.  And while he reached the final just last week in Bastad, that run apparently took a toll on his body.  There are reports he may be pulling out of the singles draw in Paris, as a four-hour quarterfinal match last week against Mariano Navone certainly drained the King of Clay. 

This will be the first time these two Spanish all-time greats team up, and both have rarely played doubles in their careers.  By contrast, Gonzalez and Molteni are both top 20 doubles players.  And while they didn’t team together during the grass court season, they’ve won seven titles together within the last 18 months.

However, facing these two Roland Garros champions on Court Philippe-Chatrier will be a daunting task.  And Nadal should be less hampered on the doubles court than the singles court.  I expect Rafa and Carlitos to embrace the energy of the Saturday night crowd in Paris, and advance to the next round.

Naomi Osaka [JPN] vs. Angelique Kerber [GER] – Last on Court Philippe-Chatrier

Both of these players returned from maternity at the start of the year, though neither has yet rediscovered their top form.  26-year-old Osaka has shown glimpses of it, specifically two months ago at this same venue, when she was just a point away from upsetting Iga Swiatek.  36-year-old Kerber is just 7-14 since returning, and arrives in Paris on a five-match losing streak.  Angie announced earlier this week that she will retire from the sport following these Olympic Games.

These two sure-fire Hall of Famers played six times between 2017 and 2022, with Kerber taking four of those six encounters.  However, most of those occurred while Angie was at her best, and before Naomi had reached her top level.  They’ve never before played on clay, which is certainly neither’s favorite surface.

In the last tournament of her career, Kerber will be extra motivated to achieve a good result.  And she’s done so before at the Olympics, as she was the silver medalist back in 2016.  At the last Olympics in Tokyo, Osaka seemed distracted and overwhelmed playing in her home country’s Games.  But this season, she’s been extremely focused on her tennis, and has dedicated herself to better acclimating to playing on clay.  Based on her performance in Paris two months ago, I like Naomi’s chances of prevailing on Saturday, and thus ending Angie’s singles career.

  • Swiatek practicing this week (twitter.com/ITFTennis)

Other Notable Matches on Saturday:

Iga Swiatek [POL] (1) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu [ROU] – Swiatek is 21-1 this year on clay, and is on a 19-match win streak on this surface.  Three years ago at Wimbledon, she thumped Begu by a score of 6-1, 6-0.

Jack Draper [GBR] vs. Kei Nishikori [JPN] – Nishikori was a bronze medalist at the Rio Olympics, but injuries have only allowed him to play four ATP events across the last three seasons.  Draper currently sits at a career-high ranking of No.26, thanks to 21 match wins in 2024.

Novak Djokovic [SRB[ (1) vs. Matthew Ebden [AUS] – An Olympic gold medal is the one glaring blemish on the Djokovic CV, and at 37 years of age, this will most certainly be his last good chance to win the gold for Serbia, which might mean more to Novak than any of his other career accomplishments.  Ebden replaces Andy Murray in the singles draw, and the Australian hasn’t played a singles match in over two years, as the ITF bizarrely uses doubles players already on site as singles alternates.

Hady Habib [LBN] vs. Carlos Alcaraz [ESP] (2) – Alcaraz will play both singles and doubles on Saturday, and he’s now 33-6 on the year in singles, coming off his fourth Major title at Wimbledon.  Habib is a 25-year-old representing Lebanon who has never been ranked inside the world’s top 250.

Rinky Hijikata [AUS] vs. Daniil Medvedev [AIN] (4) – Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, Medvedev lost in the quarterfinals to eventual bronze medalist Pablo Carreno Busta.  Hijikata peaked at No.70 in singles last season, but is just 10-16 in 2024.

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula [USA] (1) vs. Ellen Perez and Daria Saville [AUS] – Gauff will be the flag bearer for the United States during Friday’s opening ceremony, after missing the Tokyo Games due to COVID.  Her and Pegula are regular partners, while Perez and Saville are not, though Perez is a top 10 doubles player.

Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.

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Matteo Berrettini extends his winning streak to eight consecutive matches to reach the semifinal in Kitzbuehl

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18 hours ago

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26/07/2024

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Matteo Berrettini beat world number 143 Nicolas Moreno De Alboran 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in their first head-to-head match to reach the semifinal at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel. Berrettini has extended his winning streak to eight consecutive matches. 

Berrettini hit seven aces, dropped just five points on his first serve and saved all three break points. 

Berrettini, who was outside the top 150 last March, returned to the top 50 after claiming his ninth career title in Gstaad.

The first three games featured a total of three break points. Both players went on serve en route to the tie-break. De Alboran earned the first mini-break to take a 4-3 lead, but Berrettini won four consecutive points from 3-5 down to claim the tie-break 7-5. Berrettini improved to 9-0 in tie-breaks during the past two tournaments. 

The second set went on serve until the eighth game when Berrettini earned his decisive break to take a 5-3 lead. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist sealed the win on his first match point after a double fault from De Alboran. 

Berrettini set up a semifinal match against Yannik Hanfmann, who beat Thago Seyboth Wild 7-6 (7-2) 6-4. 

“I am really happy with the performance, I have never played against him so I did not really what to expect. It was a really high level of tennis and I think he was playing and serving really well, hitting the forehand really well, so I had to dig deep with my energy and my level”, said Berrettini.

Hugo Gaston battled past Sebastian Baez 7-5 5-7 7-6 (8-6) in 3 hours and 8 minutes. Gaston saved two match point as he won the last four points of the tie-break in the third set. The Frenchman fended off 12 of the 16 break points.

Gaston set up a semifinal clash against Pedro Martinez, who came back from one set down to beat Pedro Martinez 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 in 3 hours and 32 minutes.   

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Novak Djokovic’s Potential Second Round Clash With Rafael Nadal Headlines Olympics Draw

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet in the second round of the Olympics.

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2 days ago

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25/07/2024

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(@TheTennisLetter - Twitter)

Novak Djokovic’s potential second round clash with Rafael Nadal headlines an exciting Olympics draw.

The draw was done this morning for the Olympic Games which will take place at Roland Garros.

After Andy Murray’s late withdrawal from the singles event, the next big headline would take place in the men’s singles draw as Novak Djokovic could collide with Rafael Nadal in the second round.

It would be a titanic tussle between two of the best players of all time but first Djokovic will have to get past doubles specialist Matthew Ebden while Nadal takes on Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the opening round.

Djokovic is the top seed after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal and could play Hamburg champion Arthur Fils in the third round before a potential quarter-final clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Meanwhile as for Carlos Alcaraz the Spaniard will begin against Hady Habib in the opening round and could face Cameron Norrie in the second round with the Brit facing Tallon Griekspoor in his opener.

Other key obstacles in his half of the draw are Rome finalist Alejandro Tabilo, Alex De Minaur and Casper Ruud.

Here are some of the other key matches in the men’s singles draw in the first round:

Lorenzo Musetti v Gael Monfils

Jack Draper v Kei Nishikori

Alexander Bublik v Taylor Fritz

Alex De Minaur v Jan-Lennard Struff

Kerber and Osaka first round clash headlines Women’s Singles Draw

In the Women’s singles draw the headline clash will see Naomi Osaka take on Angelique Kerber in a battle of the Grand Slam champions.

Kerber has announced this morning that this will be her final tournament of her career before retiring.

The winner of that match could take on Elena Rybakina in the second round with the Kazakh beginning her campaign against Jaqueline Cristian.

Rybakina has landed in Iga Swiatek’s half of the draw with the world number one beginning against Irina-Camelia Begu with the in-form Diana Schnaider awaiting in the third round.

In the bottom half of the draw, Coco Gauff will begin her campaign against Ajla Tomljanovic with Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic awaiting in the third round.

Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova will face Sara Sorribes Tormo with Jessica Pegula awaiting in the third round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray headline doubles draw

In the doubles draws, Andy Murray will compete in his last ever tournament as he and Dan Evans are drawn against Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori in the first round.

The dream duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal face sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

Meanwhile the Tsitsipas brothers face Nuno Borges and Francisco Cabral while Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin face second seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

The headline match of the men’s doubles is Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul facing Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic.

On the women’s side top seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula take on Ellen Perez and Daria Saville.

Also featuring in the draw are Caroline Garcia, Angelique Kerber, Barbora Krejcikova and Maria Sakkari.

The events start on Saturday and will conclude a week later.

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