US Open Daily Preview: Italians Berrettini and Giorgi Look to Upset Seeded Players - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Focus

US Open Daily Preview: Italians Berrettini and Giorgi Look to Upset Seeded Players

Published

11 months ago

on

Matteo Berrettini practicing on Sunday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

First round singles action is scheduled to be completed on Tuesday, though rain in the forecast could prevent that from happening.

Tuesday’s ATP matches feature US Open champions Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Stan Wawrinka, and Andy Murray.  Plus, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini faces the 29th seed, Ugo Humbert.  And in a rematch of a dramatic three-setter just two weeks ago in Cincinnati, Andrey Rublev looks to get revenge against Emil Ruusuvuori.

WTA action includes two reigning Major champs: Aryna Sabalenka and Marketa Vondrousova.  But the day’s most anticipated women’s match sees Italy’s Camila Giorgi challenge American No.1 Jessica Pegula.  And in the night session, the legendary Venus Williams plays her 24th first round match at the US Open.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Tuesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.

Ugo Humbert (29) vs. Matteo Berrettini  – 11:00am on Court 5

Berrettini is just 13-11 this season, as injuries have continued to interrupt the 27-year-old’s career.  He appeared to rediscover some of his confidence at Wimbledon, with wins over Sascha Zverev and Alex de MInaur.  However, Matteo went just 1-2 this summer on hard courts, though his losses did come against players ranked insider the top 15 (Sinner, Auger-Aliassime).  Berrettini was a semifinalist in New York back in 2019, and has advanced to the second week here in each of the last four years.

A year ago, Humbert had fallen out of the top 100.  But after spending a lot of time at the Challenger level, where he won three titles, he is seeded at a Major for the first time in over a year.  Ugo played nearly every week of the North American swing this summer, where he compiled a record of 9-4.  Yet in New York, the Frenchman is just 2-5 lifetime.

Berrettini is 2-0 against Humbert, and has claimed both of their previous hard court battles in straight sets.  And at the Major where he’s accumulated the most wins in his career thus far (16), I expect Matteo to return to his winning ways to start off the day on Tuesday.

Camila Giorgi vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Pegula is 43-14 this season, and a few weeks ago in Montreal, picked up here second WTA 1000 title, thanks to victories over Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.  Is she finally ready to make a big breakthrough at a Major?  Jess has reached six Slam quarterfinals within the last three years, but she is 0-6 at that stage.

Giorgi is also a recent champion of the WTA 1000 tournament in Canada, where she prevailed in 2021.  Earlier this season in Merida, she won another hard court title.  However, Camila is a modest 19-14 overall on the year.

This is actually the 11th meeting between these two players, in a head-to-head history that dates back to 2011.  And Pegula has dominated it, with a record of 8-2.  Though many of their contests have been tight, Jess has taken their last five.  And while Giorgi has the firepower to blast just about anyone off the court on any given day, Pegula remains the considerable favorite to advance.

Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Andrey Rublev (8) – Third on Court 5

Earlier this month in Cincinnati, Ruusuvuori survived a third-set tiebreak against Rublev, in a grueling match which lasted well over three hours.  Andrey really struggled with his first serve in that contest: as per the ATP, he mustered only a 50% first serve percentage.  Rublev was victorious in their other two prior encounters, which includes a four-set win at this past January’s Australian Open.

Rublev has accumulated 40 match wins this season, with five finals and two titles (Monte Carlo, Bastad).  But he comes into this match on a three-match losing streak, having lost in both Hamburg and Toronto.  Andrey is a three-time quarterfinalist in New York, yet of course he is now 0-8 in Major quarterfinals, in what continues to grow as a humungous hurdle in his career.

Ruusuvuori is just 23-22 this year, and just 2-3 lifetime at the US Open.  And while the 24-year-old is just 7-13 lifetime at Slams, his recent victory over Rublev will give him plenty of confidence on Tuesday.  However, in the best-of-five format, I still give Andrey the slight edge to prevail.  His advantages in experience and firepower should prove crucial across a best-of-five matchup.

Greet Minnen (Q) vs. Venus Williams (WC) – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Williams was originally drawn to play former World No.2 Paula Badosa in this opening round, but Paula withdrew due to injury.  Minnen is a 26-year-old who reached the third round here in 2021, and has collected 48 match wins this season at all levels (mostly below WTA level).  Yet most of her significant results have been in doubles. 

Venus is just 3-6 on the year, though she has earned two nice wins this summer over Camila Giorgi and Veronika Kudermetova.  Injuries have prevented her from playing much at all the last few years.  The 2000 and 2001 champion is vying for her first US Open match win since 2019, and her first win at a Major since Wimbledon 2021.

However, in front of a passionate night crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, which will undoubtedly be extremely vocal in their support for Venus, I like the American’s chances to prevail.  She still possesses considerable power on her serve and groundstrokes, which should enable her to dictate play against Minnen.

Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:

Ons Jabeur (5) vs. Camila Osorio – Jabeur was the runner-up here a year ago, as well as at the last Major in London.  Osorio is a 21-year-old who was ranked as high as 33rd in the world last year. 

Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Attila Balazs (PR) – The 2021 champion won five titles within the first five months of the year, though he surprisingly went just 3-2 on North American hard courts this summer.  Balazs is a 34-year-old Hungarian who is currently unranked, and hasn’t won a tour-level match in nearly three years. 

Andy Murray vs. Corentin Moutet – Murray is just 12-11 this season at tour level, despite starting the year off 8-3.  Moutet is only 6-13 in 2023, but he is 7-0 in his last seven first round matches at Majors. 

Na-lae Han (Q) vs. Marketa Vondrousova (9) – The Wimbledon champ is now 36-12 this season, and her two losses this summer on hard courts were far from embarrassing, as they came at the hands of Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.   Han is a 31-year-old from South Korea playing just her second main draw match at a Slam.

Stan Wawrinka vs. Yoshihito Nishioka – Wawrinka is 22-15 this year, and was the runner-up last month in Umag on clay.  Nishioka reached the fourth round of both the Australian Open and Roland Garros this season, but arrives in New York having lost six of his last seven matches.  Six years ago at Indian Wells, Stan outlasted Yoshi in a third-set tiebreak.

Taro Daniel vs. Gael Monfils – Monfils is in the midst of a resurgent summer, with victories this month over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Cam Norrie, and Alex de Minaur.  Daniel is 0-5 in his last five US Open matches.  Four years ago at the French Open, Gael easily beat Taro in straights.

Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Dominik Koepfer – The defending champion is coming off a heartbreaking loss just over a week ago in the final of Cincinnati to Novak Djokovic.  Koepfer has 34 wins this year at all levels, and advanced to the fourth round here in 2019. 

Maryna Zanevska vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka is 44-10 this season, but is back to her old semifinal woes, having lost her last three semis in three sets (Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Cincinnati).  Zanevska is a 30-year-old from Belgium who is currently on a seven-match losing streak.

Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Focus

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

Published

12 hours ago

on

26/07/2024

By

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.

Continue Reading

Focus

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

Published

19 hours ago

on

26/07/2024

By

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.   

Continue Reading

Focus

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.

Published

2 days ago

on

25/07/2024

By

(@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.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending