US Open Daily Preview: Top Seeds Face Tough Challenges on Monday - UBITENNIS
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US Open Daily Preview: Top Seeds Face Tough Challenges on Monday

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11 months ago

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Jannik Sinner on Saturday (Manuela Davies/USTA)

Fourth round singles action concludes on Monday in New York.

On Day 8, many of the favorites to make deep runs at this event face considerable opposition.  No.6 seed Jannik Sinner plays Sascha Zverev, who defeated Jannik the last three times they’ve met.  No.3 seed Daniil Medvedev takes on Alex de Minaur, who beat Daniil just a few weeks ago.  No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka battles Daria Kasatkina, who has twice overcome Aryna on a hard court.  And No.3 seed Jessica Pegula faces 2017 runner-up Madison Keys.

Plus, reigning Wimbledon champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova also play on Monday.

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

Madison Keys (17) vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – 12:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Pegula is now 46-14 this season, after defeating Elina Svitolina on Saturday in three sets.  She is playing with plenty of confidence, after collecting her second WTA 1000 title last month in Montreal.  And notably, Jess is 6-0 in the fourth round of Majors, with all six victories coming within the last three seasons.

Keys is 31-11 in a season that started with her teaming up with Pegula and other Americans to win the inaugural United Cup.  Madison went just 3-3 on hard courts this summer, yet stepped up her game to overcome Toronto runner-up Luidmila Samsonova in three sets on Saturday.  She is vying for her second consecutive Slam quarterfinal, and her 10th overall.

They’ve only played once, which happened last year on a hard court in San Diego.  On that day, Pegula won 6-4, 7-5.  On this Labor Day in the United States, Jess is the favorite to again prevail in this all-American battle.  Her penetrating groundstrokes and volleying prowess should be enough to counter the strong serve and powerful groundies of Keys.

Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Alex de Minaur (13) – Not Before 4:00pm on Louis Armstrong Stadium

Last month in Toronto, de Minaur upset Medvedev after two tight sets.  The Australian also took their other most recent encounter, which was last November in Bercy on an indoor hard court, in a match that went to 7-5 in the third.  However, Medvedev claimed their other four meetings, which were also all on hard courts.

Medvedev had a superb first six months to the year, winning five titles, with one of them even coming on clay, a surface he has previously claimed to despise.  But after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in July, he went just 1-2 on North American hard courts heading into this fortnight.  Daniil has advanced with the loss of only one set, as he looks to advance to his eighth Major quarterfinal.

De Minaur has also only dropped one set, but he’s looking to achieve just his second Slam quarterfinal, after first doing so three years ago at this same tournament.  Alex was a hard court finalist in both Los Cabos and Toronto this summer, and won a hard court event earlier this year in Acapulco.

But on Monday, Medvedev is the favorite despite their recent history.  Daniil remains one of the best hard court players of the past five years, especially in the best-of-five format.

Daria Kasatkina (13) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Sabalenka was completely dominant in the first week of this event, allowing her opposition only 12 games in six sets.  She is 47-10 on the season, with three titles and two other finals, which of course includes her first Major title in Melbourne.  Aryna is playing for her seventh Slam quarterfinal out of her last nine appearances.

Kasatkina’s path to this matchup has been much more complicated, as she needed to come back from a set down against two Americans, Alycia Parks and Sofia Kenin.  She is 32-20 this year, but just 14-11 on hard courts, her weakest surface.  Daria is 3-2 in this round of Majors, though she’s never reached a quarterfinal at a hard court Slam.

And that’s what makes it surprising that Kasatkina’s two wins over Sabalenka have both come on this surface.  Those matches occurred a year ago in San Jose and four years ago in Beijing.  However, Aryna still leads their head-to-head 4-2, and when they played just a few weeks ago in Cincinnati, she prevailed 6-3, 6-3.  So despite how troubling Kasatkina’s variety can be, another Sabalenka victory on Monday seems quite likely.

Sascha Zverev (12) vs. Jannik Sinner (6) – Last on Arthur Ashe Stadium

Zverev’s wins over Sinner have taken place in each of the last three years: on clay in Monte Carlo, and on hard courts at this very event, as well as in Cologne.  At the 2021 US Open, Sascha defeated Jannik in straight sets.  The Italian’s only victory came in their first meeting, three years ago at Roland Garros.

But it’s Sinner who has been the better player in 2023.  The 22-year-old is 44-12 this year, and 28-6 on this surface.  He is coming off his first Major semifinal at Wimbledon, and his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto.  Jannik eliminated 2016 champ Stan Wawrinka in the last round.

Zverev is 41-20 on the year, but that only includes one title at a 250-level event.  And at the Majors, he’s underperformed outside of a semifinal appearance in Paris.  In the last two rounds, Sascha has played two draining four-setters, against Daniel Altmaier and Grigor Dimitrov.

Yet on Monday night, I give Zverev the slight edge to earn his fourth straight win over Sinner.  Sascha’s form has been steadily improving throughout the year since missing the second half of 2022 due to injury.  And he’s the much more experienced player in the second week of Majors, as he vies for his 10th Slam quarterfinal.

Other Notable Matches on Monday:

Peyton Stearns vs. Marketa Vondrousova (9) – The Wimbledon champion has advanced clinically through three rounds, dropping only 10 games across six sets.  Stearns is a 21-year-old American who is into the second week of a Major for the first time, and also hasn’t lost a set to this stage.  This is a rematch from the first round of Wimbledon two months ago, when Vondrousova was victorious 6-2, 7-5.

Jack Draper vs. Andrey Rublev (8) – Rublev did not arrive in New York with much momentum on hard courts, yet is still one win away from his ninth career Slam quarterfinal, a round he is 0-8 in thus far.  21-year-old Draper was a top 50 player a year ago, but missed much of this season due to multiple injuries.  Andrey defeated Jack twice last year, which includes a straight-setter on a hard court in Washington.

Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Matteo Arnaldi – Alcaraz picked up his 10th straight US Open win on Saturday, beating Dan Evans in an entertaining four-setter.  On the same day, Arnaldi upset another Brit, Cam Norrie, in the 22-year-old Italian’s third main draw appearance at a Major.  This is their first career meeting.

Ons Jabeur (5) vs. Qinwen Zheng (23) – Jabeur has somehow pulled out three grueling wins despite clearly feeling less than 100% due to a respiratory illness.  Qinwen is a big-hitting 20-year-old, and this is her second appearance in the fourth round of a Slam.  She’s 1-0 against Ons, though Jabeur retired in that match after going down a set and a break with an abdominal injury.  That contest took place last summer in Canada.

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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