TENNIS US OPEN – Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori have been the best two players at this tournament. Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fabio Fognini were the biggest disappointments. Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem the two surprises, for different reasons, that didn’t reach the final.
It has been a strange US Open in the men’s singles event. For the first week there were hardly any surprises and many thought that we were headed for a Djokovic Federer final with little excitement before the final. In the second week though, the tournament came alive with captivating matches, upsets and an unexpected finish. Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori are the players of the tournament as well as the two biggest surprises, but they weren’t the only ones to impress. Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem also left their mark in the tournament. On the other hand there were a few disappointments like the French duo Gasquet Tsonga and the Italian Fabio Fognini. (Marks out of 10)
Marin Cilic 10 – The Goran Ivanisevic effect has been great on Cilic and it showed. The mild mannered Croat played a sensational tournament. The quality of his tennis increased as the tournament progressed as did his confidence in his abilities. The highlight of his tournament must be the thrashing of Federer in the semifinal. Cilic had never beaten the Swiss before, making the semifinal win even more impressive. Federer was reduced to the role of spectator as Cilic powered his way into the final in 3 quick sets. The difficult part starts now for the Croat, he will have to handle the extra fame and expectations, but there is time for that.
Kei Nishikori 9 – The Japanese player earned one point less than his rival because he didn’t win the final. Nishikori’s main regret must be that he failed to leave his mark on the final, but he played a fantastic tournament considering that he didn’t know whether he was going to travel to Flushing Meadows at all becuse of a foot injury. Luckily he decided to play. In the tournament he defeated three top 10 players, Raonic, Wawrinka and Djokovic before the final that he played with an empty tank of energy. Once the disappointment for the lost final has gone he will look back on an amazing couple of weeks that may have changed his career.
Novak Djokovic 7 – It was obvious that the World Number One wasn’t focussed on tennis, but marriage and a baby on the way are excellent excuses not to be focussed 100% on tennis. The two Master 1000 tournaments played, badly, before the US Open were a warning sign, but he played well during the opening rounds of the Major until he met Nishikori in the semifinals.
Roger Federer 6.5 – He gets half a point less than Nole as he already has a wife and kids (four) and he should be used to it by now. The comeback against Monfils was spectacular but it deprived him of the energy to counter Cilic’s onslaught in the semis. Another chance to win a Major title gone for Federer.
Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka 6 – It was a mediocre couple of weeks for both as they never managed to play their best tennis, but they did lose to the finalists. I expected better tennis from them even if their result wasn’t that bad.
Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov 5.5 – For quite some time now these two were considered to be the players most likely to unseat the current top players, but they were beaten to it. They both made it to the last 16 but it is fair to expect more from them. Hopefully watching Cilic and Nishikori inspired them to do better next time round.
Andy Murray 6 – The Olympic Champion is still far from the player capable of winning the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year. The recovery from his back surgery is taking longer than expected, but initially the Scot didn’t think he would also have to replace Lendl as coach. The win against Tsonga and the first couple of sets played against Djokovic should encourage him even if he is now out of the top 10.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 5 – The win at the Rogers Cup raised hopes and expectations for the French player. Before the Toronto tournament, JWT had a poor season and hopes were that the Canadian event was the start of a better end of season, but it didn’t happen. He never really clicked and was easily beaten by Murray
Gael Monfils 8 – There is something in New York that inspires Monfils. In this event he was able to play good tennis, entertain and enjoy himself. He defeated Gasquet, Dimitrov and came close to ending Federer0s tournament. It’s a shame he only plays like this occasionally.
Dominic Thiem 8 – This was the US Open of the new generation also because of the Austrian’s performance. The 21 year old was playing in his first US Open (fourth slam). He reached the fourth round defeating his friend Gulbis and the experienced Feliciano Lopez on the way. His run was ended by Berdych, but hopefully he saw the two finalists as examples of how to grow and improve.
Nick Kyrgios 7 – Another positive tournament for the Australian. At Wimbledon he beat Nadal and started to get noticed by the general public and in New York he showed more of his talent. He shouldn’t be a one hit wonder and has the potential to become a very good player.
Richard Gasquet 3 – A year ago he was in the semifinals, a result that allowed him to qualify for the end of year Masters in London. A year later he looks lost. The separation from his coach Riccardo Piatti has hit him hard and he now looks confused as to how to play. Injuries don’t help, but he should be doing better with the talent he has at his disposal.
Fabio Fognini 2 – No offence to Adrian Mannarino, but a player of Fabio’s talent should not lose against the Frenchman, especially in a tournament like the US Open. What makes t worse is the manner of the defeat. Once the Italian fell behind in the score he didn’t fight back, but he started to pick fights with everyone as usual.
