Professional tennis is back in a big way after months of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While this is the fourth weekend in August, it marks just the first combined ATP Masters/WTA Premier tournament of 2020. This year the event has been moved from Mason, Ohio to New York City. It will be played on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, also home of the US Open, which starts in just nine days. The USTA is holding these tournaments back-to-back at the same location in order to create a safe bubble for the players in one place.
Seven of the ATP’s top 10 are in this Masters 1,000 draw, with only Rafael Nadal, an injured Roger Federer, and Gael Monfils not playing. The WTA attendance is a bit more lacking, with only four top 10 players present in Flushing Meadows. But this event features top names like Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, and Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, as well as wild card entrees Venus Williams and Andy Murray.
It will be most interesting to see how everyone performs in their first big tournament since January or February of this year, as tennis players rarely take a six-month break from competition outside of a serious injury. This seven-day event will conclude on Friday with the singles and doubles championships. Each day, we’ll take a closer look at one men’s and one women’s match from that day’s schedule of play.
Denis Shapovalov (12) vs. Marin Cilic
These two men’s careers have been going in opposite directions of late. The 21-year-old Canadian closed out last season in excellent fashion, winning Stockholm and reaching the Masters 1000 final in Bercy. Cilic meanwhile had a subpar 2019, going just 22-19. However, Cilic did fight his way to the round of 16 in Melbourne this past January. They have split their two previous matches, both contended on hard courts. Shapovalov should be favoured based on recent form, though making predictions for an unprecedented restart such as this is a tough business. The time off could have easily helped Cilic recharge and refocus, and there’s no way to know just how dedicated any of these players have been in their training during the time off. But if both men come out of the gates strong, this could be a crackling opening round contest.
Dayana Yastremska (16) vs. Venus Williams (WC)
While the tours were on hiatus, Venus Williams turned 40-years-of-age. While her results in recent years have been mixed, she’s played her best tennis on the hard courts of her home country. In 2019, 11 of her 19 wins came in the USA. Last week in Lexington, she took out Victoria Azarenka before succumbing to her younger sister Serena in a tight three-setter. Today she faces a Ukrainian half her age who has quickly climbed the rankings. Coached by Sascha Bajin, who is a former member of Serena’s team, Yastremska has won three WTA titles in the last two years, and was a finalist in Adelaide at the start of 2020. She accumulated four wins over top 20 players earlier this year. Like Venus, Dayana is an aggressive player who usually controls the rallies. This match-up between two of the WTA’s harder hitters will likely be decided by the player who can better manage their unforced error tally.
Other Notable Matches on Day 1:
In a battle of wild cards, Frances Tiafoe (WC) vs. Andy Murray (WC). This will be Murray’s first match of 2020, as he missed the beginning of the season due to a pelvic injury. Tiafoe is a measly 21-30 since his breakout run at last year’s Australian Open. This is their first career meeting.
Donna Vekic (15) vs. Victoria Azarenka. Vekic leads their head-to-head 2-0, with both victories coming last year on American hard courts. Azarenka has not won a match since the first round of this event a year ago.
Kyle Edmund vs. Kevin Anderson (PR). Edmund won the New York Open back in February shortly before the tour shut down. Anderson entered the draw on a protected ranking, having missed the majority of 2019 due to multiple injuries. They’ve split their two previous matches.
Maria Sakkari (13) vs. Coco Gauff. The 16-year-old phenomenon Gauff picked up where she left off last week in Lexington, reaching the semifinals. Sakkari had a nice start to the year, winning nine matches between January and February. This will be the first time these two rising stars have played.
