FLUSHING MEADOWS – The most anticipated matches of the round of 32 were the 30th chapter of the Venus and Serena saga and the blockbuster encounter between Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios, whose three previous clashes were all decided by a tie-breaker in the final set.
The match between the two legendary sisters was an absolute flop with Serena hitting winners from every corner of the court and Venus missing left and right. If this kind of match had been played twenty years ago, many would have talked about how Richard Williams could have decided the outcome by telling their daughters that the winner didn’t have to spend too much energy in preparation for the next round. Such rumours emerged multiple times at the beginning of the sisters’ careers, but the sisters themselves and their dad always denied that the results were decided in the locker room and not on the court.
MAGNIFICENT FEDERER… SELF-ABSORBED KYRGIOS
The match between Federer and Kyrgios wasn’t worth the ticket price either. Federer was magnificent and played beautifully throughout the entire match. It was probably one of Roger’s best performances of the year. On the other hand, the match was one-way traffic in the Swiss’ favour. After Kyrgios failed to convert five break-point opportunities at 3-3 in the first set, Federer ran away with the match.
A few people argued about how disrespectful it was to schedule Federer’s match early in the afternoon, but the American organizers did what they obviously do best: Selling more tickets and attracting the biggest TV audience. An afternoon slot with Roger guaranteed a much bigger audience compared to Saturday night, when the younger fans typically go out to bars, restaurants and clubs.
The weather wasn’t a problem for the older of the two contestants as the temperature significantly cooled down comparted to the heat of the previous days. The conditions were ideal for both the players and the spectators.
FEDERER’S MAGICAL SHOT
At one point, the Swiss maestro played a passing shot for the ages, a jaw-dropping, around-the-net-post forehand winner that left both Kyrgios and the audience in disbelief. Besides all the records and Grand Slam titles, that particular shot reminded everybody why Roger Federer is a living legend.
Truth be told, Roger’s jaw-dropping forehand pass wouldn’t have materialized if Kyrgios had been a less self-absorbed exhibitionist. Kyrgios paid the price for attempting a fancy, low-percentage drop shot when he could have hit a normal forehand in the open court.
The two biggest surprises of the day were the elimination of the top German players. The women’s tournament lost No.4-seed Angelique Kerber, who fell to Dominika Cibulkova. In the men’s event, No.4-seed Alexander Zverev lost to his older countryman Philip Kohlschreiber.
THE LADIES WILL HAVE A FOURTH GRAND SLAM CHAMPION IN 2018
After the French Open champion Simona Halep and the Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki were upset earlier in the tournament, the defeat of Wimbledon queen Angelique Kerber opened the door to a fourth Grand Slam champ in 2018. In the men’s tournament, all three 2018 Slam champions Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are still in the draw and it is very unlikely that one of them will not walk away with the US Open trophy next weekend. I personally think that Djokovic will win the title, even if Federer was impressive against Kyrgios and Nadal showed that he’s in for a fight during his four-hour marathon with Khachanov.
THE PROBLEMS OF YOUNG ZVEREV AND THE EXPERIENCE OF OLD LENDL
World No.4 Alexander Zverev has reached only one Grand Slam quarterfinal in 14 attempts so far in his young career. It is certainly not a very good record for someone that has been ranked among the best players in the world for the past couple of years. It is clear how Zverev crumbles under pressure and underperforms at the Slams, unlike in the regular tour events. Ivan Lendl was added to Zverev’s team to help him with this psychological block. The Czech champion won 8 Slams and competed in other 11 finals in his legendary career, but he reached his first final at the 10th attempt and won his first title at the 17th.
At 58 years of age, Lendl could be Zverev’s dad and explained to his young pupil that “it is a process… The results will come in 2019.”
ONLY THREE TOP TEN PLAYERS ARE LEFT IN THE WOMEN’S DRAW
Angelique Kerber was not the only top ten player to lose on day six. No. 6-seed Caroline Garcia lost to Carla Suarez Navarro, whose one-handed backhand brought back memories of the great Justine Henin. No. 5-seed Petra Kvitova lost to Aryna Sabalenka and No. 10-seed Jelena Ostapenko was dominated by Maria Sharapova. The highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw is No. 14 Madison Keys, who seems poised for a repeat of last year’s final against Sloane Stephens. In Keys’ section of the draw, watch out for Naomi Osaka, who has been devastating so far. Yesterday the Japanese rising star double bageled Sasnovich 6-0, 6-0.
IS THE NEW LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM A GRAVEYARD OF CHAMPIONS?
Since world No. 1 Simona Halep officially inaugurated the new Louis Armstrong stadium with a shocking defeat against Kaia Kanepi on day one, five more Grand Slam champions have been upset on that same court: Muguruza lost to Muchova, Wozniacki was upset by Tsurenko, Kerber was defeated by Cibulkova and Kvitova was sent home by Sabalenka. Many superstitious players will not want to play on that court from now on. The same situation haunted court No. 2 at Wimbledon for many years, until it was rebuilt in 2009. Connors, McEnroe, Sampras, Stich, Cash and many other champions suffered shocking defeats on that court.
TODAY’S TOP MATCHES
Anderson-Thiem and del Potro-Coric are the most interesting matches of the day. Serena is also facing a tough opponent – the big hitting Kaia Kanepi from Estonia.
Ubaldo Scanagatta
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
