US Open Week 1: Kyrgios and Serena Steal the Show
Who said tennis would be no fun without the Big 3? The last week of tennis has proven exactly the opposite to be true, with the new crop of players showing their class as well as their entertainment value in a highly compelling week of tennis. The main story of the first week was, of course, Serena Williams’ last 3 matches. Serena, just as she always does, defied expectations to reach Round 3, beating 2nd seed Annett Kontaveit on her way to the last 32. However, the great American eventually bowed out against Ajla Tomljanovic, who is playing some scintillating tennis at the moment. Don’t let her ranking of 48 fool you, she has been one of the most consistent performers on the WTA in recent times and would be ranked far higher had her excellent run at Wimbledon been rewarded with any rankings points.
The other big story of the first week was the excellence of Nick Kyrgios, who is finally beginning to make good on the talent which had everyone predicting him to be a future Grand Slam champion as a teenager. Before Wimbledon this year, his last Grand Slam quarter-final came in 2015, at the Australian Open. Now he has achieved that feat at back-to-back Grand Slams, taking out World Number One Daniil Medvedev along the way. There has been a significant change in attitude in Nick Kyrgios this season, bought on by multiple changes in his personal life, including his strong relationship with his girlfriend Costeen, as well as the ill health of his parents. The Australian appears to be playing with more passion in their honour, saying ‘I felt tired of letting people down. Now I’m making them proud.’ Kyrgios is also still in contention in the men’s doubles draw, winning his first two matches with his partner (and 1st Round singles opponent) Thanasi Kokkinakis. Medvedev, meanwhile, will now no longer be World Number One come next Monday and will be replaced by either Rafa Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz or Casper Ruud.
Unfortunately, there is no more British interest in the singles draws, with Britain’s last hope Cameron Norrie putting in a lacklustre performance to lose 6-4 6-4 6-4 to Andrey Rublev in Round 4. Norrie had been playing some excellent tennis, but was woeful at times against a solid Rublev, who stayed more consistent, making just 17 unforced errors compared to Norrie’s 35. Emma Raducanu saw her title defence ended with a tame First Round exit against Alize Cornet, who herself eventually fell in Round 4 to an inspired Danielle Collins. Arguably the most impressive Briton in New York was Jack Draper, who breezed past 6th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-4 6-4 to reach Round 3. Unfortunately, Draper’s run was ended by injury, as the 20-year-old was forced to retire against Karen Khachanov, who will play tomorrow in the last 8. Draper was leading the match, with a break in the 3rd set before the injury started to affect him and should be extremely proud of an excellent showing. He will make his debut in the Top 50 on Monday.
The question is, who’s the favourite now? On the Women’s side, it is hard to look past the 17th seed Caroline Garcia, who is currently on a 10-match winning streak, spanning over the Cincinnati Open and the US Open. Garcia faces a tough test against the impressive home favourite Coco Gauff, but on her day, Garcia can beat anyone. Garcia’s brilliance was noticed by Andy Murray back in 2011, when she was still 17, with Murray claiming that she ‘was going to be World Number 1 one day’. This may not have come to pass (yet) but her talent and slam-winning potential is undeniable. Watch out for Jessica Pegula too, who has been one of the most consistent performers this year. However realistically, anyone left in the draw has a great chance of winning.
On the Men’s side, the draw is just as open. While Rafa Nadal has been a favourite from the outset, had performances have been less than convincing, until his demolition job of Richard Gasquet, who only managed to take 6 games off the Spaniard. Nadal went into the match with a Head-to-Head of 17-0 against Gasquet, which was perhaps exactly what he needed after 2 shaky performances in his opening 2 rounds. My pick to win is Nick Kyrgios, who has a very winnable match against Karen Khachanov in the Quarter-Finals. Kyrgios has played some simply stunning tennis this week and if he keeps it up, while be virtually impossible to beat. Carlos Alcaraz has also looked impressive, but he will have to raise his level to defeat 2016 Champion Marin Cilic, who knows exactly what it takes to win on Arthur Ashe stadium.