Only Connect, Queens edition

[Janik]

Complete the following sequences:-
Nole-Rafa-Nole-?
Naomi-Ash-Simo-?

[Janik]

The first step to filling in the blanks is qualifying. This started yesterday, with half of the Q1 matches for both the Men and Women being played. The majority of the Brits happened to be involved in the sections held over to today to get underway (Naiktha Bains was the only one to play yesterday, with limited success), so the draws below are is mostly not out of date…


Men's

Salvatore Caruso Ita [6] vs Chung Yun-seong Kor
Blaz Rola Slo vs Lukas Rosol Cze
Jay Clarke GBr vs Mitchell Krueger USA
Stefan Kozlov USA [WC] vs Egor Gerasimov Blr [22]

Elias Ymer Swe [16] vs Tallon Griekspoor Ned
Cem Ilkel Tur vs Roberto Quiroz Ecu
James Ward GBr vs Li Zhe Chn
Marco Trungelliti Arg vs James Duckworth Aus [25]


Women's

Irina-Camerlia Begu Rou [3] bt Perma Ozgen Tur
Jana Cepelova Svk bt Naiktha Bains GBr
Jaimee Fourlis aus bt Antonia Lottner Ger
Diana Marcinkevica Lat l to Liudmila Samsonova Rus [21]

Heather Watson GBr [8] vs Mariam Bolkvadze Geo
Han Na-lae Kor vs Magdalena Rybarikova Svk
Victoria Duval USA [WC] vs Xu Shilin Chn
Paula Ormaechea Arg vs Varvara Fink Rus [32]

Wang Xiyu Chn [10] vs Ekaterine Gorgodze Geo
Elitsa Kostova Bul vs Yanina Wickmayer Bel
Anna Bondar Hun vs Hailey Baptiste USA [WC]
Jamie Loeb USA [WC] vs Harriet Dart GBr [29]

Barbora Krejcikova Cze [16] vs Tereza Smitkova Cze
Basak Eraydin Tur vs Asia Muhammad USA
Katrina Scott USA [WC] vs Katie Swan GBr
Viktoriya Tomova Bul vs Anna Kalinskaya Rus [17]

[Janik]

Q1 is done. Only two Brits have survived it.

James Ward is the sole male through to Q2 after beating Li Zhe in two sets. That reversed a recent defeat Ward suffered to Li in a challenger. Ward is presumably happy to have things this way around. His next opponent is Marco Trungelliti, whose main claim to fame was driving overnight with his mother and grandmother from Barcelona to Paris to take up a late place as a lucky loser in the French Open main draw, and then beating Bernard Tomic when he got there. His journey to New York has presumably be rather less like a caper movie. There is also a rather darker story associated with the Argentine, though. He did what he was meant to do when approached to fix a match, reported it. This eventually led to some corrupt players being banned and Trungelliti has been paying for it ever since.
The only woman through is Harriet Dart, who beat American wild card Jamie Loeb in straight sets. She now faces another in Q2, Hailey Baptiste, who I’m starting to find out stuff about. Baptiste beat Madison Keys in the recent Washington event. She is yet another talented young African American player it appears (she is 17) – Venus and Serena’s legacy is going to be written all over Women’s tennis for the next decade at least. Baptiste was the runner-up in the Girls Doubles at Flushing Meadows last year (w/ Dalayna Hewitt); on the other side of the were Caty McNally and Coco Gauff. Here are the four of them at the presentation ceremony - https://www.itftennis.com/media/291085/291085.jpg (l to r: McNally, Gauff, Baptiste, Hewitt). Dart will be playing against the crowd as well as her opponent, then.

OK, that was the good news for the Brits, now what of the bad? Well, in the Men’s, Jay Clarke lost to Mitchell Krueger from a set up. And on the Women’s side Katie Swan and Heather Watson joined Naiktha Bains (who lost on Monday) on the sidelines. Swan reportedly needed an injury time-out during her defeat to local wild card Katrina Scott, whilst Watson’s 4&2 defeat to Mariam Bolkvadze was disappointing for a host of reasons. The main one was that Heather looked like she had found some form at last when she won the Vancouver Challenger title last week without dropping a set. That involved beating a string of players at or higher than Bolkvadze’s ranking of 202 or higher. That should have boosted the fragile confidence, but seemingly not. Missing out means Watson will be absent from the US Open main draw for the first time since 2010. Maybe that is a blessing in disguise, seeing as her record from 2011-18 was played 8, lost 8! As I’ve mentioned before, Watson was once the Girls Singles champion at this venue, but that is now an awful long time ago.


In non-British and very sad news, French Open Semi-Finalists and burgeoning young talent Amanda Anisimova will not play her home slam after the sudden death of her father (and coach). Anisimova would have been a seed, and a potential breakout star. She will be again (hopefully) once she gets past the grief.

[Janik]

Serena vs Sharapova in R1! Not what either would have wanted. Serena, in particular, wants straightforward R1/2 matches to work her way into form and fitness in Slams. Hence last year's fuss about seedings following the world rankings.

[Janik]

Down to one after yesterday’s results. That one is Harriet Dart, who beat Hailey Baptiste in straight sets. Dart now plays #10 Wang Xiyu for a place in the main draw. Even if she loses there is still a chance as there are already three lucky losers spots guaranteed to be needed on the Women’s side and counting. There would be 16 players for those to be drawn from, mind.
James Ward’s tournament ended in a straight sets loss to Marco Trungelliti.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Dart has qualified. I checked the list of qualifiers on the Wiki page and thought for a moment that Dart had lost her 3rd round match because the qualifiers include a player called Wang Xinyu. But Dart's opponent, as noted by Janik above, was in fact Wang Xiyu. One of those Chinese ladies is 18 years old and the other 17, so there is plenty more scope for me to get the names similarly muddled up over the next decade and more if I live that long.

[Janik]

Second successful Slam qualifying campaign of 2019 for Harriet, as she also won through to the main draw in Australia. We'll gloss over what happened once she was there in Melbourne and focus instead on the run to R3 at Wimbledon six weeks ago. More of that wouldn't go amiss.

[Jimski]

Does anyone know why Anderson's 16th seed slot in the men's draw was replaced directly by a lucky loser, while Vondrousova's 17th seed slot in the women's draw was replaced by a new number 33 seed (whose own slot was then presumably replaced by a lucky loser)? The latter way seems a better way of ensuring the draw remains balanced.

[Janik]

Nope. I'm presuming there is some kind of deadline after which the draw structure is fixed (Vondrousova withdrew earlier) but Anderson has pulled out over a day before the start. Seems long enough for people to work on new match-ups.

[Janik]

And now Milos Raonic has also dropped out. Only 14 seeds in the Men's top half because of this.

Given the draws appear to be fixed, it's time to post up the nominal R3 match-ups I guess...

Women's Singles

Naomi Osaka Jpn [1] vs Carla Suarez Navarro Esp [28]
Anett Kontaveit Est [21] vs Belinda Bencic Sui [13]
Aryna Sabalenka Blr [9] vs Donna Vekic Cro [23]
Julia Goerges Ger [26] vs Kiki Bertens Ned [7]

Simona Halep Rou [4] vs Barbora Strycova Cze [31]
Caroline Wozniacki Den [19] vs Bianca Andreescu Can [15]
Sloane Stephens USA [11] vs Garbine Muguruza Esp [24]
Elise Mertens Bel [25] vs Petra Kvitova Cze [6]


Elena Svitolina Ukr [5] vs Dayana Yastremska Ukr [32]
Sofia Kenin USA [20] vs Madison Keys USA [10]
Johanna Konta GBr [16] vs Zhang Shuai Chn [33]
Caroline Garcia Fra [27] vs Karolina Pliskova Cze [3]

Serena Williams USA [8] vs Hsieh Su-wei Tpe [29]
Petra Martic Cro [22] vs Anastasija Sevastova Lat [12]
Angelique Kerber Ger [14] vs Wang Qiang Chn [18]
Maria Sakkari Gre [30] vs Ashleigh Barty Aus [2]




Men's Singles

Novak Djokovic Srb [1] vs Dusan Lajovic Srb [27]
Stan Wawrinka Sui [23] vs [Blank] (Kevin Anderson RSA [16] withdrew)
Fabio Fognini Ita [11] vs Nikoloz Basilashvili Geo [17]
Taylor Fritz USA [26] vs Daniil Medvedev Rus [5]

Roger Federer Sui [3] vs Lucas Pouille Fra [25]
Guido Pella Arg [19] vs David Goffin Bel [15]
Borna Coric Cro [12] vs [Blank] (Milos Raonic Can [21] withdrew)
Cristian Garin Chi [31] vs Kei Nishikori Jpn [7]


Stefanos Tsitsipas Gre [8] vs Nick Kyrgios Aus [28]
Matteo Berrettini Ita [24] vs Roberto Bautista Agut Esp [10]
Gael Monfils Fra [13] vs Felix Auger-Aliassime Can [18]
Kyle Edmund GBr [30] vs Dominic Thiem Aut [4]

Alexander Zverev Ger [6] vs Beniot Paire Fra [29]
Diego Schwartzman Arg [20] vs Karen Khachanov Rus [9]
John Isner USA [14] vs Marin Cilic Cro [22]
Fernando Verdasco Esp [32] vs Rafael Nadal Esp [2]

[Janik]

And also the obstacles in front of any Brits making R3.

Roger Federer Sui [3] vs Sumit Nagal Ind [Q]
Elliot Benchetrit Fra [Q] vs Damir Dzumhur BiH
Adrian Mannarino Fra vs Dan Evans GBr
Philipp Kohlschrieber Ger vs Lucas Pouille Fra [25]

Guido Pella Arg [19] vs Pablo Carreno Busta Esp
Ricardas Berankis Ltu vs Jiri Vesely Cze [Q]
Gregoire Barrere Fra [Q] vs Cameron Norrie GBr
Corentin Moutet Fra vs David Goffin Bel [15]

Kyle Edmund GBr [30] vs Pablo Andujar Esp
Lorenzo Sonego Ita vs Marcel Granollers Esp
Alexander Bublik Kaz vs Santiago Giraldo Col [Q]
Thomas Fabbiano Ita vs Dominic Thiem Aut [4]


Johanna Konta GBr [16] vs Daria Kasatkina Rus
Margarita Gasparyan Rus vs Priscilla Hon Aus [LL]
Ekaterina Alexandrova Rus vs Samantha Stosur Aus [WC]
Viktorija Golubic Sui vs Zhang Shuai Chn [33]

Petra Martic Cro [22] vs Tamara Zidansek Slo
Ana Bogdan Rou [Q] vs Harriet Dart GBr [Q]
Ivana Jorovic Srb vs Iga Swiatek Pol
Eugenie Bouchard Can vs Anastasija Sevastova Lat [12]

[Janik]

Thoughts tomorrow morning. Unless anyone else wants to chip in first?

[Jimski]

I'll go for some predictions. Really boring in the men's, Djokovoic beating Nadal in the final. As for the women's, blimey anything could happen. I'll go with Halep winning it, beating Barty in the final. (Watch as both lose before the third round now...)

[Janik]

Men’s

Dating from Roger Federer’s first Wimbledon title in 2003, only he and three other Men have won that tournament. Five have won the Aussie and French Opens in the same period. But eight have won in Flushing Meadow, including the sole Slams for Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic (and Andy Roddick, showing how long ago this run starts). Is that because the surface in New York is a great leveller that opens things up to the field a little more? Or is that simply a function of the date of the event in the season, i.e. three-quarters of the way through, when many players are coming in with a varying degree of injury? Probably the later, to be honest…
The big question for the Men’s game has been who will the next first time winner be? Sascha Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas? Or someone older who has been overshadowed by the Big Four (and Wawrinka)? Well, I’m going for the wait extending again. And that is because, even in middle age, those remaining top 3 guys look stronger than ever! They still occupy seeding berths 1-3 for a reason.
Which am I going to tip for this? Well, you know, for some reason I’m thinking Federer. He could hardly have been closer at Wimbledon, serving for the title, and if he is going to protect his legacy of winning the most he needs at least one more as, with Nadal on 18 and Djokovic now on 16 both seem likely to reach at least Roger’s current 20. If not more.
He has been talking himself up, which is unusual and could be read as a sign of fragile confidence. But he must also be aware this is pretty well the last realistic chance. He has what, a season left in him? The 2020 Olympic gold is the last other big target. So yeah, one last hurrah for Federer. Why not.
If it was going to be a new face though, the most likely candidate on form is utterly clear. And that is Daniil Medvedev. His problem might come against one of the other players who has had a good US summer, Taylor Fritz. They are due to meet in R3, and that could/should decide a quarter-finalist. Beyond them, it would never be wise to write off Stan Wawrinka. He may not be properly back from injury, but the maximal level is still in there somewhere.
But overall I’m not seeing the changing of the guard quite yet.


Women’s

Who is fit? Is Naomi Osaka OK after her knee injury in Canada? She says she is ‘getting better’ which to me means no, she isn’t yet. And that may be too late. What of Serena Williams and the back spasms that saw her retire from the Toronto final and not play Cincinnati? It’s two weeks now since those so hopefully whatever it is has cleared up with rest and treatement, but it’s more of a worry that she seems to keep breaking down these days. A 37 year old body that has been through a traumatic birth and had another serious medical issue is looking like it’s got miles on its clock.
And then the rest of them. So many candidates. Ashleigh Barty looked great in winning the French and then powering to World No.1 but her form has dipped a little since then. She is such a clever player, but can still be overpowered at times. Simona Halep was excellent at Wimbledon, and we haven’t really seen enough of her since to know if she has taken that in her stride this time. Karolina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Kiki Bertens, Aryna Sabalenka, Madison Keys? Well one can makes a case for all of them, and against all of them as well.
It’s all so open. And it’s not like form matters. The two big warm-up events were won by Bianca Andreescu, who was playing effectively her first tournament in four months and Madison Keys who had gone out at the first hurdle in both her previous events. So whilst Sofia Kenin comes on a superb run, I tend to look past her as a champion as well.
Who else lower down might make an impact? Well, I think watch out for Belinda Bencic (seeded 13), who has gone quiet after a fast start to the year. And Maria Sakkari (30), if she can get past a tough R1 match. Dayana Yastremska? A non-seed like Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Victoria Azarenka or Venus Williams. Who knows. If you do, there is good money to be made!
In fact, who I turn back to is the young Canadian, Andreescu. When one goes over her record, she has barely lost a match this year. Champion in Toronto and Indian Wells. Out in the QFs of Miami with injury. 7-0 lifetime vs top ten players(!), all matches coming this year. She is the real deal I think. I’m going to assume the withdrawal from Cincy was simply precautionary and say she will ride a wave to her first Slam this fortnight.

[Janik]

Day 1 picks

Men's

Laslo Djere vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Fabio Fognini [11] vs Reilly Opelka
Taylor Fritz [26] vs Feliciano Lopez
Guido Pella [19] vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Jack Sock [WC] vs Pablo Cuevas

Two rising Serbian stars clash in a fascinating non-seeded match on an outside court as Laslo Djere (24) and Miomir Kecmanovic (19) take each other on. Both have been in Tour Finals this year for the first time (Djere won and Kecmanovic lost). I favour the younger man as he is more of an all-courter than Djere, whose best surface appears to be clay. But it’s one I would make a beeline for.
There couldn’t be more of a contrast in styles between the mix of baseline grind and subtlety that Fabio Fognini brings and the raw power of Reilly Opelka. For the good of the tournament one hopes the Italian wins (as long as he controls himself!) but he will need to find a way to break the tall American’s booming serve. That is the issue that turns this match.
Taylor Fritz is a more accomplished version of Opelka, but still not a player who excites the connoisseur. He is, however, clearly tough to beat at the moment after making three Tour finals over the past two months (1-2 in these matches). And there is another, somewhat different, serving machine at the other end here in Feliciano Lopez, whose own hard to play delivery mixes good power with lots of slice.Tie-breaks may abound. By playing, Lopez extends a record that is already his – this will be his 71st consecutive Slam main draw played.
Pablo Carreno Busta has regressed rather since he made the Semis here in 2017, hence the lack of a seeding this time. Maybe being back at the venue of his greatest two weeks to date will revive him. The Spaniard won’t mind his draw against Guido Pella, who is a good player for sure, and on decent form this year (first title, first Slam QF at the French) but is really a clay courter whilst Carreno Busta is somewhat more all-court. Looks a potential shock to me.
And finally, let’s have a look what has become of Jack Sock. Not so long ago a top ten player, now barely inside the top 200. Pablo Cuevas on a hard court with a home crowd should be a winnable match given Sock’s ability. Two years ago it the American would have been a strong favourite. Now? We are looking at a man who hasn’t won a singles match at all in 2019 (though he hasn’t played many tournaments). Anywhere. It’s pretty ridiculous to be honest.


Women's

Sofia Kenin [20] vs Coco Vandeweghe [PR]
Johanna Konta [16] vs Daria Kasatkina
Serena Williams [8] vs Maria Sharapova
Eugenie Bouchard vs Anastasija Sevastova [12]
Maria Sakkari [30] vs Camila Giorgi

Sofia Kenin has been flying in the warm-up events, semis in Toronto and Cincy. Coco Vandeweghe has looked rusty on her comeback. But Coco is a potential slam champion if she can knit it all together again. And she likes a big stage. She will go out swinging and test her younger foe.
Oof. Dasha Kasatkina in R1 is not the draw Jo Konta would have wanted. The Russian was a top ten player a year ago, and whilst her form has obviously plummeted to see her unseeded now she is about as tricky a draw as possible. Especially with Konta’s form in the warm-ups being ropey. Jo needs a win to get rolling, but another R1 exit looks very possible.
Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova is match of the day by a vast margin. Because it’s much more than a tennis match. There is personal animosity. There is race and how that sees athletes judged. There is... well there is nothing bigger than the previous one, is there? Serena is not just playing someone she dislikes intensely, she is playing against a tall blonde woman who represents the easier ride that tall blonde women get in the world, whilst she symbolises the tougher one that powerful black women face. The big question is whether it will actually happen, though. Serena pulled out of playing at last year’s French Open rather than take her on half-fit and end the 15 year winning run. If the back ain’t right, the crowd might be rather disappointed this evening.
This match against Anastasija Sevastova is something of a last chance saloon for Genie Bouchard, as her lack of form will be evident in her entry ranking after this event. And she is on a run of historically bad proportions now. No win at all, at any level and in any format, since February. It’s hard to see a way out of this without some extreme luck. Playing a seed is a bit of a shot to nothing, but Sevastova won’t allow Bouchard to just hit out. It should be yet another loss for the collection.
There are some players no-one likes playing, like Hsieh Su-wei and Sevastova. Camila Giorgi is in that category as she just takes matches off opponent’s racquets. If she is landing, as has been happening recently in runs to finals in Washington and last week in the Bronx then she is a live hand grenade even for a player as solid as Maria Sakkari. Expect the Greek to go out there, play well, and hope the errors come...

[Jimski]

The British press seem bizarrely obsessed with Cori Gauff - I keep seeing articles about her.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Thank you Serena for thrashing Drugscheat (who drops to around no.132 in consequence).

But that comment in response to being asked about Carlos Ramos - one of the most charmless and offensive answers ever given by a tennis star in an interview. I hope S Williams gets thrashed in her turn in R2. {Edit: it would be nice if Ramos goes on to referee the final too.]

[ad hoc]

What did she say?

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

What did she say?

Presumably this:

When asked about the decision not to allow Portuguese umpire Carlos Ramos to officiate her matches in New York following their infamous row, Williams said: "I do not know who that is."

[Janik]

It’s always the US Open where the more toxic bits of Serena’s personality crawl out, isn’t it? Wonder why. Something about the New York vibe that encourages that element nearer the surface?


So, yesterday then. As EEG notes, Serena beat Sharapova. Nay, thrashed her. Over all the years of beat downs, few if any have been as comprehensive as 1 & 1. Since returning from her drug ban (always, always this formulation, never ‘comeback’) Sharapova has won one minor tournament, not made the finals of another and made one Slam QF only. She has only really been effective on clay. She is now 32. One wonders if she is lying in bed at the moment wondering whether it’s worth continuing as the run-of-the-mill player age and injuries have apparently turned her into. I suspect she will continue as she will believe she needs to win one post-ban Slam to ‘prove’ the pre-ban ones were ‘legitimate’ (can’t be done, honey).
Two Women’s seeds did fall, #14 Angie Kerber beaten by Kiki Mladenovic, who had a better day than her former doubles partner #27 Caroline Garcia, who lost on Ons Jabeur. I so nearly included Kerber-Mladenovic as a potential shock. Gah!
Of the ones I did, Kenin broke Vandeweghe down in two, Giorgi was right off it and was smashed by Sakkari and Sevastova won comfortable as expected against Looseard (sorry). I’ll deal with Konta-Kasatkina in more detail below.
In other results Karolina Pliskova scrambled through in two breakers against Tereza Martincova, Venus Williams thumped Zheng Saisai and Ash Barty overcame a really ropey start (losing the first set 6-1) to beat Zarina Diyas in three.

On the Men’s side, I picked all seeds to fall in advance, Fognini losing in four to Opelka (ah, nuts), Fritz doing likewise against Lopez and Carreno Busta also playing four to beat Pella. I’m calling that a win. In the other two I highlighted, Kecmanovic beat Djere pretty comfortably and Cuevas continued to question whether singles has any part of Sock’s future.
As for the leading lights, a massive shock was briefly threatened when Federer lost the opening set to Nagal, but then Roger won the second 6-1 and normal service was resumed. Djokovic and Medvedev won in straight sets and Nishikori in one-and-a-half as Trungelliti retired hurt. Elsewhere in this section, Grigor Dimitrov won a match! Shocker…

In Brit news, Dan Evans was apparently unhappy with how he played and hit the ball. And yet he still beat Adrian Mannarino in four sets. Which is a decent result. Go figure. He plays #25 Lucas Pouille next, which looks like a tasty match to me. Cameron Norrie was also up against a Frenchman, Gregoire Barrere. Norrie fell two sets down, recovered to force a decider but then lost that on a tie-break. D’Oh!
On the Women’s side, Jo Konta reportedly played a brilliant first set against Dasha Kasatkina, couldn’t keep the level quite up then won a somewhat fraught final set which included a verbal set-to with the Umpire. Something that she is doing more often these days – she is letting the spikiness of her character through a bit more (cf. the exchange where she patronised a journalist at Wimbledon and then hypocritically accuse him of patronising her! That was almost Trumpian). Her next opponent is another Russian, Margarita Gasparyan. Harriet Dart’s tournament went no further than qualifying again though, beaten comfortably by another player who came through the q-draw, Ana Bogdan.

[Janik]

Day 2 picks

Women's

Naomi Osaka [1] vs Anna Blinkova
Anastasia Potapova vs Cori Gauff [WC]
Aryna Sabalenka [9] vs Victoria Azarenka
Simona Halep [4] vs Nicole Gibbs [LL]
Alison Riske vs Garbine Muguruza [24]

Is Naomi Osaka fit? That is the big question with this match. She clearly wasn’t when her match with Kenin in Cincinnati ended prematurely less than two weeks ago and knee injuries can be slow recoveries. Young Russian Anna Blinkova is a solid enough player, but the sort Osaka would blow away if she is right and on form. But if she is still struggling, then the draw could open up.
Err, sorry Jimski. Coco Gauff remains a story for now. It does feel at times that she is the only young player on the WTA Tour at the moment, which is very far from the truth. As Anastasia Potapova, 18, would attest. The Russian made two Tour level finals last year and has been well inside the top 100 for a while. She was also the World Junior champion, something Gauff has basically skipped by moving straight into the seniors. It will be interesting to see how she does against a relative peer. One can’t help but wonder if a comprehensive R1 defeat might be a long-term benefit...
The all-Belarussian tie of Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka probably has the honour of being the tie of the day on the Women’s side. It is the only one where a former World No.1 and slam champion is taking on a newer entrant to the elite levels of the game. It will be interesting to see how Sabalenka handles facing a player who one assumes was her idol as a teenager – Azarenka was winning Slam and being World No.1 when Sabalenka was ~13 but who has also been a teammate; the pair were in tandem in the decisive doubles of the Fed Cup Semi this year (which they lost). Azarenka will be her usual determined self, but it’s probably on Sabalenka’s racquet. Like most matches she plays.
In terms of match-up, taking on Simona Halep doesn’t look good from Nicole Gibbs’ perspective. All the things she does well, moving, battling, never giving up, Halep does equally or more effectively. The Romanian also has more attacking weapons than the feisty American. So this one is more down Halep’s end of the court. She has also had an injury scare of sorts in the build-up when she retired hurt in the Toronto QFs, though less obviously an issue than Osaka or Serena’s as she then played the following week. The confidence should still be right up there after the Wimbledon win, and grinding Gibbs down sounds like an ideal start to her campaign.
Ali Riske against Garbine Muguruza has potential shock written all over it. Riske ought to still be on a high from her run to the Wimbledon Quarter-Final and then putting up a very proper showing in that. Muguruza has been in a funk for ages now, with just one QF all season in Slams/Prem Mandatory/Prem 5 and an overall W-L of 21-12. Garbine last won a singles match at the French Open, which is months ago now. Muguruza only seems to have one way of playing, blow her opponent away but Riske’s aggressive defence, short bunty forehand swing and smooth backhand can deal with that. She is due a win in New York after going out in R1 in each of the last five years. It comes here, I think.


Men's

Stefanos Tsitsipas [8] vs Andrey Rublev
Steve Johnson vs Nick Kyrgios [28]
Matteo Berrettini [24] vs Richard Gasquet
Denis Shapovalov vs Felix Auger-Aliassime [18]
Vasek Pospisil [PR] vs Karen Khachanov[9]

Three months ago Stefanos Tsitsipas against Andrey Rublev would mostly have been about the Greek youngster. Tsitsipas form in recent months has been patchy, ever since losing a spectacular R4 match to Wawrinka at Roland Garros basically. Rublev by contrast has been flying this summer, beating Federer to make the QFs in Cincy being the highlight. The Russian is actually marginally the older player, it’s just taken him a bit longer to make the expected transition to the top of the Men’s game (Rublev is a former Junior No.1). But it looks like it’s coming now, which means this has the potential to be a ~QF quality match taking place in R1. Hope it goes to five.
It’s hard to think of more of a contrast between the grit and consistency of Steve Johnson and the flash an instability of Nick Kyrgios. The American comes in off the back of a good week in Winston-Salem, Kyrgios arrives with his even better seven days in Washington a distant memory with some dire behaviour having occurred since. Like most Kyrgios matches, this is mostly about him (he is 5-2 against top 10 players in 2019!). But the other factor is the New York crowd. If they get under his skin, and some will try to, then that could hand victory to the American.
Matteo Berrettini appears to be a proper player, destined to be around the top echelons of the game for many years. Solid, consistent, handy on any surface. Much like Richard Gasquet was at his peak, then. The Frenchman rolled back the years by making the Semis in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago and is still talent, even if one wonders whether his fitness will last for a deep run. He has played lots of warm-ups to the Italians one match, one loss. That could be the key, though if it goes five (and that is a very Gasquet thing to happen) then one favours the younger man.
For my money the match of the day on the Men’s side is the all-Canadian clash between Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Shapovalov has made waves in New York before, qualifying and reaching R4 back in 2017 as an 18-year-old, the youngest male player to reach that stage since Michael Chang. Auger-Aliassime can’t match that as he is already 19, but he has usurped the spot as the biggest hope for Canadian Tennis that Shapovalov thought was his after he snatched it from Raonic back a year or two ago. Given the form, I favour the younger man but maybe being back in New York will bring the real Denis back to the fore again?
Given the rise in prominence of Canadian Tennis, it’s worth including one of the previous generation here, Vasek Pospisil. He feels like he has been around for years, but is still only 29 and just six years on from his breakthrough when he made the Semis of the Canada Open. Injuries have been rather unkind on the tall Canuck since then, which have prevented him becoming the consistent top 20 player that his talent would have allowed. He still possesses a booming serve though, which will make this one against Karen Khachanov something of an ace-fest. Once the rallies get underway, Pospisil has to pull the trigger early as extended ones only go the Russian’s way.

[Janik]

Running R3 draws

Women's Singles

Naomi Osaka Jpn [1] vs Carla Suarez Navarro [i]Esp[/i] [28] Cory Gauff USA [WC]
Anett Kontaveit Est [21] vs Belinda Bencic Sui [13]
Aryna Sabalenka [i]Blr[/i] [9] Yulia Putinseva Kaz vs Donna Vekic Cro [23]
Julia Goerges Ger [26] vs Kiki Bertens Ned [7]

Simona Halep [i]Rou[/i] [4] Taylor Townsend USA [Q] vs Barbora Strycova [i]Cze[/i] [31] Sorana Cirstea Rou
Caroline Wozniacki Den [19] vs Bianca Andreescu Can [15]
Sloane Stephens [i]USA[/i] [11] Kristie Ahn USA [WC] vs Garbine Muguruza [i]Esp[/i] [24] Alison Riske [i]USA[/i] Jelena Ostapenko Lat
Elise Mertens Bel [25] vs Petra Kvitova [i]Cze[/i] [6] Andrea Petkovic Ger


Elena Svitolina Ukr [5] vs Dayana Yastremska Ukr [32]
Sofia Kenin USA [20] vs Madison Keys USA [10]
Johanna Konta GBr [16] vs Zhang Shuai Chn [33]
Caroline Garcia [i]Fra[/i] [27] Ons Jabeur Tun vs Karolina Pliskova Cze [3]

Serena Williams USA [8] vs Hsieh Su-wei [i]Tpe[/i] [29] Karolina Muchova Cze
Petra Martic Cro [22] vs Anastasija Sevastova Lat [12]
Angelique Kerber [i]Ger[/i] [14] Kristina Mladenovic [i]Fra[/i] Fiona Ferro Fra vs Wang Qiang Chn [18]
Maria Sakkari Gre [30] vs Ashleigh Barty Aus [2]


Men's Singles

Novak Djokovic Srb [1] vs Dusan Lajovic [i]Srb[/i] [27] Denis Kudla USA
Stan Wawrinka Sui [23] vs (Kevin Anderson [i]RSA[/i] [16] withdrew) Paolo Lorenzi Ita [LL]
Fabio Fognini [i]Ita[/i] [11] Dominik Koepfer Ger [Q] vs Nikoloz Basilashvili Geo [17]
Taylor Fritz [i]USA[/i] [26] Feliciano Lopez Esp vs Daniil Medvedev Rus [5]

Roger Federer Sui [3] vs Lucas Pouille [i]Fra[/i] [25] Daniel Evans GBr
Guido Pella [i]Arg[/i] [19] Pablo Carreno Busta Esp vs David Goffin Bel [15]
Borna Coric [i]Cro[/i] [12] Grigor Dimitrov Bul vs (Milos Raonic [i]Can[/i] [21] withdrew) Kamil Majchrzak Pol [LL]
Cristian Garin [i]Chi[/i] [31] Alex de Minaur Aus vs Kei Nishikori Jpn [7]


Stefanos Tsitsipas [i]Gre[/i] [8] Andrey Rublev Rus vs Nick Kyrgios Aus [28]
Matteo Berrettini Ita [24] vs Roberto Bautista Agut [i]Esp[/i] [10] Alexei Popyrin Aus
Gael Monfils Fra [13] vs Felix Auger-Aliassime [i]Can[/i] [18] Denis Shapovalov Can
Kyle Edmund [i]GBr[/i] [30] Pablo Andujar Esp vs Dominic Thiem [i]Aut[/i] [4] Thomas Fabbiano [i]Ita[/i] Alexander Bublik Kaz

Alexander Zverev Ger [6] vs Beniot Paire [i]Fra[/i] [29] Aljaz Bedene Slo
Diego Schwartzman Arg [20] vs Karen Khachanov [i]Rus[/i] [9] Tennys Sandgren USA
John Isner USA [14] vs Marin Cilic Cro [22]
Fernando Verdasco [i]Esp[/i] [32] Chung Hyeon Kor [Q] vs Rafael Nadal Esp [2]

[Satchmo Distel]

Tough path for Halep.

[Janik]

Tough in theory. In practice it will probably be a whole bunch of different names.

Rublev beat Tsitsipas in four. Edmund about to join him on the sidelines as he is a double break down in set five against Andujar.

[ursus arctos]

Potapova went out fast to a 5-1 lead in the first set (and won it 6-3), but Gauff has come back strong and looks certain to win this (4-1 in the third as a I type)