Right OK I finally am getting round to covering the 2014 US Open, which is the last grand slam of the season so I will split the posts between the ladies and the men and I will start with the ladies first. So there is a lot to catch up on as the first week is now over so might as well get to it.
Soooo starting with the Day 1 Simona Halep opened up proceedings on the Arthur Ashe stadium which saw the current World No.2 have a real fight on her hands as she took on the American wildcard Danielle Collins in what turned into a three set scrap. Halep had to battle from a set down to win this one but after the first set she took full control and broke the young American twice in both sets 2 and 3 to reach the 2nd round in 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. Next up was Venus Williams, the former two time champion who played the oldest player on the ladies tour, Kimiko Date Krum of Japan and she had to battle past her in three sets but to win in 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Maria Shrapova then played her fellow Russian, Maria Mirilenko in what promised to be a tight encounter, however after the first set Sharapova raced to victory and handed Kirilenko a creamy bagel to end her tournament with a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Agnieszka Radwanska got her campaign off to a confident start as well as she hammered the Canadian player, Sharon Fichman conceding just one game to win 6-1, 6-0. Angelique Kerber on the other hand had a much tougher time of it against the Austrian player, Ksenia Pervak and needed three sets to overcome her in 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Sloane Stephens however had little problems in her match against Annika Beck as she defeated in straight sets 6-3, 6-0. And lastly Caroline Wozniacki, who has returned to form this year, got through on a retirement in a tough match against Magdalena Rybarikova, who retired with injury which saw Caroline win 6-1, 3-6, 2-0.
Moving onto Day 2 Ana Ivanovic made a confident start to her campaign as she beat Alison Riske in 6-3, 6-0. Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion also made an even better start as she thumped her opponent Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets, dropping only one game to win 6-1, 6-0. Serena Williams next up who has a suffered a bad year in the slams, however signalled her intent with a confident start as she defeated the talented American newcomer, Taylor Townsend in 6-3, 6-1 and despite her ropey form in 2014 I still see Serena as the favourite here. Eugenie Bouchard, the Wimbledon finalist, who had suffered a bad hard court swing over the summer, bounced back well as she dismissed Olga Govortsova winning also in 6-3, 6-1. Sam Stosur, the former 2011 champion also got her campaign off to a good start as she beat the American, Lauren Davis, with a straight set 6-4, 6-1 win. And lastly Victoria Azarenka, who recently has come back from injury had to battle her way past Misaki Doi of Japan and she rallied from a set down to win the match in 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.
So onto day 3 which saw the first upset of the seeds, Sloane Stephens who fell against the Swedish player, Johanna Larsson who stunned the American in 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Maria Sharapova also looked threatened in her match but she managed to fight her way back in from a set down against Alexandra Dulgheru in three sets with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. Venus Williams however managed to get past her opponent in straight sets as she dismissed the Canadian player, Timea Basczinsky with a 6-1, 6-4 win. Then came the biggest upset of the tournament so far with Agnieszka Radwanska, the 4th seed beaten by the Chinese player, Peng Shuai in straight sets in 6-3, 6-4, which yet again shows Radwanska continue to come to grips with the US Open as she has never gotten past the 4th round here. Simona Halep however breezed her way past Jana Cepelova of Slovakia dropping just three games to win in 6-2, 6-1. Caroline Wozniacki also had a fairly comfortable time of it as she played the Belarusian player, Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 6-3, 6-4 result. And lastly Jelena Jankovic had to dig a bit deeper to fight her way past the Bulgarian player, Tsvetana Pironkova who she beat 7-5, 6-4.
Moving onto day 4 starting Victoria Azarenka, who started to find her feet in the US Open here as she beat the American player, Christina McHale is straight sets to reach the 3rd round with a confident 6-3, 6-2 result after a slow start in the first set. Serena Williams also continued her confident form as she blasted her way past Vania King, conceding just one game to destroy her fellow American with an emphatic 6-1, 6-0 drubbing. Eugenie Bouchard however had to dig real deep to get past Great Britain's Heather Watson's conqueror, Sorana Cirstea in three sets with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 scoreline. And then we had another big upset as Ana Ivanovic fell to the Czeck player, Karolina Pliskova in straight sets in 7-5, 6-4 which signalled a pretty disappointing end to Ivanovic's season in the slams, but maybe she might enjoy better luck next year. Next up the Serbian player, Aleksandra Krunic announced herself as she beat the American, Madison Keys in three tough sets in 7-6, 2-6, 7-5. And lastly Petra Kvitova won the all Czeck (not to mention all Petra!) contest comfortably in the end as she beat Petra Cetcovska with a straight set 6-4, 6-2 victory.
So now onto day 5 which began with Venus Williams taking on Sara Errani, the Italian, who is a former semi finalist here, but had never beaten Venus before this and never even taken set. However that all changed her as she Sara did the unthinkable and bagelled the American in the first set, only to have Venus do the same to Errani in the 2nd. The 3rd set proved to be a different kettle of fish altogether as both players battled it out on serve as the match went into a final set tiebreak and it was Errani who emerged the victor with a stunning 6-0, 0-6, 7-6 win. Maria Sharapova had an easier time of it however as she took on Sabine Lisicki of Germany (one of my favourite players, very nice!) but she prevailed with relative ease recovering from a break down in the 2nd set to win 6-2, 6-4. Lucie Safarova of the Czeck republic on the other hand had to battle her way past the French player, Alize Cornet in three sets to reach the 4th round in 6-3, 6-7, 6-4. And then we saw the biggest upset of the ladies tournament so far as the World No.2 Simona Halep was stunned by the veteran player, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Slovakia who beat her in 7-6, 6-2. This was a big surprise which I'm sure those who have been following Halep's confident form this year will have not been expecting but it shows upsets can and do happen. And lastly Caroline Wozniacki once again showed that she is back in form as she beat Andrea Petkovic in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last 16, which is the second time she has managed to reach the 2nd week of a major this year having done so before at Wimbledon.
And finally we have day 6 which began with Flavia Pennetta of Italy continue her confident form at Flushing meadows as she trumped the American qualifier, Nicole Gibbs in 6-4, 6-0. After that we had Serena Williams who also showed her fine form in New York again be beating her compatriot Varvara Lepchenko in 6-3, 6-3. Meanwhile Eugenie Bouchard had to show her fighting qualities again as she battled past the Czeck player, Barbora Zhalavova-Strycova, in a three set contest with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 result. Whilst it has to be said I'm not a big fan of Bouchard myself as she appears quite arrogant, her form in the slams this year really has been impressive however as she has now consistetly made the 2nd week of the slams this year and no doubt she might go a bit further. And after this we had another big upset as Petra Kvitova was knocked out of the tournament by the talented newcomer Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia in 6-4, 6-4. And lastly Victoria Azarenka finally showed her range and that she is getting back to form as she crushed the Russian, Elena Vesnina with a 6-1, 6-1 rout, which shows she is very much in this tournament and remains a contender for the title, but she will next face Krunic who has already pulled off a big upset with Kvitova, so Vika will need to be on her guard but I think she will come through in the end.
Rrrrrrright so that's it for the ladies, next up is the mens.
Be back soon.
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