Right, it is time for my last post on the 2016 US Open as the last grand slam of the year has drawn to a close and this post will look at who came out on top in the ladies and men's finals.
So without further ado let's take a look....
LADIES FINAL
Right, so to start off why begin with the ladies final, which saw Angelique Kerber take on Serena William's conqueror, Karolina Pliskova for the title in what promised to be a very interesting encounter.
And the match itself did not disappoint as it was a high quality encounter between the two players who battled it out on Arthur Ashe stadium. And it was Kerber, the new World No.1, who made the stronger start as she broke Pliskova to take the 1st set and her first step towards a second major title. In the 2nd set however, Pliskova showed her mettle and started to fight back and she managed to break Kerber to level the match at a set all.
And in the final set, Pliskova looked to stage the upset as she went a break up against Kerber and she looked set to win her first major. However it wasn't to be as Kerber soon broke back and play went to 5-4 on serve with Pliskova serving to level 5-5 when she dropped serve just at the wrong time and this gave Kerber her 2nd grand slam title and an impressive 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win.
Well this was an excellent match and both women provided a great contest for the Arthur Ashe crowd that saw Kerber cement her new No.1 ranking with her second major title. And there is little doubt that right now Kerber is indeed the best player in the world as she has played the most consistent tennis throughout the season and now she has two majors to back it up. So things are looking very bright indeed the for new World No.1 and it will be interesting to see if Kerber can maintain her top spot.
As for Pliskova, well she put in a great effort and she really showed what a terrific player she has become and that she has developed a big match mentality in New York this year. And from the basis of her performance in this tournament, its fairly safe to say that Pliskova may well be a future grand slam champion. Pliskova also had her chances and it could very easily have been a different result on Saturday night but regardless of her loss, Pliskova at the age of 24 has definitely arrived as a tennis player.
MEN'S FINAL
Right now we get onto the men's final which was between the defending champ and World No.1, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka. Novak may have a distinct lead in their head to head 19-4 going into this match but their rivalry has been very closely contested over the last three years, where Stan has beaten Nole twice in the majors at the Aussie Open two years and the French open final last year and they have had their share of five set epics and classics.
And this match didn't disappoint either as both men produced another humdinger for the Arthur Ashe crowd who were enthralled by the tennis on display. And the first set started with Novak coming out sharp and taking a quick 4-1 lead against Stan, however a lapse of concentration on serve saw Novak surrender his break and play soon went to a tiebreak, which Novak dominated to win the opener.
The 2nd set however saw a change in momentum as Stan broke Nole early on to take the lead in the 2nd set, but Nole broke back again before Stan managed to yet again break Novak to win the 2nd set and level. And in the 3rd set Stan started to boss Novak as he began to find his range and use his powerful game and dazzling array of shotmaking to eventually grab the two sets to one lead although he had to overcome Novak's break of serve first.
And in the 4th set, Stan really stamped his authority on the match and sped into a 3-0 lead, which saw Novak start to wilt physically with injury and 3-1 down he took a medical timeout for his toe. However this was not enough to put off a determined Stan who then went on to hold firm and also his break which eventually saw the Swiss No.1 seal the win and his first US Open title with it after a thrilling 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Well there is little doubt this was the best grand slam final of the year and it featured so many great points from both players and from the start it looked doubtful that Stan might come through as Novak came out so sharp. However, Stan soon turned the tide as he found his range and grew in confidence he rediscovered the form that won him his previous two grand slam titles and after he won the 3rd set he never really looked back.
And with this win Stan has really announced himself as one of the elite players in the game and Novak even after the match suggested that Stan could consider himself an addition to the "big four" and it could now be the "big five" especially as Stan now has three majors to his name just like Andy Murray. And when you think about it, Stan is now only one slam away from the career slam if he wins Wimbledon then he has achieved something very special indeed. Although the one thing that could prevent Stan from getting there and from taking on the mantle of one of the "big five" is his lack of confidence in believing in himself when it comes to being prepared to take on that mantle itself as Stan seemed insistent after the match that he still wasn't in the same league as the others.
Its also funny to think that Stan himself said after the match that he was in state of panic before the final began and that he was in tears in the locker room looking for consolement from his coach, Magnus Norman, yet he went on to produce a very powerful and impressive display. And this also sums up one of Stan's great strengths is his ability to quietly work his way into the major events and win them when you least expect him to.
And no matter how you look at it, Stan has proved in this tournament once again he really is player to be reckoned with and no matter how up and down his season gets when it comes to the majors you can never write him off. And I was personally pleased to see Stan win this one as he worked hard to get to the final having played seven full matches whereas Novak had only played three and with no offence to Novak, it felt more deserving for Stan to win it.
As for Novak....well this was a bit of a disappointing end to his summer where he has struggled with fitness, injury and personal issues off the court, however he still proved yet again he has a great ability in reaching the final stages of the big events. And despite Novak's injury concerns, he will still able to put up a good fight against Stan although in the end Stan overpowered him, which has often been the case with Novak this year with quite a few of his defeats coming at the hands of big hitting players.
And where Novak goes from here....well its hard to say but I don't think he will be overly concerned by this defeat and no doubt he will be able to recover his form in the final swing of the ATP tour season. Although this is of course where the battle for the No.1 spot between Novak and Andy Murray could start to pick up the pace because if Novak is still less than 100% then there is a fair chance that Andy could close the gap between them both but remains to be seen.
Anyway so that's it for now and it has been a great US Open this year that has seen two excellent finals to close the tournament. So all it remains for me to say is to congratulate Angelique Kerber and Stan Wawrinka on their victories as they are both very well deserved.
And that's it and I might be back again soon with a look at the Davis cup weekend as Great Britain, the defending champions will take on Argentina in the semi finals for a spot in the final. Can team GB defend their title??? Well I guess we will soon find out.
So until then its bye for now.
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