Right well the 2017 US Open has now finally drawn to a close and in this post I will look at both the ladies and men's singles finals and see who emerged triumphant in New York.
So we'll start with the ladies first....
LADIES FINAL
Right, well the ladies final saw two young American players, who were first time finalists in a major, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens and they battled it out for their maiden grand slam title.
Or....rather they didn't quite so much as it was a more one-sided match than anyone could have predicted as both ladies have an aggressive playing style, so surely it was bound to a battle of big hitting. However it was Stephens that made the strong start as she broke an ailing Madison Keys, who seemed to be struggling with her movement as her thigh was heavily bandaged and it in part let Stephens take control and claim the 1st set. And in the 2nd set, Keys continued to struggle on her serve as she was broken early on by Stephens again, who by the times was growing fast with confidence and kept her composure as she went on to break Keys again for a double break. And at 5-0 with Keys looking to get a single game on the board, Keys finally capitulated on serve once more and it handed the match to Stephens and the title with it as she claimed her first major title with an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Well, it has to be said this was a pretty disappointing final as it promised much with Keys and Stephens both excellent players and it was a pity for Keys that she wasn't able to compete as well as she could as her quad injury contributed to her downfall although Keys also felt nerves played a bigger part in the loss.
However at the same time, we can't take anything away from Sloane Stephens as this was a very impressive win for her, especially given that she had just come back from foot surgery on a protected ranking. And when Stephens first arrived on the scene she was always tipped to win majors and become the next big thing in American tennis after Serena Williams and with this title she has now proven them right. Stephens also deserves a shout out for providing one of the most entertaining post final press conferences where she was asked if the title would inspire her to win more and she said "Are you kidding me??! Of course! Did you see that cheque they handed me?! (3.7 million dollars!) If that doesn't inspire you I don't know what will!".
As for Madison Keys, there is no doubt that this was a tough loss but she has shown that she also the potential to win a grand slam in the future. And it was also nice to see the two women share a moment together after the match on court as they laughed and smiled with each other, chatting, prior to the trophy presentation. So, it was not just a match, it was also a match between two good friends and the respect on both sides was good to see.
MEN'S FINAl
Right, now we get onto the men's final, which was between Rafael Nadal, the two time champion and surprise finalist, the giant serving South African, Kevin Anderson, who was in his first major final. So, this match it had to be said didn't promise to be a class given that Rafa owns Anderson in their head to head with a 4-0 lead going into this match and with Anderson only having a set to his name out all those encounters.
As for the match itself, well it did indeed prove to be a somewhat one-sided encounter as Rafa set about to dominate Anderson from the start. However the first was quite a lengthy one that saw Anderson battle to hold onto his serve to go 3-3 but at 4-3, Anderson was finally broken to let Rafa go 5-3 and he confidently served out the 1st set. In the 2nd set, Rafa really started to boss the match and he broke Anderson once again to take the lead and he soon served out the 2nd set to take the lead even further. And in the 3rd set, Rafa broke Anderson once again at the start although Anderson did keep things close to the single break and even took Rafa to deuce when he served for the match. However it was short lived as Rafa soon confidently served his way out of trouble and with that, he claimed his 3rd US Open title and 16th slam overall as he won the tournament with a very convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Well, it has to be said this was definitely a better and more competitive match than the ladies final and indeed the previous two men's slam finals but it was still not a classic by any means as it was still a pretty one-sided affair with Rafa bossing Anderson right from the get go. However it was good to see Anderson give it his all as he was never going to be the favourite to win this match and he did the best he could given the circumstances and Rafa's red hot form.
As for Rafa, well this match and indeed the tournament really did show that he is back to his best and he has cemented his No.1 ranking with this win and he should remain in the top spot for a good while longer or at least until the year end ATP World Tour Finals event at the o2 where Roger and Rafa will most likely contend to end the year as No.1. And with Rafa now just 3 slams behind Roger, there is every chance that the Spaniard could catch up Roger and equal his record next year if he plays well enough.
As for Anderson, well no doubt he will be disappointed with the result but he did give it his all in the final and played as well as he could and to even be able to have reached his first major final was a very impressive result in itself. And despite the one-sided scoreline, Anderson never really faded in the match and he tried to stick with Rafa as best he could for which he deserves alot of credit.
Alot of people will of course be disappointed that the final didn't feature Roger and Rafa together but the fact also remains that Roger was not 100% going into this tournament, so there was always the chance that he might not have even reached the final if he were in the opposite side of the draw to Rafa. The tournament itself was also something of a disappointment simply because it was missing three of the top players in Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, all of whom could have offered a stronger finale than what we got. But in the end the tournament was what it was and Rafa or whoever won it could only play who was infront of them and I mean no disrespect to Kevin Anderson and indeed Rafa for their efforts.
SIGN OFF
Anyway so that's it for 2017's grand slam season and overall it was a bit of a letdown in some ways and its a pity we didn't get better slam finals than we did after the epic Australian open final between Roger and Rafa, which promised so much. Its also been a shame that Andy, Novak and Stan were forced out for the remainder of the season and their presence on court has been missed. But in the end that's the way things go and both Roger and Rafa this year did prove that they are still very much at the fore front of men's tennis and they are't going anywhere just yet as shared the majors together in 2017, which is why they are two greatest players in the men's game.
Anyway, so that's it for now and I will be back again sometime later this season although not sure when on this blog. So all that remains for me to say is congrats to Rafa and Sloane Stephens for their wins and let's hope the remainder of the 2017 season finishes on a strong note.
So, till the next one its bye for now!
Monday 11 September 2017
Sunday 10 September 2017
2017 US Open Men's - everything so far up to the semi finals
Right, so now its time for my look at the men's tournament so far at this year's US Open, the final grand slam of the season. So without any further delay let's take a look and see how it has gone so far....
SEEDS WITHDRAWN
Right, to start off I thought I would make a mention of the top seeds that dropped out before the tournament began.
First off is Andy Murray, who withdrew due to a lingering hip injury as he even travelled to New York to try and be ready in time, however he announced just a day after the draw had been made that his hip was too sore to compete, so he decided to pull out. This left alot of people annoyed given that he withdrew after the draw was made, which meant Roger and Rafa would be seeded 1 and 3 instead of 1 and 2, meaning they would meet in the same half of the draw in the semis potentially. Andy has since then confirmed he will "most likely" miss out the rest of the season to recover from his hip injury, which pretty much means his 2017 tennis season is over and I would be very surprised if he were to play again this year.
As for the other seeds that withdrew, Novak Djokovic also announced prior to the tournament that he is out for the season due to an ongoing elbow injury that hampered his progress at Wimbledon as he was forced to retire in the quarter finals there and hasn't played a match since. Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion also confirmed his withdrawal for the rest of the season due to an ongoing knee injury. Kei Nishikori also similarly ended his season early prior to the US Open also due to injury as he had sustained a wrist injury that saw him pull out of Cincinnati and later he confirmed his season ending after that. And lastly, Milos Raonic pulled out of the US Open also with a wrist injury although he is yet to confirm if he will return to the tour or not later this season.
SEEDS OUT EARLY ON IN 1st WEEK
Next up I will be looking at the top seeds that have been upset and gone out early on in the tournament.
First up was Alexander Zverev, who was tipped as one of the favourites for the title given that he had already won his second Masters title in Montreal last month he looked to be in great form coming into New York. However, Zverev came undone against the young Croatian, Borna Coric, who stunned the 4th seed in four tight sets as Coric dropped the opening set and went on to win the next three tiebreak sets to stun Zverev with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 win.
Next was Grigor Dimitrov who also was a strong favourite going into New York as he had won his maiden Masters title in Cincinnati and already had reached the semi finals of the Australian open earlier in the year. However, Dimitrov this time around was stunned by the Russian teenager, Andrey Rublev, who dominated Dimitrov in a straight set win 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also succumbed to an early defeat as he faced new kid on the block, Denis Shapovalov from Canada, who has made a name for himself this summer so far having defeated Rafa on his home soil in Monteral (Denis that is not Rafa's soil!). Shapovalov showed his class and new found confidence as he beat Tsonga in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.
Tomas Berdych also fell early on in the 2nd round as he was beaten by the flamboyant, Alexandr Dolgopolov in a four set match that saw the "Dog" re-established some form after he had been questioned for match fixing in a previous tournament in Winston Salem. But here the "Dog" beat Berdych with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 result.
Nick Kyrgios continued his poor form in the slams this season as he crashed out in the 1st round to fellow Aussie player, John Millman in four sets in a match that saw him struggle with a leg injury and ultimately it was his downfall as he lost to Millman who won in 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. This poor run of form in the slams this year has seen Kyrgios fail to even get past the 2nd round in any of the majors.
John Isner also suffered an early(ish) exit in the 3rd round as he was beaten by Mischa Zverev who previously already defeated the big American and this time he went down in straight sets to Zverev who came through with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 win.
And last but not least is one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, Marin Cilic, the former 2014 champion, who was tipped to make a great run this year as he took place of Andy in the bottom half of the draw as he could have faced either Roger or Rafa in the final potentially. However, Cilic came undone against possibly the smallest player on the men's tour, Diego Schwartman, who stunned Cilic in four sets to win from a set down in 4-6 7-5, 7-5, 6-4.
MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
Oh and a special mention I thought I would give a shout out to this stunning match, which has to be the best match of the tournament so far (and indeed maybe the whole event!) which was between Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro as they clashed in the 4th round.
This match started off with Thiem dominating an ill Delpo, who had been struggling with the flu and had to take medication during the match, which saw him trail two sets to love quickly. However, despite fears of del Potro retiring, he managed to battle on and he clawed his way back into the match as he broke Dom twice in the 3rd set. In the 4th set however, fatigued took hold of Delpo again as he went down a break but at 5-3, Thiem was unable to serve out the match and Delpo broke back and play then went on into a thrilling tiebreak where Delpo turned the set around and levelled the match. In the 5th set the racuous crowd (mainly comprising of Argentines!) were thrilled by a high level of tennis from both players that saw a tense and close set go down to the wire and it was only concluded by a cruel double fault on Thiem's serve at 4-5 to hand Delpo a stunning comeback win with a scoreline of 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
Well, I think this match will be hard to top in the tournament so far and it really was quite a spectacle for the crowd and it once again showed what a real warrior, Del Potro really is when his back is against the wall. And the match was yet another reminder as to just why he is one of the most popular and likeable players on the tour. As for Thiem it was a real pity that the match had to end this way for him having been in a winning position only to lose it and double fault to lose the match, however he still played his part in an incredible and memorable encounter.
QUARTER FINAL OPPONENTS GONE OUT
Next I look at the quarter final opponents who went out in the last eight, starting with Andrey Rublev, who was beaten by a dominant looking Rafael Nadal who beat the inexperienced Russian teenager, who was into his first slam quarter final, with a convincing win of 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Sam Querrey next was also defeated at the hands of Kevin Anderson, the big South African in what was a real battle of the serves with both men reigning them down with three tiebreaks alone, all of which were pretty epic and intense. But in the end it was Anderson, who reigned better on serve as he won a very tight contest in 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 to reach his first slam semi final.
Diego Schwartzman also went out to the in form and very consistent Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who proved too much for the dimunitive Argentine and he dispatched him in straight sets to reach his first slam semi final in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline.
And last of all, we had the biggest upset so far of the tournament in the quarter finals as Roger Federer faced Juan Martin del Potro in a match that promised much and certainly delivered at times. Although the match was a bit up and down in quality, it was gripping nevertheless and big Delpo pulled out a stunning win over an admittedly ailing Federer, who was struggling with his back a little (as he had throughout the tournament) but in the end the big Argentine came through in four with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
SEMI FINAL MATCHES
Well let's take a look at the men's semi final matches.
Kevin Anderson vs Pablo Carreno-Busta
First up is a semi final that featured two rather unlikely opponents, the big South African, Kevin Anderson and the in form Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who had previously reached the French open quarter finals this year. Anderson however did have the advantage going into this match as he already had won their only previous two matches both in straight sets.
But it was Carreno-Busta that made the better start this time as he took his first set ever against Kevin Anderson in any of their meetings with Anderson looking a bit nervous at the start as he was broken to go down a set. In the 2nd set however, Anderson made a breakthrough on Busta's serve and he broke the Spaniard to go 3-1 but it was shortlived as Carreno-Busa broke back. But at 5-6, Anderson pounced once again and finally got the break and the set as he levelled the match with this being the first set that Carreno-Busta dropped all tournament. And from hereon in, Anderson bossed the match with his powerful serves and forehand and he went on to break in sets 3 and 4 to seal a place in his first grand slam final with an impressive 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Well this was quite an achievement for Kevin Anderson, who had only ever been in one slam quarter final prior to this tournament, which was at the US Open two years ago where he beat Andy Murray enroute to reach the quarter finals that year. So, its great to see someone new also make their breakthrough to the final of a slam rather than the usual suspects. As for Carreno-Busta despite the loss, he still played a great tournament and shows much promise for the future in the majors.
Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin del Potro
And the second semi final was between Rafa and Delpo, as the two men faced off each other in what promised to be quite an epic clash, which saw Delpo actually deny the US Open crowd a chance to see Roger and Rafa face off each for the first time in the tournament's history.
As for the match itself, well it didn't quite live up to expectations as despite a strong start from Delpo, who broke Rafa to win the first set, after that it was pretty much all Rafa as Delpo was struggling physically after his efforts in his matches with Thiem and Federer. And in the 2nd set, Rafa went on to hand a bagel set to Delpo before he then went on to dominate sets 3 and 4 and he conceded only five more games before he reached his fourth US Open final with a convincing 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Well, this match was a bit of a letdown in the end but in a way it was no surprise that Rafa would boss it given that Delpo was so fatigued after the gruelling path he had in order to get to this stage, especially as he faced the exit door against Dominic Thiem in the 4th round being two sets to love down. However it did also show once again that Rafa is really getting back to his best and right now he is looking very convincing as the World No.1.
THE MEN'S FINAL PREDICTION
Right so this sets up the final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson and well...to be entirely honest their head to head is very much in Rafa's favour as he leads 4-0 and has only dropped a single set against the South African, so already it looks to be in Rafa's favour. However at the same time, Anderson has done incredibly well to get this far and he has shown great resilience in all his matches, rather than get down on himself when he was in a losing position, he fought his way back into every match to give himself a chance to be in this position.
But as to how the match itself will go...well I have to really side with Rafa on this one as their head to head speaks volumes, not only that, Rafa has far more experienced in playing slam finals than Anderson, as its a case of 23-1 in his favour! And if Anderson is to have any chance then he is going to have to hit outright winners from the start and ensure everything goes in. However as we have seen with the big hitters so far this year against Rafa, they always tend to go for too much on their shots and make errors that end up costing them, so I can potentially see Anderson do the same here.
So for my actual prediction I think Rafa will most likely win this one in straight sets, as I really can't see Anderson compete with Rafa to a high enough level to actually beat him in his current form. It is possible however that Anderson could nab a set here if he plays well enough but I really can't see him go beyond that. So, for me I think at the end of the match we will see Rafa clinch his 3rd US Open title and bring himself just three slams short of equalling Roger's record of 19.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it so far and I will be back soon with the results of both the ladies and men's singles finals from the US Open.
Until then its bye for now!
SEEDS WITHDRAWN
Right, to start off I thought I would make a mention of the top seeds that dropped out before the tournament began.
First off is Andy Murray, who withdrew due to a lingering hip injury as he even travelled to New York to try and be ready in time, however he announced just a day after the draw had been made that his hip was too sore to compete, so he decided to pull out. This left alot of people annoyed given that he withdrew after the draw was made, which meant Roger and Rafa would be seeded 1 and 3 instead of 1 and 2, meaning they would meet in the same half of the draw in the semis potentially. Andy has since then confirmed he will "most likely" miss out the rest of the season to recover from his hip injury, which pretty much means his 2017 tennis season is over and I would be very surprised if he were to play again this year.
As for the other seeds that withdrew, Novak Djokovic also announced prior to the tournament that he is out for the season due to an ongoing elbow injury that hampered his progress at Wimbledon as he was forced to retire in the quarter finals there and hasn't played a match since. Stan Wawrinka, the defending champion also confirmed his withdrawal for the rest of the season due to an ongoing knee injury. Kei Nishikori also similarly ended his season early prior to the US Open also due to injury as he had sustained a wrist injury that saw him pull out of Cincinnati and later he confirmed his season ending after that. And lastly, Milos Raonic pulled out of the US Open also with a wrist injury although he is yet to confirm if he will return to the tour or not later this season.
SEEDS OUT EARLY ON IN 1st WEEK
Next up I will be looking at the top seeds that have been upset and gone out early on in the tournament.
First up was Alexander Zverev, who was tipped as one of the favourites for the title given that he had already won his second Masters title in Montreal last month he looked to be in great form coming into New York. However, Zverev came undone against the young Croatian, Borna Coric, who stunned the 4th seed in four tight sets as Coric dropped the opening set and went on to win the next three tiebreak sets to stun Zverev with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 win.
Next was Grigor Dimitrov who also was a strong favourite going into New York as he had won his maiden Masters title in Cincinnati and already had reached the semi finals of the Australian open earlier in the year. However, Dimitrov this time around was stunned by the Russian teenager, Andrey Rublev, who dominated Dimitrov in a straight set win 7-5, 7-6, 6-3.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also succumbed to an early defeat as he faced new kid on the block, Denis Shapovalov from Canada, who has made a name for himself this summer so far having defeated Rafa on his home soil in Monteral (Denis that is not Rafa's soil!). Shapovalov showed his class and new found confidence as he beat Tsonga in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.
Tomas Berdych also fell early on in the 2nd round as he was beaten by the flamboyant, Alexandr Dolgopolov in a four set match that saw the "Dog" re-established some form after he had been questioned for match fixing in a previous tournament in Winston Salem. But here the "Dog" beat Berdych with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 result.
Nick Kyrgios continued his poor form in the slams this season as he crashed out in the 1st round to fellow Aussie player, John Millman in four sets in a match that saw him struggle with a leg injury and ultimately it was his downfall as he lost to Millman who won in 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. This poor run of form in the slams this year has seen Kyrgios fail to even get past the 2nd round in any of the majors.
John Isner also suffered an early(ish) exit in the 3rd round as he was beaten by Mischa Zverev who previously already defeated the big American and this time he went down in straight sets to Zverev who came through with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 win.
And last but not least is one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, Marin Cilic, the former 2014 champion, who was tipped to make a great run this year as he took place of Andy in the bottom half of the draw as he could have faced either Roger or Rafa in the final potentially. However, Cilic came undone against possibly the smallest player on the men's tour, Diego Schwartman, who stunned Cilic in four sets to win from a set down in 4-6 7-5, 7-5, 6-4.
MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
Oh and a special mention I thought I would give a shout out to this stunning match, which has to be the best match of the tournament so far (and indeed maybe the whole event!) which was between Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro as they clashed in the 4th round.
This match started off with Thiem dominating an ill Delpo, who had been struggling with the flu and had to take medication during the match, which saw him trail two sets to love quickly. However, despite fears of del Potro retiring, he managed to battle on and he clawed his way back into the match as he broke Dom twice in the 3rd set. In the 4th set however, fatigued took hold of Delpo again as he went down a break but at 5-3, Thiem was unable to serve out the match and Delpo broke back and play then went on into a thrilling tiebreak where Delpo turned the set around and levelled the match. In the 5th set the racuous crowd (mainly comprising of Argentines!) were thrilled by a high level of tennis from both players that saw a tense and close set go down to the wire and it was only concluded by a cruel double fault on Thiem's serve at 4-5 to hand Delpo a stunning comeback win with a scoreline of 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-4.
Well, I think this match will be hard to top in the tournament so far and it really was quite a spectacle for the crowd and it once again showed what a real warrior, Del Potro really is when his back is against the wall. And the match was yet another reminder as to just why he is one of the most popular and likeable players on the tour. As for Thiem it was a real pity that the match had to end this way for him having been in a winning position only to lose it and double fault to lose the match, however he still played his part in an incredible and memorable encounter.
QUARTER FINAL OPPONENTS GONE OUT
Next I look at the quarter final opponents who went out in the last eight, starting with Andrey Rublev, who was beaten by a dominant looking Rafael Nadal who beat the inexperienced Russian teenager, who was into his first slam quarter final, with a convincing win of 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Sam Querrey next was also defeated at the hands of Kevin Anderson, the big South African in what was a real battle of the serves with both men reigning them down with three tiebreaks alone, all of which were pretty epic and intense. But in the end it was Anderson, who reigned better on serve as he won a very tight contest in 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 to reach his first slam semi final.
Diego Schwartzman also went out to the in form and very consistent Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who proved too much for the dimunitive Argentine and he dispatched him in straight sets to reach his first slam semi final in straight sets with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline.
And last of all, we had the biggest upset so far of the tournament in the quarter finals as Roger Federer faced Juan Martin del Potro in a match that promised much and certainly delivered at times. Although the match was a bit up and down in quality, it was gripping nevertheless and big Delpo pulled out a stunning win over an admittedly ailing Federer, who was struggling with his back a little (as he had throughout the tournament) but in the end the big Argentine came through in four with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory.
SEMI FINAL MATCHES
Well let's take a look at the men's semi final matches.
Kevin Anderson vs Pablo Carreno-Busta
First up is a semi final that featured two rather unlikely opponents, the big South African, Kevin Anderson and the in form Spaniard, Pablo Carreno-Busta, who had previously reached the French open quarter finals this year. Anderson however did have the advantage going into this match as he already had won their only previous two matches both in straight sets.
But it was Carreno-Busta that made the better start this time as he took his first set ever against Kevin Anderson in any of their meetings with Anderson looking a bit nervous at the start as he was broken to go down a set. In the 2nd set however, Anderson made a breakthrough on Busta's serve and he broke the Spaniard to go 3-1 but it was shortlived as Carreno-Busa broke back. But at 5-6, Anderson pounced once again and finally got the break and the set as he levelled the match with this being the first set that Carreno-Busta dropped all tournament. And from hereon in, Anderson bossed the match with his powerful serves and forehand and he went on to break in sets 3 and 4 to seal a place in his first grand slam final with an impressive 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Well this was quite an achievement for Kevin Anderson, who had only ever been in one slam quarter final prior to this tournament, which was at the US Open two years ago where he beat Andy Murray enroute to reach the quarter finals that year. So, its great to see someone new also make their breakthrough to the final of a slam rather than the usual suspects. As for Carreno-Busta despite the loss, he still played a great tournament and shows much promise for the future in the majors.
Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin del Potro
And the second semi final was between Rafa and Delpo, as the two men faced off each other in what promised to be quite an epic clash, which saw Delpo actually deny the US Open crowd a chance to see Roger and Rafa face off each for the first time in the tournament's history.
As for the match itself, well it didn't quite live up to expectations as despite a strong start from Delpo, who broke Rafa to win the first set, after that it was pretty much all Rafa as Delpo was struggling physically after his efforts in his matches with Thiem and Federer. And in the 2nd set, Rafa went on to hand a bagel set to Delpo before he then went on to dominate sets 3 and 4 and he conceded only five more games before he reached his fourth US Open final with a convincing 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Well, this match was a bit of a letdown in the end but in a way it was no surprise that Rafa would boss it given that Delpo was so fatigued after the gruelling path he had in order to get to this stage, especially as he faced the exit door against Dominic Thiem in the 4th round being two sets to love down. However it did also show once again that Rafa is really getting back to his best and right now he is looking very convincing as the World No.1.
THE MEN'S FINAL PREDICTION
Right so this sets up the final between Rafa and Kevin Anderson and well...to be entirely honest their head to head is very much in Rafa's favour as he leads 4-0 and has only dropped a single set against the South African, so already it looks to be in Rafa's favour. However at the same time, Anderson has done incredibly well to get this far and he has shown great resilience in all his matches, rather than get down on himself when he was in a losing position, he fought his way back into every match to give himself a chance to be in this position.
But as to how the match itself will go...well I have to really side with Rafa on this one as their head to head speaks volumes, not only that, Rafa has far more experienced in playing slam finals than Anderson, as its a case of 23-1 in his favour! And if Anderson is to have any chance then he is going to have to hit outright winners from the start and ensure everything goes in. However as we have seen with the big hitters so far this year against Rafa, they always tend to go for too much on their shots and make errors that end up costing them, so I can potentially see Anderson do the same here.
So for my actual prediction I think Rafa will most likely win this one in straight sets, as I really can't see Anderson compete with Rafa to a high enough level to actually beat him in his current form. It is possible however that Anderson could nab a set here if he plays well enough but I really can't see him go beyond that. So, for me I think at the end of the match we will see Rafa clinch his 3rd US Open title and bring himself just three slams short of equalling Roger's record of 19.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it so far and I will be back soon with the results of both the ladies and men's singles finals from the US Open.
Until then its bye for now!
Saturday 9 September 2017
2017 US Open Ladies - Semi Finals, Final preview and quickly everything so far....
Right, so I'm way late in covering anything on the final major of the tennis season that is the US Open and in this post I will look at the ladies semi finals matches and also a look ahead to the final and who might emerge the winner.
But first let's take a quick look at how the seeds tumbled so far...
SEEDS OUT
Well, its been a real upset of a tournament once more with alot of the top seeds falling short early on and to kick off, Angelique Kerber was the first heavy casualty, the defending champion, who this year has struggled badly in her form. Kerber took on Naomi Osaka of Japan in the 1st round and she found herself on the losing end to the 19 year old Osaka and was dumped out in straight sets in a shock loss and nabbing only four games before her defeat came in 6-3, 6-1.
Simona Halep also suffered an early exit as she was handed the ultimate nightmare first round opponent in Maria Sharapova, who was playing her first grand slam match since her doping ban had ended. Simona would have been in contention for the No.1 spot at the start of the tournament, however Maria swiftly took her out of contention as she went on to defeat Halep in three sets and announce herself back to the tour.
Johanna Konta, the British No.1 and 7th seed, who has been tipped as a potential future slam winner, also fell at the first hurdle as she took on the Serbian player, Aleksandra Krunic, who stunned Konta in three sets.
Caroline Wozniacki also suffered an early loss in the 2nd round as she played the known giant killer, Ekaterina Makarova, who battled the former World No.1 and went on to defeat the Dane in three sets to reach the 3rd round and end Wozniacki's chances of winning her maiden slam for another year.
Svetlana Kuznetsova also went out early in the tournament as she took on Kurumi Nara of Japan and the two of the battled it out in a three setter that saw the Japanese player emerge the winner with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Agnieszka Radwanska was another casualty who suffered an early exit in the 3rd round as was up against one of the American hopes, Coco Vandeweghe and the two of them were locked in a tense battle that went the distance but in the end, Coco was the stronger player who came through in 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Jelena Ostapenko, this year's surprise French open champion, also went out in the 3rd round as she faced off Daria Kasatkina of Russia and Ostapenko, who seen to be struggling physically during the match, was beaten in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to end her major season.
Elena Svitolina, one of the favourites for the title this year, also suffered defeat at the tournament in the 4th round as she faced off against Madison Keys, one of the (many!) American hopes. Svitolina, however put up a strong fight before she finally lost out to Keys in three sets, who won 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.
And last of all and one of the biggest surprise exits was Garbine Muguruza, the reigning Wimbledon champion, who faced Petra Kvitova in the 4th round, who had made her return to the tour only a few months ago after being the victim of a knife attack early this year. Muguruza was actually considered the heavy favourite to win the title in New York, however Petra went on to stun the Spaniard with her powerful attacking game that saw Murguruza dispatch in straight sets 7-6, 6-3. Despite this loss however, Muguruza will claim the World No.1 ranking as of next week.
QUARTER FINAL OPPONENTS OUT AND SEMI FINALS
Right well I've skipped to the semi finals, which saw four defeats on the way there to the last four, which I will quickly mention them. First up, Karolina Pliskova took on Coco Vandeweghe and the current World No.1, Pliskova, suffered an upset defeat as Coco beat her 7-6, 6-3. Kaia Kanepi, who was unseeded in this event, also went out to the 15h seed, Madison Keys who dispatched Kanepi in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Petra Kvitova next up lost out to Venus Williams, the former two time champion in a thrilling three set battle that saw Petra force Venus into a deciding tiebreak, which Venus won to claim her spot in the semis with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory. And last of all Anastasija Sevastova of Lativa, took on Sloane Stephens and lost to the American in another tough three set match, which also went to a deciding tiebreak, despite Sevastova being a break up in the 3rd set, Stephens broke back and went on to claim the match in the breaker with another 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 result.
As for the semi finals, well let's take a look at them.
Venus Williams vs Sloane Stephens
This was an all American semi final match (and also an all African-American match!) which saw Venus Williams take on Sloane Stephens, who was on the comeback after having foot surgery and was under a protected ranking going into the US Open. However the match itself was a rather topsy turvey one, which saw both players split the first two sets with a breadstick and a bagel dished out by Sloane and Venus respectively. However the 3rd set was a different affair altogether as both ladies battled it out in a tight decider that finally saw Stephens cause the upset and deny Venus a chance of reaching her 3rd slam final of the season as the younger Stephens won the match with a 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 scoreline.
Madison Keys vs Coco Vandeweghe
And the second semi final saw yet another all American semi between Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe. However this match was a much quicker one that saw the 15th seeded, Keys dominated Coco from the beginning as she bossed her and took the first set with a triple break. And the 2nd set was more of the same as Keys broke Coco twice and she confidently served out the match to reach her first grand slam final with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory.
THE FINAL PREDICTION
Right well, so that sets up the ladies final between Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys and this is an intriuging match up as they have only played once before and that two years ago and the match was won by Stephens. However quite a bit has changed since then and Madison has gone into this tournament with more matchplay under her belt given that Stephens has been on the comeback after her foot surgery. However (again) this doesn't mean that Keys is necessarily the favourite in this instance as Stephens already has that one win over her.
So how will this one go??? Well I've not really seen either player in action a great deal before but from what I've seen I would have to go with Keys on this one as I just think with her having more matches under her belt this year, it will give her more of an advantage in this match over Stephens. However at the same time, Stephens does have the benefit of that one victory over Keys, so this could also be a deciding factor.
But in the end I have to side with Keys as I just think she might have the edge in this one although I can't confidently say why but that's just my gut feeling, but again I might be completely wrong. So, I will go with Keys winning this one in a close three set match.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back real soon with my look at the men's tournament so far.
Till then its bye for now!
But first let's take a quick look at how the seeds tumbled so far...
SEEDS OUT
Well, its been a real upset of a tournament once more with alot of the top seeds falling short early on and to kick off, Angelique Kerber was the first heavy casualty, the defending champion, who this year has struggled badly in her form. Kerber took on Naomi Osaka of Japan in the 1st round and she found herself on the losing end to the 19 year old Osaka and was dumped out in straight sets in a shock loss and nabbing only four games before her defeat came in 6-3, 6-1.
Simona Halep also suffered an early exit as she was handed the ultimate nightmare first round opponent in Maria Sharapova, who was playing her first grand slam match since her doping ban had ended. Simona would have been in contention for the No.1 spot at the start of the tournament, however Maria swiftly took her out of contention as she went on to defeat Halep in three sets and announce herself back to the tour.
Johanna Konta, the British No.1 and 7th seed, who has been tipped as a potential future slam winner, also fell at the first hurdle as she took on the Serbian player, Aleksandra Krunic, who stunned Konta in three sets.
Caroline Wozniacki also suffered an early loss in the 2nd round as she played the known giant killer, Ekaterina Makarova, who battled the former World No.1 and went on to defeat the Dane in three sets to reach the 3rd round and end Wozniacki's chances of winning her maiden slam for another year.
Svetlana Kuznetsova also went out early in the tournament as she took on Kurumi Nara of Japan and the two of the battled it out in a three setter that saw the Japanese player emerge the winner with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory.
Agnieszka Radwanska was another casualty who suffered an early exit in the 3rd round as was up against one of the American hopes, Coco Vandeweghe and the two of them were locked in a tense battle that went the distance but in the end, Coco was the stronger player who came through in 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Jelena Ostapenko, this year's surprise French open champion, also went out in the 3rd round as she faced off Daria Kasatkina of Russia and Ostapenko, who seen to be struggling physically during the match, was beaten in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to end her major season.
Elena Svitolina, one of the favourites for the title this year, also suffered defeat at the tournament in the 4th round as she faced off against Madison Keys, one of the (many!) American hopes. Svitolina, however put up a strong fight before she finally lost out to Keys in three sets, who won 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.
And last of all and one of the biggest surprise exits was Garbine Muguruza, the reigning Wimbledon champion, who faced Petra Kvitova in the 4th round, who had made her return to the tour only a few months ago after being the victim of a knife attack early this year. Muguruza was actually considered the heavy favourite to win the title in New York, however Petra went on to stun the Spaniard with her powerful attacking game that saw Murguruza dispatch in straight sets 7-6, 6-3. Despite this loss however, Muguruza will claim the World No.1 ranking as of next week.
QUARTER FINAL OPPONENTS OUT AND SEMI FINALS
Right well I've skipped to the semi finals, which saw four defeats on the way there to the last four, which I will quickly mention them. First up, Karolina Pliskova took on Coco Vandeweghe and the current World No.1, Pliskova, suffered an upset defeat as Coco beat her 7-6, 6-3. Kaia Kanepi, who was unseeded in this event, also went out to the 15h seed, Madison Keys who dispatched Kanepi in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Petra Kvitova next up lost out to Venus Williams, the former two time champion in a thrilling three set battle that saw Petra force Venus into a deciding tiebreak, which Venus won to claim her spot in the semis with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory. And last of all Anastasija Sevastova of Lativa, took on Sloane Stephens and lost to the American in another tough three set match, which also went to a deciding tiebreak, despite Sevastova being a break up in the 3rd set, Stephens broke back and went on to claim the match in the breaker with another 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 result.
As for the semi finals, well let's take a look at them.
Venus Williams vs Sloane Stephens
This was an all American semi final match (and also an all African-American match!) which saw Venus Williams take on Sloane Stephens, who was on the comeback after having foot surgery and was under a protected ranking going into the US Open. However the match itself was a rather topsy turvey one, which saw both players split the first two sets with a breadstick and a bagel dished out by Sloane and Venus respectively. However the 3rd set was a different affair altogether as both ladies battled it out in a tight decider that finally saw Stephens cause the upset and deny Venus a chance of reaching her 3rd slam final of the season as the younger Stephens won the match with a 6-1, 0-6, 7-5 scoreline.
Madison Keys vs Coco Vandeweghe
And the second semi final saw yet another all American semi between Madison Keys and Coco Vandeweghe. However this match was a much quicker one that saw the 15th seeded, Keys dominated Coco from the beginning as she bossed her and took the first set with a triple break. And the 2nd set was more of the same as Keys broke Coco twice and she confidently served out the match to reach her first grand slam final with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory.
THE FINAL PREDICTION
Right well, so that sets up the ladies final between Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys and this is an intriuging match up as they have only played once before and that two years ago and the match was won by Stephens. However quite a bit has changed since then and Madison has gone into this tournament with more matchplay under her belt given that Stephens has been on the comeback after her foot surgery. However (again) this doesn't mean that Keys is necessarily the favourite in this instance as Stephens already has that one win over her.
So how will this one go??? Well I've not really seen either player in action a great deal before but from what I've seen I would have to go with Keys on this one as I just think with her having more matches under her belt this year, it will give her more of an advantage in this match over Stephens. However at the same time, Stephens does have the benefit of that one victory over Keys, so this could also be a deciding factor.
But in the end I have to side with Keys as I just think she might have the edge in this one although I can't confidently say why but that's just my gut feeling, but again I might be completely wrong. So, I will go with Keys winning this one in a close three set match.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back real soon with my look at the men's tournament so far.
Till then its bye for now!
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