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!
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