[h=1]Schwartzman proves the experts wrong.[/h]
Diego Schwartzman has spent his life proving “the experts” wrong. When he was a kid, everyone told him that he was too small to play tennis, that he'd never be able to play the sport at the highest level. But Schwartzman kept prodding along in Buenos Aires, eventually winning ITF Futures titles and ATP Challenger Tour crowns.
These days, tennis prognosticators and player development programs routinely dismiss players of Schwartzman's size, 5-foot-7. Today's tennis is a power game, they say, one that favors taller players with big serves and powerful weapons.
But Schwartzman has none of the above, and yet here is today, at career-high ranking of No. 33 and playing in the third round of the US Open for the first time. Schwartzman, the 29th seed, faces 2014 champion and fifth seed Marin Cilic on Grandstand.
The 25-year-old admits his serve is very regular, and stats back his assessment. During the past 52 weeks, no one on the ATP World Tour has lost their serve more than Schwartzman, who holds only 69 percent of the time. John Isner, the tour's top server, wins 92 percent of his service games.
“I know my serve is not always working as I want,” Schwartzman said.
But his return game more than accounts for what his serve lacks. In the past year, only world No. 2 and 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray has broken more often than Schwartzman, who breaks 35 percent of the time. Novak Djokovic, a legendary returner, and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal break less often, 34 percent and 32 percent, respectively.
“I always try to improve [my return] because I am small. I am the smallest guy in this tournament, I think, and I need to do it well because if I'm not, it's really tough for me,” Schwartzman said after his second-round win against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. “It's not easy for me. I need to return every game, try to play every point. I think the first match and [Wednesday] I did it very well.”
The 29th seed broke 14 times in his first two matches, fifth best in the men's field. He's won more than half of the points that have started on his opponent's racquet. “I have a good smile when I do a good return,” Schwartzman said.
Juan Ignacio Chela, Schwartzman's coach and compatriot, said Schwartzman's ability to read the direction of serves, his quick first step and his short backswing help him lead the tour.
“I'm very calm when he's returning because he knows he's one of the best in the world,” Ignacio Chela told USOpen.org.
Before facing Tipsarevic, Schwartzman was reciting his world-leading stats to his coach. “He told me, 'I break 78 percent of the time when I go up against the server love-30. I almost always break when the opponent starts love 30,'” Chela said. “He has it on his mind, and I'm really confident with his return.”
They still work on Schwartzman's serve, but Chela knows that, because of his player's size, that part of his game will always have limits. For Schwartzman, how he hits his serve – with good kick or with good placement – is more important than how hard he hits it.
“He's not going to be a big server so he has to have a very good percentage of first serves,” Chela said.
In his day, Chela was also one of the tour's best returners. In 2010, the year he won a career-best two ATP World Tour titles, Chela broke his opponents 32 percent of the time, fourth best on tour. But the 6-foot-3 Chela had an advantage his player lacks: size. “He returns closer to the baseline. I was farther behind because I had more power,” Chela said.
Size, however, has never stopped Schwartzman, not when he was a junior with shoes caked in red dirt, not when he was breaking onto the tour and trying to earn a living, and not during the 2017 season, where Schwartzman now has a chance to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in Flushing Meadows.
“He doesn't care about that. A lot of people said that to him when he was a kid,” Chela said. “He's very confident with himself and he's showing to the world that it's possible.”
Diego Schwartzman has spent his life proving “the experts” wrong. When he was a kid, everyone told him that he was too small to play tennis, that he'd never be able to play the sport at the highest level. But Schwartzman kept prodding along in Buenos Aires, eventually winning ITF Futures titles and ATP Challenger Tour crowns.
These days, tennis prognosticators and player development programs routinely dismiss players of Schwartzman's size, 5-foot-7. Today's tennis is a power game, they say, one that favors taller players with big serves and powerful weapons.
But Schwartzman has none of the above, and yet here is today, at career-high ranking of No. 33 and playing in the third round of the US Open for the first time. Schwartzman, the 29th seed, faces 2014 champion and fifth seed Marin Cilic on Grandstand.
The 25-year-old admits his serve is very regular, and stats back his assessment. During the past 52 weeks, no one on the ATP World Tour has lost their serve more than Schwartzman, who holds only 69 percent of the time. John Isner, the tour's top server, wins 92 percent of his service games.
“I know my serve is not always working as I want,” Schwartzman said.
But his return game more than accounts for what his serve lacks. In the past year, only world No. 2 and 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray has broken more often than Schwartzman, who breaks 35 percent of the time. Novak Djokovic, a legendary returner, and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal break less often, 34 percent and 32 percent, respectively.
“I always try to improve [my return] because I am small. I am the smallest guy in this tournament, I think, and I need to do it well because if I'm not, it's really tough for me,” Schwartzman said after his second-round win against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. “It's not easy for me. I need to return every game, try to play every point. I think the first match and [Wednesday] I did it very well.”
The 29th seed broke 14 times in his first two matches, fifth best in the men's field. He's won more than half of the points that have started on his opponent's racquet. “I have a good smile when I do a good return,” Schwartzman said.
Juan Ignacio Chela, Schwartzman's coach and compatriot, said Schwartzman's ability to read the direction of serves, his quick first step and his short backswing help him lead the tour.
“I'm very calm when he's returning because he knows he's one of the best in the world,” Ignacio Chela told USOpen.org.
Before facing Tipsarevic, Schwartzman was reciting his world-leading stats to his coach. “He told me, 'I break 78 percent of the time when I go up against the server love-30. I almost always break when the opponent starts love 30,'” Chela said. “He has it on his mind, and I'm really confident with his return.”
They still work on Schwartzman's serve, but Chela knows that, because of his player's size, that part of his game will always have limits. For Schwartzman, how he hits his serve – with good kick or with good placement – is more important than how hard he hits it.
“He's not going to be a big server so he has to have a very good percentage of first serves,” Chela said.
In his day, Chela was also one of the tour's best returners. In 2010, the year he won a career-best two ATP World Tour titles, Chela broke his opponents 32 percent of the time, fourth best on tour. But the 6-foot-3 Chela had an advantage his player lacks: size. “He returns closer to the baseline. I was farther behind because I had more power,” Chela said.
Size, however, has never stopped Schwartzman, not when he was a junior with shoes caked in red dirt, not when he was breaking onto the tour and trying to earn a living, and not during the 2017 season, where Schwartzman now has a chance to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in Flushing Meadows.
“He doesn't care about that. A lot of people said that to him when he was a kid,” Chela said. “He's very confident with himself and he's showing to the world that it's possible.”
Shapovalov's teen spirit.
To most of those in attendance Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Denis Shapovalov was a complete unknown. A 69th-ranked Canadian qualifier taking on the popular, big-hitting Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Right out of the gates, the wiry kid in an ill-fitting, backwards baseball cap broke Tsonga’s mighty serve at love. The 18-year-old crunched projectile forehands deep to the corners. He whipped windmill one-handed backhands. As Shapovalov artfully muscled Tsonga around the court, you could hear the murmurs begin.
The onslaught continued. The young Canadian blasted winners, knifed kicking lefty serves, and raced forward to stab volley winners – all but nullifying the big game of Tsonga, the eighth seed.
Shapovalov captured the first set. The swell of recognition grew. The chatter of the gregarious early-week cocktail crowd quieted: What have we here?
What we had was a youngster with a magnetic presence to go with flashy strokes and ferocious energy. A kid with confidence and composure that belied his thin experience on the pro circuit.
Shapovalov sprinted to take the second set, and the stadium’s appreciation grew to roars. This was clearly more than just a kid on a hot streak, burning with adrenaline under the lights.
Less than a month ago In Montreal, Shapovalov beat del Juan Martín del Potro and Rafael Nadal, becoming the youngest semifinalist at an ATP Masters 1000 event. As the Canadian teen matched Nadal stroke for stroke, you could sense the hometown crowd begin to lose its collective mind.
At the beginning of the year, Denis Shapovalov was ranked No. 205. By Montreal he was 143. In one week he had shot to 67th, though too late to make the main draw at the US Open. He survived three rounds in qualies to get into his first Open and only his second Grand Slam.
And now he was in Ashe, schooling the former No. 5 and Grand Slam finalist Tsonga. The kid was improving before our eyes.
Shapovalov is an instinctive shotmaker. He rolled ridiculously angled backhands crosscourt and dipped them at Tsonga’s feet. He unloaded on buggywhip forehands that exploded up the line. He cleverly employed a heady mix of serves – flat down the T, slider into the body, the kicker out wide – to keep Tsonga off-guard. Facing break point early in the second set, Shapovalov kicked a serve wide to Tsonga’s backhand and fearlessly uncorked a 95-mph forehand down the line for a screaming winner.
Shapovalov’s tennis was risky but it never seemed reckless. The teen was contained even as he took enormous cuts at the ball. He played strategic points. Against Tsonga, he followed a tight game plan.
Shapovalov was poised, relaxed even.
"I don't know why, but I just managed to stay loose and go for my shots the whole match," he said. "I was having fun on the court. There were a couple times during the match I was just smiling, having a good time."
"I mean, I grew up wanting to do this."
Shapovalov's exuberance was contagious.
In July, the teenager was playing Challenger events. Now, in a decimated bottom half of the draw as wide open as any in memory, Shapovalov has a realistic shot to go deep.
In nearly three decades of watching professional tennis in Flushing Meadows, I’ve had the enormous fortune to witness a tiny handful of players who, as irrepressible youths, took the court at the US Open and immediately established themselves as game changers.
Pete Sampras, a gangly 19-year-old with a live arm and raw athleticism that stunned John McEnroe. Marat Safin, who at 20 blasted Sampras off the court with stunning easy power off both wings. The teenage Rafael Nadal, a man-child with a swashbuckling forehand and fierce competitive drive. And Juan Martín del Potro, 20, whose rocketed forehand made a thud and by the fifth set made the great Roger Federer look almost hapless.
Each time, I remember thinking I’d seen something thrillingly new. Raw talent coupled with an intangible presence and way of announcing their arrival.
Courtside in Ashe Wednesday night, wide-eyed for the big-stage debut of Denis Shapavolov, I felt the same electric rush: Stop-you-in-your-tracks talent.
Giddy with excitement, I left the stadium and thought back to 1991, the first time I heard the crunching riff on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I had to pull over on the side of the road to absorb its impact.
Naturally, I am wary of overhyping a youngster who is merely into the third round of his first US Open. If you’ve been around tennis long enough, you’ve seen your share of “Next Big Things” – tons of teenagers with immeasurable talent. Plenty shrink under the pressure of enormous expectations or just never live up to their potential.
Is Denis Shapovalov, a skinny kid with long, stringy blonde hair, the sport's next rock star? I know I’m all in, but who's to say? What all of us lucky enough to attend his coming-out party on Wednesday night do know is that this rookie is a supremely special athlete.
"So this win, it's definitely another confidence boost," said Shapovalov after trouncing Tsonga. "It shows that Montreal wasn't a fluke week."
Of that much, I am certain. Shapovalov is no fluke.
To most of those in attendance Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Denis Shapovalov was a complete unknown. A 69th-ranked Canadian qualifier taking on the popular, big-hitting Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Right out of the gates, the wiry kid in an ill-fitting, backwards baseball cap broke Tsonga’s mighty serve at love. The 18-year-old crunched projectile forehands deep to the corners. He whipped windmill one-handed backhands. As Shapovalov artfully muscled Tsonga around the court, you could hear the murmurs begin.
The onslaught continued. The young Canadian blasted winners, knifed kicking lefty serves, and raced forward to stab volley winners – all but nullifying the big game of Tsonga, the eighth seed.
Shapovalov captured the first set. The swell of recognition grew. The chatter of the gregarious early-week cocktail crowd quieted: What have we here?
What we had was a youngster with a magnetic presence to go with flashy strokes and ferocious energy. A kid with confidence and composure that belied his thin experience on the pro circuit.
Shapovalov sprinted to take the second set, and the stadium’s appreciation grew to roars. This was clearly more than just a kid on a hot streak, burning with adrenaline under the lights.
Less than a month ago In Montreal, Shapovalov beat del Juan Martín del Potro and Rafael Nadal, becoming the youngest semifinalist at an ATP Masters 1000 event. As the Canadian teen matched Nadal stroke for stroke, you could sense the hometown crowd begin to lose its collective mind.
At the beginning of the year, Denis Shapovalov was ranked No. 205. By Montreal he was 143. In one week he had shot to 67th, though too late to make the main draw at the US Open. He survived three rounds in qualies to get into his first Open and only his second Grand Slam.
And now he was in Ashe, schooling the former No. 5 and Grand Slam finalist Tsonga. The kid was improving before our eyes.
Shapovalov is an instinctive shotmaker. He rolled ridiculously angled backhands crosscourt and dipped them at Tsonga’s feet. He unloaded on buggywhip forehands that exploded up the line. He cleverly employed a heady mix of serves – flat down the T, slider into the body, the kicker out wide – to keep Tsonga off-guard. Facing break point early in the second set, Shapovalov kicked a serve wide to Tsonga’s backhand and fearlessly uncorked a 95-mph forehand down the line for a screaming winner.
Shapovalov’s tennis was risky but it never seemed reckless. The teen was contained even as he took enormous cuts at the ball. He played strategic points. Against Tsonga, he followed a tight game plan.
Shapovalov was poised, relaxed even.
"I don't know why, but I just managed to stay loose and go for my shots the whole match," he said. "I was having fun on the court. There were a couple times during the match I was just smiling, having a good time."
"I mean, I grew up wanting to do this."
Shapovalov's exuberance was contagious.
In July, the teenager was playing Challenger events. Now, in a decimated bottom half of the draw as wide open as any in memory, Shapovalov has a realistic shot to go deep.
In nearly three decades of watching professional tennis in Flushing Meadows, I’ve had the enormous fortune to witness a tiny handful of players who, as irrepressible youths, took the court at the US Open and immediately established themselves as game changers.
Pete Sampras, a gangly 19-year-old with a live arm and raw athleticism that stunned John McEnroe. Marat Safin, who at 20 blasted Sampras off the court with stunning easy power off both wings. The teenage Rafael Nadal, a man-child with a swashbuckling forehand and fierce competitive drive. And Juan Martín del Potro, 20, whose rocketed forehand made a thud and by the fifth set made the great Roger Federer look almost hapless.
Each time, I remember thinking I’d seen something thrillingly new. Raw talent coupled with an intangible presence and way of announcing their arrival.
Courtside in Ashe Wednesday night, wide-eyed for the big-stage debut of Denis Shapavolov, I felt the same electric rush: Stop-you-in-your-tracks talent.
Giddy with excitement, I left the stadium and thought back to 1991, the first time I heard the crunching riff on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I had to pull over on the side of the road to absorb its impact.
Naturally, I am wary of overhyping a youngster who is merely into the third round of his first US Open. If you’ve been around tennis long enough, you’ve seen your share of “Next Big Things” – tons of teenagers with immeasurable talent. Plenty shrink under the pressure of enormous expectations or just never live up to their potential.
Is Denis Shapovalov, a skinny kid with long, stringy blonde hair, the sport's next rock star? I know I’m all in, but who's to say? What all of us lucky enough to attend his coming-out party on Wednesday night do know is that this rookie is a supremely special athlete.
"So this win, it's definitely another confidence boost," said Shapovalov after trouncing Tsonga. "It shows that Montreal wasn't a fluke week."
Of that much, I am certain. Shapovalov is no fluke.
[h=1]Borna Identity: Zverev win boosts Coric’s confidence.[/h]
Borna Coric had just put the finishing touches on Jack Sock, closing out a clutch 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 fifth rubber to clinch a 3-2 Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinal for his countrymen in Portland, Ore. The visitors had somehow erased a 2-0 deficit to advance, leaving the Americans stunned on their home soil.
As the close-cropped Croat made his way across the grounds of the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center to the post-tie festivities, he sported a t-shirt that seemed to succinctly sum up his very philosophy on life. It urged: SHUT UP AND RUN.
Coric, 20, has never been a verbose one. It’s not that he isn’t well spoken. In fact, he’s quite accommodating, polite. But he comes off as the kind of guy who would rather let his racquet do the talking. Since exploding on the scene in 2014, when he shocked Rafael Nadal in the Basel quarterfinals and was named the ATP Star of Tomorrow as the youngest member of the Top 100, his ambitions soared. He didn’t shrink in the big moments, and would collect more Top 10 wins over the likes of Nadal and Andy Murray over the next few years.
"I just like the big stage more when it’s more important, when I have more pressure, when the expectations are big," said Coric, who at 6-foot-1 cuts a different figure than the typical Croat build of a Goran Ivanisevic, Mario Ancic or Marin Cilic. "I like those occasions. I think that's what we’re training for."
"You need to look at pressure in a positive way," he added. "I just try to use it in a way that I'm going to work harder and I'm going to give of myself even more to tennis."
Observed then-world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in 2016, "He has a nice balance between a confident approach and self-belief on the court and not being really intimidated by anyone’s presence."
Coric has been a centerpiece of the tour’s #NextGenATP campaign, which highlights a seemingly ever-expanding crop of 21-and-under talent bubbling up in the pro ranks. Coric has been pitched side by side with fellow young guns like Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, and rising Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
But after settling into the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (he rose to a career-high No. 33 in July 2015), Coric has gone into a bit of a stall, falling as low as No. 79 earlier this year. He arrived in Flushing Meadows for the 2017 US Open at No. 61. The balance Djokovic had highlighted was off.
His marquee, second-round 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 upset of his former junior rival and No. 4 seed Zverev in New York could prove a timely boost for a man who says if he hadn’t gone into tennis, he would have been a boxer.
"I've had a rough few months," Coric reflected. "So it does mean a lot. It's going to give me some extra confidence."
He'll need it in the next round against South African Kevin Anderson, against whom he’s 0-2. Give him a puncher’s chance.
Borna Coric had just put the finishing touches on Jack Sock, closing out a clutch 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 fifth rubber to clinch a 3-2 Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinal for his countrymen in Portland, Ore. The visitors had somehow erased a 2-0 deficit to advance, leaving the Americans stunned on their home soil.
As the close-cropped Croat made his way across the grounds of the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center to the post-tie festivities, he sported a t-shirt that seemed to succinctly sum up his very philosophy on life. It urged: SHUT UP AND RUN.
Coric, 20, has never been a verbose one. It’s not that he isn’t well spoken. In fact, he’s quite accommodating, polite. But he comes off as the kind of guy who would rather let his racquet do the talking. Since exploding on the scene in 2014, when he shocked Rafael Nadal in the Basel quarterfinals and was named the ATP Star of Tomorrow as the youngest member of the Top 100, his ambitions soared. He didn’t shrink in the big moments, and would collect more Top 10 wins over the likes of Nadal and Andy Murray over the next few years.
"I just like the big stage more when it’s more important, when I have more pressure, when the expectations are big," said Coric, who at 6-foot-1 cuts a different figure than the typical Croat build of a Goran Ivanisevic, Mario Ancic or Marin Cilic. "I like those occasions. I think that's what we’re training for."
"You need to look at pressure in a positive way," he added. "I just try to use it in a way that I'm going to work harder and I'm going to give of myself even more to tennis."
Observed then-world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in 2016, "He has a nice balance between a confident approach and self-belief on the court and not being really intimidated by anyone’s presence."
Coric has been a centerpiece of the tour’s #NextGenATP campaign, which highlights a seemingly ever-expanding crop of 21-and-under talent bubbling up in the pro ranks. Coric has been pitched side by side with fellow young guns like Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, and rising Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
But after settling into the Top 50 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (he rose to a career-high No. 33 in July 2015), Coric has gone into a bit of a stall, falling as low as No. 79 earlier this year. He arrived in Flushing Meadows for the 2017 US Open at No. 61. The balance Djokovic had highlighted was off.
His marquee, second-round 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 upset of his former junior rival and No. 4 seed Zverev in New York could prove a timely boost for a man who says if he hadn’t gone into tennis, he would have been a boxer.
"I've had a rough few months," Coric reflected. "So it does mean a lot. It's going to give me some extra confidence."
He'll need it in the next round against South African Kevin Anderson, against whom he’s 0-2. Give him a puncher’s chance.
[h=1]On This Day in U.S. Open History: Sept. 1, 2014.[/h]
When historians look back upon the 2014 US Open and weigh in on what mattered most, they will inevitably point to Marin Cilic's remarkable title run. The 6-foot-6 Croat peaked propitiously over the last three rounds, cutting down Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori without the loss of a set, giving a breathtaking display of power both on serve and off the ground.
This was devastatingly potent stuff. Cilic was a worthy champion who wore the champion's robe with grace and style.
And yet, I will remember that tournament more for the excitement created over the fortnight by Nishikori. He was the central figure in a variety of ways of that event. His extraordinary shotmaking left galleries gasping match after match. He carried himself admirably and battled like the warrior that he surely was. But by the time he confronted Cilic in the final, this Japanese icon had run out of inspiration and energy.
He was essentially flat in the final, no longer able to summon the magic that had taken him so far, a depleted figure who could not contain a top of the line opponent. He was spent.
But Nishikori had much to celebrate across that exhilarating fortnight. His run to the final included a pair of five-set triumphs over Milos Raonic and 2016 US Open victor Stan Wawrinka, followed by a four-set shocker over tournament favorite Novak Djokovic.
The win over Raonic was the standout. Their showdown under the lights was beautifully played on both sides of the net. The contrast in styles was reminiscent in some ways of the memorable rivalry between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi that featured four meetings at the US Open between 1990 and 2002.
Displaying his magnificent first serve as the cornerstone of his game along with an explosive forehand that was often unstoppable, Raonic was cut somewhat from the Sampras cloth, although he was not a serve-and-volleyer and he did not move with the alacrity of the lithe Sampras.
Nishikori relied on superb counter-attacking skills and his return or serve was so spectacular that it often called Agassi's to mind. Nishikori, however, lacked Agassi's relentless baseline power, precision and sustained consistency from the baseline. But he put together more bursts of outright brilliance than Agassi, stretches of sheer inspiration that made him such a spellbinding player.
Nishikori and Raonic played for four hours and 19 minutes, enthralling the spectators through the late hours of Sept. 1 into the early morning of Sept. 2, concluding their stirring contest at 2:26 a.m. It was apparent from the outset that Raonic would not be dominant on serve during this encounter. The first set was a case in point. Down 1-4, 0-30, Nishikori rallied to reach 4-4, only to drop two games in a row from there. Nishikori battled back to take the second in a tiebreak, but Raonic secured the third, also in a tiebreak.
I was convinced when the two players were locked at 5-5 in the fourth set that Raonic was going to win this round-of-16 skirmish. But the Japanese competitor managed to break right then and there. He served out the set in the following game. The final set was never much in doubt as Raonic faded physically and Nishikori seemed to be emboldened. The dwindling crowd cheered on Nishikori unabashedly, and he found his way home to victory with some dazzling winners on the run and first rate returning off both sides.
He was appreciative that so many fans stayed out at the Open so deep into the night, right into the early hours of the morning.
"I never had something like this," Nishikori said of that long contest that kept people up so late. "I was very happy to see a lot of people after 2:00 at the night. I don't even know how they got back home!"
The way I saw it, that was the best match of the tournament, even better than Nishikori's well-played five-set win over Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. Nishikori played another inspired match to oust a discombobulated Djokovic in stifling conditions on Saturday afternoon. Djokovic was severely weakened in the intense heat but Nishikori was magnificent.
Be that as it may, Nishikori's most sterling display was his grueling 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Raonic. He brought down a big hitter and overpowering server with tennis that was nothing less than stupendous. He did it with style. He came through with conviction.
When historians look back upon the 2014 US Open and weigh in on what mattered most, they will inevitably point to Marin Cilic's remarkable title run. The 6-foot-6 Croat peaked propitiously over the last three rounds, cutting down Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori without the loss of a set, giving a breathtaking display of power both on serve and off the ground.
This was devastatingly potent stuff. Cilic was a worthy champion who wore the champion's robe with grace and style.
And yet, I will remember that tournament more for the excitement created over the fortnight by Nishikori. He was the central figure in a variety of ways of that event. His extraordinary shotmaking left galleries gasping match after match. He carried himself admirably and battled like the warrior that he surely was. But by the time he confronted Cilic in the final, this Japanese icon had run out of inspiration and energy.
He was essentially flat in the final, no longer able to summon the magic that had taken him so far, a depleted figure who could not contain a top of the line opponent. He was spent.
But Nishikori had much to celebrate across that exhilarating fortnight. His run to the final included a pair of five-set triumphs over Milos Raonic and 2016 US Open victor Stan Wawrinka, followed by a four-set shocker over tournament favorite Novak Djokovic.
The win over Raonic was the standout. Their showdown under the lights was beautifully played on both sides of the net. The contrast in styles was reminiscent in some ways of the memorable rivalry between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi that featured four meetings at the US Open between 1990 and 2002.
Displaying his magnificent first serve as the cornerstone of his game along with an explosive forehand that was often unstoppable, Raonic was cut somewhat from the Sampras cloth, although he was not a serve-and-volleyer and he did not move with the alacrity of the lithe Sampras.
Nishikori relied on superb counter-attacking skills and his return or serve was so spectacular that it often called Agassi's to mind. Nishikori, however, lacked Agassi's relentless baseline power, precision and sustained consistency from the baseline. But he put together more bursts of outright brilliance than Agassi, stretches of sheer inspiration that made him such a spellbinding player.
Nishikori and Raonic played for four hours and 19 minutes, enthralling the spectators through the late hours of Sept. 1 into the early morning of Sept. 2, concluding their stirring contest at 2:26 a.m. It was apparent from the outset that Raonic would not be dominant on serve during this encounter. The first set was a case in point. Down 1-4, 0-30, Nishikori rallied to reach 4-4, only to drop two games in a row from there. Nishikori battled back to take the second in a tiebreak, but Raonic secured the third, also in a tiebreak.
I was convinced when the two players were locked at 5-5 in the fourth set that Raonic was going to win this round-of-16 skirmish. But the Japanese competitor managed to break right then and there. He served out the set in the following game. The final set was never much in doubt as Raonic faded physically and Nishikori seemed to be emboldened. The dwindling crowd cheered on Nishikori unabashedly, and he found his way home to victory with some dazzling winners on the run and first rate returning off both sides.
He was appreciative that so many fans stayed out at the Open so deep into the night, right into the early hours of the morning.
"I never had something like this," Nishikori said of that long contest that kept people up so late. "I was very happy to see a lot of people after 2:00 at the night. I don't even know how they got back home!"
The way I saw it, that was the best match of the tournament, even better than Nishikori's well-played five-set win over Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. Nishikori played another inspired match to oust a discombobulated Djokovic in stifling conditions on Saturday afternoon. Djokovic was severely weakened in the intense heat but Nishikori was magnificent.
Be that as it may, Nishikori's most sterling display was his grueling 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Raonic. He brought down a big hitter and overpowering server with tennis that was nothing less than stupendous. He did it with style. He came through with conviction.
Only 16 matches today.....8 on each side.
Couple of Americans on the men`s side.....Sammy and Johnny.
| Friday, Sep 01, 2017 - WTA US Open Match | ||||||||||||||
| 82625 | Suarez Navarro, Carla | +2½ | -105 | +134 | Ov | 21 | -114 | |||||||
| 82626 | Makarova, Ekaterina | -2½ | -111 | -154 | Un | 21 | -102 | |||||||
| 82605 | Stephens, Sloane | -1½ | -107 | -125 | Ov | 21½ | -115 | |||||||
| 82606 | Barty, Ashleigh | +1½ | -109 | +109 | Un | 21½ | -101 | |||||||
| 82611 | Goerges, Julia | -4 | -106 | -255 | Ov | 21 | -109 | |||||||
| 82612 | Krunic, Aleksandra | +4 | -110 | +215 | Un | 21 | -107 | |||||||
| 82609 | Muguruza Blanco, Garbine | -6 | -114 | -831 | Ov | 18½ | -113 | |||||||
| 82610 | Rybarikova, Magdalena | +6 | -102 | +631 | Un | 18½ | -103 | |||||||
| 82607 | Williams, Venus | -5½ | -116 | -719 | Ov | 19½ | -108 | |||||||
| 82608 | Sakkari, Maria | +5½ | +100 | +569 | Un | 19½ | -108 | |||||||
| 82601 | Vekic, Donna | +1½ | -114 | +103 | Ov | 21½ | -115 | |||||||
| 82602 | Sevastova, Anastasija | -1½ | -102 | -119 | Un | 21½ | -101 | |||||||
| 82687 | Sharapova, Maria | -6½ | -106 | -1258 | Ov | 18 | -116 | |||||||
| 82688 | Kenin, Sofia | +6½ | -110 | +883 | Un | 18 | +100 |
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gentlemen gl today, enjoy tennis final major of the year......Glory's Last Shot
on the kid today. Just goign to ride this run. If this match was played before Montreal , the kid would be the dog. He aint, and likely overpriced here. Edmund is in splendid form winning 8 of his last 9, semi's at Winston. Neither player has dropped a set, should be a cracker. 1-1 career, with the kid winning the most recent. If Edmund DOES lose the first set, he's in big trouble- historically he's 7-39 after dropping the first set, that's friggen 15%.
tee time, hopefully i have this chap's tempo.........................likely not.....:missingte
“Everybody teaches a system. I just try to shoot where I’m aiming. I play by sight and feel not by technical thoughts.” ~ Fred Couples.
. Dad was a landed immigrant from Italy worked for Seattle Parks and Recreation. Fred couldnt afford expensive clubs, saved cash by not using a glove....still plays gloveless to this day........a natural
on the kid today. Just goign to ride this run. If this match was played before Montreal , the kid would be the dog. He aint, and likely overpriced here. Edmund is in splendid form winning 8 of his last 9, semi's at Winston. Neither player has dropped a set, should be a cracker. 1-1 career, with the kid winning the most recent. If Edmund DOES lose the first set, he's in big trouble- historically he's 7-39 after dropping the first set, that's friggen 15%.
tee time, hopefully i have this chap's tempo.........................likely not.....:missingte
“Everybody teaches a system. I just try to shoot where I’m aiming. I play by sight and feel not by technical thoughts.” ~ Fred Couples.
. Dad was a landed immigrant from Italy worked for Seattle Parks and Recreation. Fred couldnt afford expensive clubs, saved cash by not using a glove....still plays gloveless to this day........a natural
| Friday, Sep 01, 2017 - ATP US Open Match | |||||||||||||||
| 80509 | Coric, Borna | +4 | -103 | +188 | Ov | 39 | -109 | ||||||||
| 80510 | Anderson, Kevin | -4 | -113 | -218 | Un | 39 | -107 | ||||||||
| 80513 | Edmund, Kyle | +1½ | -105 | +120 | Ov | 39 | -110 | ||||||||
| 80514 | Shapovalov, Denis | -1½ | -111 | -136 | Un | 39 | -106 | ||||||||
| 80535 | Kukushkin, Mikhail | +4 | -107 | +180 | Ov | 37½ | -112 | ||||||||
| 80536 | Pouille, Lucas | -4 | -109 | -210 | Un | 37½ | -104 | ||||||||
| 80531 | Albot, Radu | +7 | -117 | +840 | Ov | 33 | -106 | ||||||||
| 80532 | Querrey, Sam | -7 | +101 | -1165 | Un | 33 | -110 | ||||||||
| 80523 | Isner, John | -4½ | -102 | -293 | Ov | 40 | -112 | ||||||||
| 80524 | Zverev, Mischa | +4½ | -114 | +248 | Un | 40 | -104 |
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</tbody>
Round of 32·Arthur Ashe Stadium10:00 AM
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God dang it, does The Kid's match really start in just 40 minutes from now? damn it all. I thought it was later......and i'd have more time to think this through. Edmunds Playing Well....as was cited above.
Normally I'd just default to an OVER here of course, as that'd be like backing The Kid....sorta....but he made such quick work of freegin TSONGA.
I don't know what to do and I gotta go somewhere.
| D. Shapovalov | ||
| K. Edmund |
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God dang it, does The Kid's match really start in just 40 minutes from now? damn it all. I thought it was later......and i'd have more time to think this through. Edmunds Playing Well....as was cited above.
Normally I'd just default to an OVER here of course, as that'd be like backing The Kid....sorta....but he made such quick work of freegin TSONGA.
I don't know what to do and I gotta go somewhere.
Petra was to much for little Caroline.....Petra moves into the 4th round.....6-0...6-4.
Pablo hits 32 winners he defeats Nicolas Mahut 6-3...6-4...6-3.
