I like Juan.....Nice steady player.
Rafa moving on.....6-7...6-3...6-1...6-4.
[h=1]Top 5 plays Goffin vs. Monfils.[/h]
[h=1]Top 5 plays Thiem vs. Mannarino.[/h]
[h=1]Del Potro vs. Bautista Agut.....Highlights.[/h]
[h=1]Jennifer Brady wins first set.[/h]
[h=1]Karolina Pliskova Interview.[/h]
Kasatkina ousts 2017 French Open champ Ostapenko.
WHAT HAPPENED: Under cloudy skies in the temporary Louis Armstrong Stadium, 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko took a 3-0 lead, then lost 11 straight games to her 20-year-old friend Daria Kasatkina of Russia. The score started to swing in the fourth game of the first set when Ostapenko started to add pace and power to her ground strokes while sacrificing accuracy.
In the sixth game, Ostapenko went back to using more touch, but Kasatkina kept putting the ball back and tied it at 3-all. Leading 5-3, 40-30, Kasatkina doubled faulted on her first set point and gave Ostapenko two break points, but Ostapenko couldn't convert either one, and Kasatkina won the first set in 39 minutes.
In the second set, Kasatkina raced to a 3-0 lead and Ostapenko called for a trainer. During the medical delay, Kasatkina practiced ground strokes while a ballboy tossed balls into her racquet in rapid succession. When play resumed, Ostapenko finally won a game as Kasatkina was serving for the match at 5-0, double faulted at 15-30, and on break point, Ostapenko's shot smacked the net cord and spun up, over, and landed just inside the line on Kasatkina's side.
Ostapenko held serve in the next game to make it 5-2. And, in the best and longest rally of the 1-hour, 12-minute contest – on Kasatkina second match point – Ostapenko put a backhand into the net and sent Kasatkina into the fourth round for the first time.
Asked how it felt to be in the round of 16, Kasatkina said, "Good. Finally! I was just playing my game, and it paid off."
Ostapenko said later, "I knew she's gonna make me play uncomfortable, and I was preparing for that. But, unfortunately, I couldn't give my best today. I was not feeling 100 percent."
Ostapenko said that she was ailing even before the tournament, citing "some problems with the throat."
"I'm pretty disappointed," Ostapenkoa said. "The draw was very open, and I thought I can play, like, better and better every match. But, as I said, today I was not feeling very well, so I couldn't really play my game."
WHAT IT MEANS: Kasatkina is now 2-2 against her contemporary Ostapenko. Kasatkina's opponent in the fourth round will be 2010 US Open quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi of Estonia. (The 32-year-old Kanepi ousted Naomi Osaka in three sets on Saturday.)
MATCH POINT: Can Kasatkina, the youngest player left in the women's singles draw, beat the qualifier Kanepi and make her first Grand Slam quarterfinal?
WHAT HAPPENED: Under cloudy skies in the temporary Louis Armstrong Stadium, 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko took a 3-0 lead, then lost 11 straight games to her 20-year-old friend Daria Kasatkina of Russia. The score started to swing in the fourth game of the first set when Ostapenko started to add pace and power to her ground strokes while sacrificing accuracy.
In the sixth game, Ostapenko went back to using more touch, but Kasatkina kept putting the ball back and tied it at 3-all. Leading 5-3, 40-30, Kasatkina doubled faulted on her first set point and gave Ostapenko two break points, but Ostapenko couldn't convert either one, and Kasatkina won the first set in 39 minutes.
In the second set, Kasatkina raced to a 3-0 lead and Ostapenko called for a trainer. During the medical delay, Kasatkina practiced ground strokes while a ballboy tossed balls into her racquet in rapid succession. When play resumed, Ostapenko finally won a game as Kasatkina was serving for the match at 5-0, double faulted at 15-30, and on break point, Ostapenko's shot smacked the net cord and spun up, over, and landed just inside the line on Kasatkina's side.
Ostapenko held serve in the next game to make it 5-2. And, in the best and longest rally of the 1-hour, 12-minute contest – on Kasatkina second match point – Ostapenko put a backhand into the net and sent Kasatkina into the fourth round for the first time.
Asked how it felt to be in the round of 16, Kasatkina said, "Good. Finally! I was just playing my game, and it paid off."
Ostapenko said later, "I knew she's gonna make me play uncomfortable, and I was preparing for that. But, unfortunately, I couldn't give my best today. I was not feeling 100 percent."
Ostapenko said that she was ailing even before the tournament, citing "some problems with the throat."
"I'm pretty disappointed," Ostapenkoa said. "The draw was very open, and I thought I can play, like, better and better every match. But, as I said, today I was not feeling very well, so I couldn't really play my game."
WHAT IT MEANS: Kasatkina is now 2-2 against her contemporary Ostapenko. Kasatkina's opponent in the fourth round will be 2010 US Open quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi of Estonia. (The 32-year-old Kanepi ousted Naomi Osaka in three sets on Saturday.)
MATCH POINT: Can Kasatkina, the youngest player left in the women's singles draw, beat the qualifier Kanepi and make her first Grand Slam quarterfinal?
Kanepi ends Osaka run.
WHAT HAPPENED: In a see-saw battle on Court 5, Kaia Kanepi outlasted Naomi Osaka, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, to book her place in the US Open's last 16. Kanepi, the former world No. 15, outsteadied her opponent to put a fire under her recent comeback from injury.
She eased to a break in the opening game thanks to four unforced errors from Osaka, whose high-risk game was not clicking early.
After escaping two break points in game four, Kanepi's confidence grew, and she would drop just one point on serve the rest of the set. Osaka was plagued by 18 unforced errors throughout set one and gifted away the opening stanza with three consecutive forehand misses.
If that was deflating for Osaka, Kanepi piled on the misery by racing to a love hold to start set two. Frustration started to boil over as 30-love became 30-all on the Osaka serve, and Kanepi seemed poised to take a stranglehold on the match.
Instead Osaka buckled down, fighting through deuce to level the set at 1-1. She was further rewarded for her grit with a break in the ensuing game - her first of the match - as she was able to attack a slew of second serves to pull ahead.
Osaka would go on to break three times in the second set on seven opportunities, and the back-and-forth affair would continue into a third set, where the twists and turns continued.
Kanepi saw an early 2-0 advantage quickly evaporate in the face of four straight games from Osaka. The 19-year-old had game points on serve to stretch her lead to 5-3, but Kanepi found a way to level things at 4-4 to turn the match on its head once more.
The Estonian never looked back from there, wrapping up the two-hour match with a decisive break when an Osaka backhand sailed long.
WHAT IT MEANS: This US Open is just Kanepi's fourth event of the year. Returning from a one-year layoff due to a back injury, she came into the tournament without a WTA tour level win in 2017. Due to various injuries in recent years, the former world No. 15 currently finds herself ranked at No.446 and got into the Open draw through qualifying.
While she is a five-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, she has not made the last 16 as a Slam since the 2014 US Open.
The 32-year-old will now face Daria Kasatkina for a chance to match her 2010 run to the quarterfinals in New York.
Osaka, who has become a fan favorite after knocking out defending champ Angelique Kerber, falls in the third round in heartbreaking fashion for the second year in a row. She dropped a three-set decision to Madison Keys at the same stage last year, and has yet to reach the fourth round at a Slam.
MATCH POINT: Kanepi has legitimized her comeback by getting to week two. Can she take advantage of a matchup with the unseeded Kasatkina to get back to the last eight?
WHAT HAPPENED: In a see-saw battle on Court 5, Kaia Kanepi outlasted Naomi Osaka, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, to book her place in the US Open's last 16. Kanepi, the former world No. 15, outsteadied her opponent to put a fire under her recent comeback from injury.
She eased to a break in the opening game thanks to four unforced errors from Osaka, whose high-risk game was not clicking early.
After escaping two break points in game four, Kanepi's confidence grew, and she would drop just one point on serve the rest of the set. Osaka was plagued by 18 unforced errors throughout set one and gifted away the opening stanza with three consecutive forehand misses.
If that was deflating for Osaka, Kanepi piled on the misery by racing to a love hold to start set two. Frustration started to boil over as 30-love became 30-all on the Osaka serve, and Kanepi seemed poised to take a stranglehold on the match.
Instead Osaka buckled down, fighting through deuce to level the set at 1-1. She was further rewarded for her grit with a break in the ensuing game - her first of the match - as she was able to attack a slew of second serves to pull ahead.
Osaka would go on to break three times in the second set on seven opportunities, and the back-and-forth affair would continue into a third set, where the twists and turns continued.
Kanepi saw an early 2-0 advantage quickly evaporate in the face of four straight games from Osaka. The 19-year-old had game points on serve to stretch her lead to 5-3, but Kanepi found a way to level things at 4-4 to turn the match on its head once more.
The Estonian never looked back from there, wrapping up the two-hour match with a decisive break when an Osaka backhand sailed long.
WHAT IT MEANS: This US Open is just Kanepi's fourth event of the year. Returning from a one-year layoff due to a back injury, she came into the tournament without a WTA tour level win in 2017. Due to various injuries in recent years, the former world No. 15 currently finds herself ranked at No.446 and got into the Open draw through qualifying.
While she is a five-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, she has not made the last 16 as a Slam since the 2014 US Open.
The 32-year-old will now face Daria Kasatkina for a chance to match her 2010 run to the quarterfinals in New York.
Osaka, who has become a fan favorite after knocking out defending champ Angelique Kerber, falls in the third round in heartbreaking fashion for the second year in a row. She dropped a three-set decision to Madison Keys at the same stage last year, and has yet to reach the fourth round at a Slam.
MATCH POINT: Kanepi has legitimized her comeback by getting to week two. Can she take advantage of a matchup with the unseeded Kasatkina to get back to the last eight?
Brady ekes out third round win.
WHAT HAPPENED: In the early going, it looked like American Jennifer Brady might quickly overwhelm Romania’s Monica Niculescu in their third-round match Saturday.
Brady was making it look easy early on, rattling off five games in a row in less than 20 minutes in the first set as she hit booming shots from the baseline and easily handled Nicelscu’s persistent attempt at slice drop shots from both sides.
In the end, Brady would need to battle through a feisty effort from Niculescu, and she managed to eke out a close 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 win to reach her first US Open fourth round.
The first set could have been closer as well. Serving at 5-3, Brady showed poise as Niculescu tried to come in on a backhand slice and Brady boomed a passing shot past her to take the set.
After that, Niculescu seemed more determined than ever to track down every ball and give Brady an even heavier heavy dose of the off-speed slice from both sides, which she used to great effect.
The two traded breaks early in the second set, and Brady broke again and held to go up 3-1. A multiple deuce game at 3-2, with Brady serving, featured great shot-making from both players. The game was punctuated by a Brady double fault to even the set. Brady struggled with her first serve throughout the match, landing just 58 percent on the day.
Niculescu held at 3-3 after a lengthy game of grinding rallies and digging from both, as Niculsecu came in off a forehand slice and volleyed a winner to take her first lead.
It was officially a dog fight.
The game at 4-5 was probably the longest and the hardest fought, as the two had a lengthy, multiple deuce game as Niculescu utilized a side-to-side drop shot routine. Brady had her chances: on her first game point, she hit a big serve but netted the follow-up forehand. Later in the game, Niculescu earned an unforced error over a winded Brady on the sixth deuce point and took the game and the set.
After about an hour and a half of up and down shot making, with both players sprinting side to side, the two headed to a decisive third set.
Brady immediately broke and then decisively held. After that, both players struggled on their serves as the grinding match — with plenty of drop shot saves from Brady and side-to-side battles — was knotted in the tihird at 5-5.
A Brady hold put her up 6-5, giving the 22-year-old American another a chance to serve out the match. Niculescu handled Brady’s serve well and the two went to a decisive tiebreak.
After Brady took a 4-0 lead, a couple of errors almost let the Romanian back into the tiebreak.
Brady, though, was decisive.
An overhead smash winner put her up 5-2 but Niculescu, as always, came up with a reflex volley that was too deep for Brady. A rare unforced error on Niculescu’s backhand gave Brady three match points at 6-3. She took advantage of the first one: after a lengthy rally, Niculescu hit a backhand wide to give the American the match.
WHAT IT MEANS: In her first year making the main draw in Grand Slams, Brady, 22, has made two fourth rounds, now at the US Open and earlier this year at the Australian Open, not to mention a first round Wimbledon win. At No. 75 in the world, Brady may be the young American to watch — and shouldn’t be counted out as she faces No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the round of 16.
MATCH POINT: Brady has only had success at the majors this year and didn’t qualify for other WTA events. Brady said after the match of her success in the majors: "I'm not complaining."
WHAT HAPPENED: In the early going, it looked like American Jennifer Brady might quickly overwhelm Romania’s Monica Niculescu in their third-round match Saturday.
Brady was making it look easy early on, rattling off five games in a row in less than 20 minutes in the first set as she hit booming shots from the baseline and easily handled Nicelscu’s persistent attempt at slice drop shots from both sides.
In the end, Brady would need to battle through a feisty effort from Niculescu, and she managed to eke out a close 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 win to reach her first US Open fourth round.
The first set could have been closer as well. Serving at 5-3, Brady showed poise as Niculescu tried to come in on a backhand slice and Brady boomed a passing shot past her to take the set.
After that, Niculescu seemed more determined than ever to track down every ball and give Brady an even heavier heavy dose of the off-speed slice from both sides, which she used to great effect.
The two traded breaks early in the second set, and Brady broke again and held to go up 3-1. A multiple deuce game at 3-2, with Brady serving, featured great shot-making from both players. The game was punctuated by a Brady double fault to even the set. Brady struggled with her first serve throughout the match, landing just 58 percent on the day.
Niculescu held at 3-3 after a lengthy game of grinding rallies and digging from both, as Niculsecu came in off a forehand slice and volleyed a winner to take her first lead.
It was officially a dog fight.
The game at 4-5 was probably the longest and the hardest fought, as the two had a lengthy, multiple deuce game as Niculescu utilized a side-to-side drop shot routine. Brady had her chances: on her first game point, she hit a big serve but netted the follow-up forehand. Later in the game, Niculescu earned an unforced error over a winded Brady on the sixth deuce point and took the game and the set.
After about an hour and a half of up and down shot making, with both players sprinting side to side, the two headed to a decisive third set.
Brady immediately broke and then decisively held. After that, both players struggled on their serves as the grinding match — with plenty of drop shot saves from Brady and side-to-side battles — was knotted in the tihird at 5-5.
A Brady hold put her up 6-5, giving the 22-year-old American another a chance to serve out the match. Niculescu handled Brady’s serve well and the two went to a decisive tiebreak.
After Brady took a 4-0 lead, a couple of errors almost let the Romanian back into the tiebreak.
Brady, though, was decisive.
An overhead smash winner put her up 5-2 but Niculescu, as always, came up with a reflex volley that was too deep for Brady. A rare unforced error on Niculescu’s backhand gave Brady three match points at 6-3. She took advantage of the first one: after a lengthy rally, Niculescu hit a backhand wide to give the American the match.
WHAT IT MEANS: In her first year making the main draw in Grand Slams, Brady, 22, has made two fourth rounds, now at the US Open and earlier this year at the Australian Open, not to mention a first round Wimbledon win. At No. 75 in the world, Brady may be the young American to watch — and shouldn’t be counted out as she faces No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the round of 16.
MATCH POINT: Brady has only had success at the majors this year and didn’t qualify for other WTA events. Brady said after the match of her success in the majors: "I'm not complaining."
Vandeweghe finds a way, into Round 4.
WHAT HAPPENED: New mom Serena Williams is supine in a West Palm Beach maternity ward some 1,200 miles away. Angelique Kerber, the year-end No. 1 in 2016, didn’t survive the first round, the earliest departure for a defending champion in a dozen years. Former titlist Svetlana Kuznetsova was knocked out in the second.
Opportunities abound in the top half of the women’s singles draw at the US Open.
CoCo Vandeweghe is sure making the most of the opportunity. On Day 6 in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 20th-seeded American outlasted 10th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, just inside the three-hour mark to advance to the fourth round for the first time.
Until Saturday, Vandeweghe had never had much luck against Radwanska. Coming into the match, she was a paltry 1-5 against the crafty 28-year-old, whose mix-it-up arsenal stands in stark contrast to her all-out power game.
“Aga is a really difficult player to play against,” said Vandeweghe, who charted 49 winners to 54 unforced errors. “She puts you in a lot of tough situations. You can second-guess yourself sometimes. I just tried to stay focused and regroup.”
Radwanska continues to struggle at the US Open. Of the four Grand Slams, she has had her least success here, and in 12 appearances has yet to reach the quarterfinals. Not that she hasn’t notched some big wins in Flushing Meadows. It was a decade ago that, as an 18-year-old unknown, she shocked then-No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova in the third round. But she has never been able to establish herself as a consistent second-week presence.
Vandeweghe came into the tournament ranked No. 22, enjoying perhaps the most consistent season of her nearly decade-long pro career. She kicked off the year by reaching her first career Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, and in July advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. She currently stands at No. 11 on the WTA’s Road to Singapore Leaderboard.
Credit Pat Cash – he of the trademark checkered headband – with some of her improvement. The 1987 Wimbledon titlist has been spending many an hour working with the American on her fitness and movement, areas in which she’s long needed some assistance. The results could be seen on Saturday, as the New York-born baseliner played some tenacious defense, even tracking down a seemingly impossible lob in the eighth game of the opening set.
The up-and-down first set saw no less than four service breaks. It was Radwanska who drew first blood, jumping out to a 3-0 advantage with an early break, but the recently married Pole would double fault at 3-1, 30-40 to bring the set back on serve. Vandeweghe squandered three set points serving at 5-4, tossing her racquet to the Ashe Stadium cement in frustration, but eventually closed out the 64-minute set on a Radwanska error.
Aga would battle back in the middle stanza, biding her time and scoring a set-sealing break with Vandeweghe serving at 4-5. The two foes would again exchange service breaks in the third set before a pumped up Vandweghe – not one to conceal her emotions – pulled away for good, a forehand winner on her second break point of the seventh game the winning margin. Serving for the match at 5-4, she would strike her third and fourth aces of the afternoon, saving her best tennis for last.
WHAT IT MEANS: Next up for Vandeweghe is Lucie Safarova. She’s 1-3 in head-to-heads against the Czech, their last meeting a win for Safarova on the hard courts of Indian Wells earlier this year
MATCH POINT: Where does Vandeweghe’s potent serve rank among those of her colleagues on the WTA tour?
WHAT HAPPENED: New mom Serena Williams is supine in a West Palm Beach maternity ward some 1,200 miles away. Angelique Kerber, the year-end No. 1 in 2016, didn’t survive the first round, the earliest departure for a defending champion in a dozen years. Former titlist Svetlana Kuznetsova was knocked out in the second.
Opportunities abound in the top half of the women’s singles draw at the US Open.
CoCo Vandeweghe is sure making the most of the opportunity. On Day 6 in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 20th-seeded American outlasted 10th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, just inside the three-hour mark to advance to the fourth round for the first time.
Until Saturday, Vandeweghe had never had much luck against Radwanska. Coming into the match, she was a paltry 1-5 against the crafty 28-year-old, whose mix-it-up arsenal stands in stark contrast to her all-out power game.
“Aga is a really difficult player to play against,” said Vandeweghe, who charted 49 winners to 54 unforced errors. “She puts you in a lot of tough situations. You can second-guess yourself sometimes. I just tried to stay focused and regroup.”
Radwanska continues to struggle at the US Open. Of the four Grand Slams, she has had her least success here, and in 12 appearances has yet to reach the quarterfinals. Not that she hasn’t notched some big wins in Flushing Meadows. It was a decade ago that, as an 18-year-old unknown, she shocked then-No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova in the third round. But she has never been able to establish herself as a consistent second-week presence.
Vandeweghe came into the tournament ranked No. 22, enjoying perhaps the most consistent season of her nearly decade-long pro career. She kicked off the year by reaching her first career Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, and in July advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. She currently stands at No. 11 on the WTA’s Road to Singapore Leaderboard.
Credit Pat Cash – he of the trademark checkered headband – with some of her improvement. The 1987 Wimbledon titlist has been spending many an hour working with the American on her fitness and movement, areas in which she’s long needed some assistance. The results could be seen on Saturday, as the New York-born baseliner played some tenacious defense, even tracking down a seemingly impossible lob in the eighth game of the opening set.
The up-and-down first set saw no less than four service breaks. It was Radwanska who drew first blood, jumping out to a 3-0 advantage with an early break, but the recently married Pole would double fault at 3-1, 30-40 to bring the set back on serve. Vandeweghe squandered three set points serving at 5-4, tossing her racquet to the Ashe Stadium cement in frustration, but eventually closed out the 64-minute set on a Radwanska error.
Aga would battle back in the middle stanza, biding her time and scoring a set-sealing break with Vandeweghe serving at 4-5. The two foes would again exchange service breaks in the third set before a pumped up Vandweghe – not one to conceal her emotions – pulled away for good, a forehand winner on her second break point of the seventh game the winning margin. Serving for the match at 5-4, she would strike her third and fourth aces of the afternoon, saving her best tennis for last.
WHAT IT MEANS: Next up for Vandeweghe is Lucie Safarova. She’s 1-3 in head-to-heads against the Czech, their last meeting a win for Safarova on the hard courts of Indian Wells earlier this year
MATCH POINT: Where does Vandeweghe’s potent serve rank among those of her colleagues on the WTA tour?
[h=1]Vandeweghe wins first set.[/h]
[h=1]Coco Vandeweghe Interview.[/h]
