Djokovic, Federer Advance At US Open; Nadal Opens On Tuesday

Steve Johnson has to play against Kyrgios and Isner?!?

August 27th, 2019 at 4:20 am

RF didn’t look sharp in Cincy, he might have the fastest feet I’ve ever seen; in Cincy his feet were a little slower than normal, same vs Nagal last night. I suspect when his magnificent career is over and historians look at his record it might be said that the downward arc started in Wimbledon final of 2019.

August 27th, 2019 at 8:20 am

Federer was quick compared to the field in the Weak Era save Blake, Coria and perhaps Hewitt – good enough to handle those guys, too. But on arrival of other members of the Big 4, Fed was 4th in speed of that bunch. And unlike Blake, Coria, Hewitt – those guys began regularly beating Roger.
And I think it is hard to say Fed was on his “downhill arc” starting at Wimbledon when he played better than Djokovic for 99% of the match. He has those two blown match points to shake off, but that was not like the 1st time he has had to shake off two blown match points against Djokovic happening at a Slam. :)

On a side note, the Official Site of the island of Bermuda sent a tweet to the US Open making a claim:
@Bermuda “Did you know that tennis was brought to the US from Bermuda? In 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge learned the game in Bermuda, and brought it back to New York. So today, and all days…you’re welcome!” #USOpen
The USTA makes another claim: Wealthy Brits invested heavily in the
American railroads and other industries following our Civil War. They and British consuls in cities all over the US brought the game. Out West, with less grass, they played on level patches of hardpan (alkali soil hard and leveled from infrequent rains. “Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, a retired British officer, publishes “The Major’s Game of Lawn Tennis.” That was, indisputably, the beginning of our game: lawn tennis.” Using the book, the USTA was formed in 1881 to consolidate the rules across American amateur athletic associations.

Thank you Bernuda, if the USTA is wrong or has overlooked Mary Ewing Outerbridge’s contribution.

August 27th, 2019 at 9:40 am

In general I didn’t think that Fed played all that great yesterday. He had some signs of magic but I saw a lot of shanks, netted volleys, and out balls. He will have to pick up his game as the competition will only get tougher.

August 27th, 2019 at 9:52 am

It seems unreasonable to expect that the Wimbledon final wouldn’t leave Federer with a scar. As good as Federer has become at shaking off losses, the Wimbledon loss is going to have an effect (at least in the short term). If he wins that match, he more than likely guarantees that he won’t be surpassed in slam count by Novak.

With all of the above said, I’m thinking that in terms of the US Open, Federer may be able to turn a positive into a negative. He usually blows through the first week without breaking a sweat. If he has to struggle a bit (not a lot) through the first week so that he’s peaking for the 2nd week, he may be able to build some confidence to play better in the clutch moments against the better guys in the second week. It’s a weak theory but I think it’s better to work your way into a tournament and peak at the end.

August 27th, 2019 at 12:49 pm

But it’s really Novak’s tournament to lose at this point. He’s the ATP alpha right now and on a hard court, it doesn’t seem like there are too many people that can get the better of him over 5 sets. Saw Stan play last night. He can’t beat Novak at this point. Federer…doubtful. Rafa beating Novak…on hard court? Even more doubtful.

The Next Gen? Maybe Next Year. I did like the way that Jannik Sinner played. Very loose and free. He seems to be very focused on the court which I thought was impressive for an 18 year old. I suspect that he’ll be heard from again…very soon.

August 27th, 2019 at 12:56 pm

Kukushkin wins in 5 over RBA. A lot of brackets will be messed up now.

August 27th, 2019 at 2:31 pm

And AR takes down Tsitsipas. At courtside 1st row, lots of drama from both.

August 27th, 2019 at 3:14 pm

Darn, I chose Tsitsipas to win that only because I didn’t think he’d lost two first rounders in a row, even with a brutal draw.

August 27th, 2019 at 4:08 pm

There goes Thiem…

August 27th, 2019 at 5:50 pm

Shame on Thiem. I was looking forward to a rematch against Rafa. Thiem was magnificent in that battle he had with Nadal at the USO last year. One of the best matches of 2018!

August 27th, 2019 at 6:45 pm

Shitsi , thiem and rba out😓😓

August 27th, 2019 at 9:43 pm

Khachnav also out
So 4 top seeds out in round 1

August 27th, 2019 at 9:54 pm

Thiem has been sick so I’m not shocked that he lost. Over the weekend he made statements along the lines of he wouldn’t have played at all if he was scheduled to play Monday but decided to give Tuesday a go.

Very surprised that KK lost to Pospisil. And very annoyed. I had KK going to the final. My bracket is completely screwed now.

August 28th, 2019 at 1:25 am

Looks like Sean may be right about Monfils. He is the top seed left in that quarter for semis, and he is #13. The only other seeds left is Berretini 24 and Kyrgios 28.

This could be a break for Kyrgios. If he plays the weay he did agaisnt Johnson last night (focused and serious) he can reach semis to play Nadal.

Either Kyrgios, Monfils, Rublev or Shapovalov will reach semis. Regardless, it will be a breakthrugh Slam for somebody.

Zevrev should also take advantage and at least makes QF to play Nadal.

August 28th, 2019 at 11:40 am

Novak had a bad arm and didn’t admit it at Wimbledon.
No wonder he let Fraud back in the match fraud never dominated him. Otherwise, Novak would’ve been down 2 sets to 1, or lost in 3 sets.

Fraud barely held on to his serve in each set.
He’s struggling a lot and lost sets.
It’s just a little struggling.

August 30th, 2019 at 10:17 am