US Open
Jaime Halstuch
Staff Writer
After winning the last piece of his collection in Paris during the Summer Olympics, everyone expected Novak Djokovic to return to the US Open and have an impressive performance. But the US Open had other plans. But he was not the only star this US Open’s plan caught.
The US Open was set to go smoothly after a fantastic summer of Olympic tennis, during which we saw some of the biggest stars. But right before the tournament started, a scandal exploded. Jannik Sinner, currently #1 in the ATP ranking, failed two drug tests in March. However, he was cleared by a tribunal after they discovered his trainer had applied a spray to his hand before treating Sinner. Many players were vocal about it and accused the ATP of double standards. World-renowned tennis superstars also gave their opinion. Rafael Nadal defended Sinner, saying he believed in Sinner’s good faith. Nick Kyrgios said Sinner should be banned from the tournament. Novak asked the ATP for clear protocols in a US Open press conference. This would only start a very unusual US Open men’s tournament.
First round, first surprises. Three top 20 players lost to what, in ATP rankings, seemed to be inferior rivals. #15 in the ATP ranking, Holger Rune lost #50 Brandon Nakashima in a massacre that ended up 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. In four sets, Stefanos Tsitsipas, #11, lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis, ranked #86. Felix Auger-Aliassime, #19, lost in three sets to Jakub Mensik, #65. In the second round, tennis’s golden boy, the heir to Rafa Nadal’s throne and #3 in the ATP ranking, Carlos Alcaraz, lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in three sets. Hubert Hurkacz #7 lost to #32 Jordan Thompson in three sets during the same round. Round three brought what many think was the tournament’s best game: the Americans Frances Tiafoe (#20) and Ben Shelton (#13) faced each other in a thrilling match that gave Tiafoe the victory after five sets. But the greatest tennis player of all time and current Olympic champion, Novak Djokovic (#2), took everyone by surprise in that round. In 3 hours, 19 minutes and four sets, Alexei Popyrin (#28) defeated Djokovic. Round four saw another one of the great matches. In five sets, Dimitrov (#9) defeated Rublev (#6). The quarterfinals saw Americans dominate at home, going two out of two as Taylor Fritz (#12) upset Alexander Zverev (4) in four sets. Frances Tiafoe also upset his rival, Dimitrov, in four sets. Showing the resurgence of American men’s tennis. The final surprise of the quarterfinals was Jack Draper (#25) beating Alex de Minaur (#10) in just about two hours after three sets. Sinner showed why he is #1 in the semifinals and sent Draper home in only three sets. The Americans Fritz and Tiafoe gave the crowd an absolute show. Three hours and eighteen minutes of fantastic tennis, in which the crowd saw how Fritz came back two times to take the game in five sets. In what seemed like a fantastic battle for the first two sets in which Draper forced Sinner to a seventh game in the first one and to a tiebreak in the second one, Sinner showed why he was #1 again and beat Draper 6-2 in the third and last set to sail to the final. Fritz, who looked terrific during the whole tournament, wasn’t a problem for Sinner in the final. It took Sinner only two hours and sixteen minutes to beat Fritz in a game that ended 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. Sinner, who is on a hot streak, showed the world why he deserves that #1 spot after playing excellent tennis throughout the whole tournament.
This US Open will be one to remember, from the controversy before it to its very high number of upsets. But the most important thing is that US men’s tennis is more alive than ever, and it is here to stay; Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton will bring a lot of joy to American tennis fans, and this is just the beginning of it.
Contact Jaime at jaime.halstuch@student.shu.edu