US Open happenings

The men

Federer looks better

Roger Federer looked pretty healthy in is third round match with Feliciano Lopez, the big, strong, lefty Spaniard with a powerful serve.  Of all his matches with Federer, Lopez played his best in this one.  Lopez is known for having a weak backhand that is almost always sliced and almost always is hit cross court for passing shots.  In this match, however, Lopez really clocked some topspin backhands and hit them down the line as well.  He gave it his all, but Roger was just too good and won in straight sets.  The second and third sets were very entertaining, with great baseline exchanges in the second, and brisk net play in the third.

Federer looked to be about 90% in this match.  His lateral movement was improved, as was his serve, though his serve and backhand were still not quite up to the level he had at the start of the year.  Still, his improved health bodes well for an exciting encounter with Nadal in the semis, if both players get that far. 

Cilic misses an opportunity

            Marin Cilic, former US open titlist, missed a great opportunity to go deep in this tournament.  With Murray and Djokovic out, and Sasha Zverev losing, Marin’s half of the draw was pretty much wide open.  Instead he lost to the 5’7” Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.  The take home message: Don’t take your opponents for granted, they don’t show up to the US Open to lose.

Popcorn match of the next round:  Thiem vs. del Potro

The women

Jelena Ostapenko out

            Jelena Ostapenko, French Open titlist, lost to Daria Kasatkina, a young talented player.  Ostapenko has not backed up her French Open win particularly well, though she is still a youngster, so no need for her fans to panic.

Sharapova faces a tough test

            Maria Sharapova will have to play Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia next.  This woman is relatively unkown, considering her skills.  I think Maria’s run will end in this one.

Popcorn match in the next round:  Several, including Muguruza vs. Petra Kvitova, Madison Keys vs. Svitolina and the Sharapova match with Sevastova.