More US Open Happenings

Significant events at the Open as the second week begins include:

The men:

Nadal goes down.  I never thought I’d feel sorry for Rafa Nadal, who has so brutally and mercilessly crushed so many players throughout his career, but his look of dejection when leaving the court after losing the Lucas Pouille was painful to see.  Nadal did not get as far as the quarters in any major this year.  Pouille played a great match, which ended after more than 4 hours, but Nadal made very uncharacteristic errors from everywhere on the court at key moments.  Tennis is a game of big points, and Nadal lost too many of them.  Nadal clearly has problems, but exactly what they are remains an enigma.

Murray dominates.  Andy Murray played just awesome tennis to defeat Grigor Dimitrov and move on.  Dimitrov has nothing to be embarrassed about, despite getting thrashed, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.  Murray was just too good, hitting serves even into the 140’s, not making errors, getting to every ball, and playing flawless tactical tennis.  Just an amazing performance from him.  Dimitrov had a good tournament and he should try to build on his success.

Unexpected success.  Unexpectedly, Gael Monfils and Juan Martin del Potro are still in the mix.  Monfils has had a fairly friendly draw, and that will continue, as he plays Lucas Pouille next.  Pouille has had a great tournament, but is coming off a grueling match against Nadal.  Many players lose matches following victories over Nadal, so the circumstances favor Monfils, who is clearly more serious about his tennis these days.  Del Potro got a retirement from Dominic Thiem (knee injury) so he is still in as well.  He faces Stan Wawrinka next.  Stan is a terrific player but his up-and-down play led me to discount him from the list of favorites.  At this point, though, he deserves a closer look.  If you like hard hitting don’t miss this next match!

Nishikori still in.  Kei Nishikori, a former finalist is also still in, but he faces the daunting task of beating Murray next.

The women.

Wozniaki gives Keys a tennis lesson.  Caroline Wozniaki used her incredible defensive skills, improved serve and forehand, and perceptive tactics to defeat Madison Keys.  A great performance from Caroline, who holds the title for most nicknames on the tour (Sunshine, Sweet Caroline, The Great Dane, the Wizard of Woz etc.).  Keys should review the film of this match closely in an effort to discern how her vulnerabilities were exposed by Caroline’s elegant play.  Wozniaki plays Anastija Sevastova next.  A terrific run Sevastova.  This could be an interesting match.  

Pliskova beats Venus.  Karolina Pliskova, a player I picked as an outside shot to win, beat Venus Williams, a player I tagged as someone to keep an eye on.  Pliskova got a break in more ways than one in this match when she broke serve on a let cord in the final set to send the match into a tiebreaker.  Plenty of thrills in this one!  Regardless of what happens next, Pliskova is showing a lot of mental fortitude in the past few weeks, the absence of which has hampered her in the past.  This was a tough win on a huge stage against a great player with all the fans against her.  Good job Karolina!

Ana “Konjuhs” up an improbable victory.  Ana Konjuh, an 18-year-old Latvian ranked 92 in the world has really announced herself in this tournament.  She took out Aggie Radwanska, a tough out on any surface, in straight sets.  She gets Pliskova next. 

Other results.  Angie Kerber helped Petra Kvitova lose by Petra’s usual method of making too many unforced errors and will play Roberta Vinci next.  Vinci seems to really love this tournament.  Despite her alleged physical problems, Serena Williams continues to win easily.  She beat Shvedova in straights and gets Halep next (Halep took out Suarez-Navarro).  That is the most interesting match of the quarters.