Cincinnati Happenings

Tiafoe looking good:  Frances Tiafoe, the young American, took out Sasha Zverev, one of the toughest guys to beat this year.  He then went down in a close one to John Isner, but his performance in this tournament gives cause for optimism.

Federer injured.  Roger Federer pulled out of this tournament with back problems that apparently surfaced in the Rogers Cup final.  Federer looked poorly in the second set of that match, which Sasha Zverev won.  We all hope he will be fully fit for the US open.

Nadal to become #1:  On Monday Rafa Nadal will become #1 in the world for the 4^th time.  He’s had a great year, and none of his rivals for the top spot are playing.

Townsend, Sharapova to get wild cards: Taylor Townsend looked pretty good in Cincinnati before being drubbed by Simona Halep.  Townsend is rather heavy set, which certainly should not count against her, but her relative lack of court coverage did hurt her in the Halep match.  Regardless of her weight, she needs to work on that aspect.  Her ball striking is outstanding.  Taylor will receive a well deserved wild card into the US Open draw.  Maria Sharapova will also get a wild card.  She has not played much since returning from her suspension because of various injuries.  She is a previous champion at the US Open, so her presence should provide some interesting tennis to watch.

Keys, Muguruza looking good.  Madison Keys lost a close one to Garbine Muguruza in this tournament.  Both players, however, are producing some very good tennis.  After winning the French Open last year, where she blew Serena Williams off the court in the final, Muguruza played uninspiring tennis.  But this year her play after winning Wimbledon has been very strong.  If she can maintain her grand slam standard of play during regular tournaments she will become #1 in the world.   Madison Keys, coming off a wrist injury, has also shown consistently strong play.  She’s another who could be #1 if she harnessed her power and learned to play more tactical tennis.  I think she should also work on coming to the net more often, as her groundies often put opponents on their heals.