The first week of our last Grand Slam this year is through and well, it goes without saying that there have been a ton of surprises. Numerous top seeds have been eliminated, including Djokovic, Alcaraz and Gauff. This has changed the outlook immensely and might even produce a new Slam champion on the men’s side of things. Let’s look back at the biggest stories from this week and how they affect the outcome of the US Open tournament.
Women’s singles – the Champ is out
The biggest story of the first week might be that Coco Gauff is out of the US Open. This doesn’t come as the biggest of surprises, as she has been seen struggling with her form lately, especially on serve and her forehand. As in Wimbledon, it was her compatriot Emma Navarro, who knocked her out of the tournament yesterday. Navarro herself sets up a potential top-10 ranking and deep run with this, and it will be interesting to see whether she can carry the momentum into the quarterfinal now. For Coco Gauff, it seems like she has a bit of work to do in the late- and off-season, to fix her consistency which has left her in the second half of the season.
Other top seeds who made an early exit include Maria Sakkari, who had to retire due to a shoulder injury, Wimbledon champ Barbora Krejcikova and Elena Rybakina, who pulled out of the tournament due to undisclosed injuries. There is quite some chatter about Rybakina and her situation, as she just parted ways with her coach Vukov, who recently was taken off the WTA coach list. If there is more to the story remains to be seen, when Rybakina herself decides to talk about the situation. Jelena Ostapenko lost a tough opening match against Naomi Osaka, which will cause her to lose some points and drop out of the top-10.
Osaka went on to play Karolina Muchova, last years semifinalist, and lost this match in straight sets. For the Czech, who next to this produced the shot of the tournament, it seems that she is all the way back from her wrist injury and can make another deep run. She will face No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini in an exciting matchup for the quarterfinal ticket. The other surprise so far is former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who took advantage of a slightly lucky draw and faces Beatriz Haddad Maia now for the Round of 16.
The favorites remain the same though after one week of play – Iga Swiatek seemed to struggle in her first match but has since improved and looked solid. It will be interesting to see, how she fares with Ludmila Samsonova now, who could be her first real challenge. Aryna Sabalenka also dropped a set against Alexandrova but seems to still be in one of the top spots for US Open champion. She will however face Olympics champion Qinwen Zheng, who has a lot of confidence going for her. And finally, Jessica Pegula seems to have conserved her US hardcourt shape finely. She is yet to drop a set and will face Diana Shnaider in the Round of 16 now, looking to challenge Swiatek in a possible quarterfinal.
Men’s singles – a new champion?
The headline of the men’s singles is surely that both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz had early round exits. While Djokovic did not seem to prepare as hard for the US Open as per usual, it came as a big surprise for Alcaraz, who was on the very top of the favorites’ list after his previous two major titles. Both seemed to be struggling with their level or lack thereof, and especially Alcaraz had a hard time mentally as well. Their respective halves of the draw get a bit more open with their absence, mainly favoring Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, who might get a bit easier semifinal matchup, if they get this far.
Jannik Sinner came into the tournament as the number one topic, as his two positive doping tests got leaked right before the start. And he felt the pressure apparently, as he lost his very first set against Mackenzie Mcdonald right away. Ever since then, it seems as if Sinner has adapted but still doesn’t seem as relaxed as possible. His Round of 16 match against Tommy Paul will tell how well he can perform, as the American seems in fine form again as well. Zverev on the other hand will now face Taylor Fritz in a remake of their frosty Wimbledon encounter. Both men have looked solid so far, with Zverev maybe being the secret favorite for the win now, as Djokovic and Rublev are already out in his part of the draw.
Next to Zverev and Fritz, the bottom half now features Frances Tiafoe, who beat both Ben Shelton and Alexei Popyrin in impressive battles and surely wants to get to another semifinal. He will face Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Rublev and also seems to be very well prepared. The real surprises are in the top-half, where Tomas Machac might be the most exciting, non-seeded player as of now. My money was on Jiri Lehecka before the tournament, but the young Machac has taken on the Czech hopes and beaten Fognini, Korda and Goffin in straight sets. He will face another young player in Jack Draper, who also has looked impressive so far.
The other surprise player comes from Portugal and is name Nuno Borges – who after beating Coria, Tsitsipas opponent Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jakub Mensik, is into his second Grand Slam fourth round. Kokkinakis and Mensik both beat top-20 players, but fell short to the sometimes less exciting but incredibly solid game of Borges, who will now face Daniil Medvedev for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Where is Hubert Hurkacz you might ask? Well, he was swiftly beaten by Jordan Thompson in the second round, a player you don’t hear much about. But the Australian has played three great matches and will now face DeMinaur in the Round of 16.
So, you will win – based on the action so far?
For the women, as previously stated, I think that the favorites are the same as before. Sabalenka and Swiatek are the players to beat, with some exciting challengers coming their way from the likes of Navarro or Pegula. For the men, it might be as open as ever – and players like Zverev, Dimitrov and Tiafoe want to make the most of it.
But the Grand Slam champions Sinner and Medvedev might have the experience on their side, as the next days will give us a clearer view of the top contenders. Who do you have for US Open champion this year?
