2018 U.S. Open (Tennis)

[Troublemaker]

The draws just came out for the 4th and final Slam of the season that starts on Monday.

Men's Draw - possible Fed / Djoker matchup in the quarterfinals.

Women's Draw - possible Williams sisters matchup in the 3rd round. Possible Halep-Serena meeting in the 4th round. What a loaded 1/8th of a draw!

Both tournaments should be very interesting. On the men's side, with Federer having won the Australian, Nadal the French, and Djokovic Wimbledon, which one breaks the tie here? Or maybe we finally get a "NextGen" player to rise up and beat the oldies. Zverev? Tsitsipas?

On the women's side, after making the Wimbledon final, Serena had been the odds-on favorite to win her first Slam since returning from pregnancy here at home at the U.S. Open. I haven't checked the updated odds yet but it's possible that's no longer the case since her draw is brutal. Still, her quest will be interesting to see unfold. Besides the return from pregnancy storyline, A Slam win would tie her with Margaret Court for the all-time lead at 24. (Note: while it's unlikely any tennis historian would rank Court above Serena, it's still worthwhile to get the number if possible.)

Put your tennis thoughts in this thread!

[jimsumner]

Can an American man break through at home? Was Isner's deep Wimbledon run a break-through? Or an outlier? Sam Querry? Jack Sock? Steve Johnson? Someone else?

Or will the drought continue?

[CDu]

Can an American man break through at home? Was Isner's deep Wimbledon run a break-through? Or an outlier? Sam Querry? Jack Sock? Steve Johnson? Someone else?

Or will the drought continue?

If I were betting, I would put heavy money on one of Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal winning. Beyond those guys? Delpo and Zverev and MAYBE Murray or Cilic. I would put the chances of an American man winning it this year at close to 0%.

Good chance an American woman raises the trophy though.

[jimsumner]

If I were betting, I would put heavy money on one of Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal winning. Beyond those guys? Delpo and Zverev and MAYBE Murray or Cilic. I would put the chances of an American man winning it this year at close to 0%.

Good chance an American woman raises the trophy though.

So, you're saying there's a chance?

At this point, I'd settle for a deep run.

I remember the good ole days when some combination of Sampras, Agassi, Courier, McEnroe, Connors, et. al. always seemed to be in contention, getting those crowds rocking and rolling. Roddick was the last credible U.S. threat and he's fading from my memory.

It's hard to believe that the most populous country in the world to take tennis seriously can't do better than this.

[Bluedog]

So, you're saying there's a chance?

At this point, I'd settle for a deep run.

I remember the good ole days when some combination of Sampras, Agassi, Courier, McEnroe, Connors, et. al. always seemed to be in contention, getting those crowds rocking and rolling. Roddick was the last credible U.S. threat and he's fading from my memory.

It's hard to believe that the most populous country in the world to take tennis seriously can't do better than this.

Tennis is (likely) the second most popular sport to play in Europe (behind soccer of course). In the US, it's 7th. So while I agree with your sentiment and would love to see more top flight US men's players, it's not like the US makes up the majority of aspiring tennis players or even close to it. It's a much much more fragmented sport across nations arounds the world.

In addition, it's a different game today that might benefit different styles. US is primarily hard court tennis with big hitters and servers getting rewarded. That used to do well, but with advances in racquet technology and the fact that tennis players are faster and fitter than they have ever been, defensive abilities are through the roof and coming to the net consistently/serving and volleying aren't seen as good strategies as much anymore. Even Wimbledon has adjusted it's courts somewhat to make the ball bounce higher. So, those growing up on clay may be learning better skills ironically.

Just like with soccer there is also differences among coaching/training and the emphasis on University in the US. As well as top tennis coaching being very expensive in this country.

Interesting to see and certainly it's possible US guys could be at the top, but recent events have made that more unlikely.

[Troublemaker]

So, you're saying there's a chance?

At this point, I'd settle for a deep run.

I remember the good ole days when some combination of Sampras, Agassi, Courier, McEnroe, Connors, et. al. always seemed to be in contention, getting those crowds rocking and rolling. Roddick was the last credible U.S. threat and he's fading from my memory.

It's hard to believe that the most populous country in the world to take tennis seriously can't do better than this.

It'd be great if it could come from one of the young guns, too. So far, none of the young Americans have broken through to show the promise of Germany's A. Zverev, Greece's Tsitsipas, or Canada's Shapovalov.

The most promising young American appears to be Francis Tiafoe, who is a fan favorite because of a nice background story and some explosive hitting. He gave Federer all that he could handle in a first-round matchup last year, and the crowd was certainly rocking then:



I also think Taylor Fritz is roughly as good a prospect as Tiafoe. Hopefully one of those two make a run this year.

[Bluedog]

It'd be great if it could come from one of the young guns, too. So far, none of the young Americans have broken through to show the promise of Germany's A. Zverev, Greece's Tsitsipas, or Canada's Shapovalov.

The most promising young American appears to be Francis Tiafoe, who is a fan favorite because of a nice background story and some explosive hitting. He gave Federer all that he could handle in a first-round matchup last year, and the crowd was certainly rocking then:



I also think Taylor Fritz is roughly as good a prospect as Tiafoe. Hopefully one of those two make a run this year.

Wow, I've been out of the loop. Thanks for mentioning Tiafoe. Awesome story if you google him! Synopsis: son of immigrants from Sierria Leone who were escaping civil war, his father worked on the constructure crew (and subsequently the on-site custodian) that built a tennis center in Maryland and thus his children had access to the facility and its coaches. Definitely not a "typical upbringing" for a tennis player in the U.S. He won the Orange Bowl (one of the top junior international events) at age 15 being the youngest champion in the tournament's history and got into the main draw of the French OPen at 17. His Coach is Robby Ginepri. Let's go Tiafoe!

[Troublemaker]

Wow, I've been out of the loop. Thanks for mentioning Tiafoe. Awesome story if you google him! Synopsis: son of immigrants from Sierria Leone who were escaping civil war, his father worked on the constructure crew (and subsequently the on-site custodian) that built a tennis center in Maryland and thus his children had access to the facility and its coaches. Definitely not a "typical upbringing" for a tennis player in the U.S. He won the Orange Bowl (one of the top junior international events) at age 15 being the youngest champion in the tournament's history and got into the main draw of the French OPen at 17. His Coach is Robby Ginepri. Let's go Tiafoe!

No problem! I just noticed that I spelled Tiafoe's first name wrong in my original post. It's Frances, not Francis.

Tiafoe drew the savvy counterpunching Frenchman Mannarino in the first round, someone that he can hopefully overpower on his way to victory. Tiafoe's 1/8th of the draw isn't terrible in that he avoided Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal. I imagine most ATP players hope for that situation because it opens up the possibility of making the quarterfinals. But, one match at a time. Mannarino will probably enter the match as a slight favorite.

[Green Wave Dukie]

Intrigued by first round clash between Stan the Man and Dimitrov. Amazing first round match-up, even more amazing they played in the first round at Wimbledon.

Roger's draw is tough. Potential Kyrgios in the 3rd round, who is capable of just about anything when he walks out there. Just seems like at least an even money bet Fed and Djokovic will play in the quarters.

Trouble - what are the odds on Sock-Andreozzi first round match up? Guido won 3 matches (admittedly, 1 in the qualies) in the recent Winston-Salem Open, and I just seem to recall Jack Sock consistently disappointing in the majors. That's my first round upset special.

[Troublemaker]

Roger's draw is tough. Potential Kyrgios in the 3rd round, who is capable of just about anything when he walks out there. Just seems like at least an even money bet Fed and Djokovic will play in the quarters.

Yep, that was my initial reaction. If it's not Kyrgios upsetting Fed, hard to imagine it won't be a Novak-Roger battle in the QF.

Trouble - what are the odds on Sock-Andreozzi first round match up? Guido won 3 matches (admittedly, 1 in the qualies) in the recent Winston-Salem Open, and I just seem to recall Jack Sock consistently disappointing in the majors. That's my first round upset special.

Sock is about a 2.5 to 1 favorite as of the time of this post. Would definitely be a good call if Guido wins, GWD!

[Blue in the Face]

Well, that escalated quickly.

[Troublemaker]

Well, that escalated quickly.

Ah, I assume you're referring to World #1 Simon Halep going down in straight sets on Day 1. Yeah, disappointing. I was hoping to see a Serena-Halep battle, and more generally, I was hoping Halep could become more of a consistent force after winning Roland Garros this year. Women's tennis is still seeking that next superstar.

[curtis325]

Ah, I assume you're referring to World #1 Simon Halep going down in straight sets on Day 1. Yeah, disappointing. I was hoping to see a Serena-Halep battle, and more generally, I was hoping Halep could become more of a consistent force after winning Roland Garros this year. Women's tennis is still seeking that next superstar.

Meet the new boss--same as the old boss.

Serena!

[Green Wave Dukie]

Sock is about a 2.5 to 1 favorite as of the time of this post. Would definitely be a good call if Guido wins, GWD!

Well, upset pick number #1 flames out in straight sets. Jack Sock to the 2nd round, along with Stan the Man, who beats #8 seed Dmitrov in straight sets also.

[jimsumner]

So, let me get this straight. The top-ranked American man goes into the FIFTH set and ESPN switches to the beginning of a match between Serena and some German woman who has about as much chance of beating her as I do.

Geez.

[tteettimes]

Yeah...but we didn’t want to miss seeing Serena’s special outfit

[jimsumner]

Yeah...but we didn’t want to miss seeing Serena’s special outfit

ESPN takes star-struck to the next level.

Yesterday, they spent 15 minutes talking to Roger Federer, while a half-dozen matches were in progress.

This afternoon they showed Sloane Stephens losing the first set to a woman from the Ukraine ranked 125th in the world. With the top-seeded American and defending champion in clear trouble, they switched to Venus's match, which was just starting. Fortunately, she won with such alacrity that we were able to see Stephens complete the three-set comeback. But why ever go away from that match?

[Bluedog]

So, let me get this straight. The top-ranked American man goes into the FIFTH set and ESPN switches to the beginning of a match between Serena and some German woman who has about as much chance of beating her as I do.

Geez.

The thing that's funny is if you search Twitter (often a terrible thing to do), the majority of people appear to be the other way saying "nobody cares about Isner, give me Serena!" And they were not fans of the split screen. Suffice it to say, ESPN does what they think will drive ratings and there probably are a lot of people who are casual watchers who only want see Serena and otherwise wouldn't be watching tennis, while I'd argue most tennis aficionados would prefer to watch a fifth set of a tight match featuring an American. So, as a tennis aficionado myself, I agree with you! 😉

If you want to see a bad broadcast though, Amazon apparently takes the cake with their terrible streaming US Open coverage they've had in the UK (commentators notwithstanding).

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I still long for the good old days when USA Network did an incredible job covering the Open. For ESPN, it feels like something to pass the time until football season. For USA, it was the big event of the year. It was loose, fun, smart TV that gave you the feel of being in NY at the Open (before the Open became ridiculously expensive and too corporate, but don't get me started on that...)

[Troublemaker]

I also think Taylor Fritz is roughly as good a prospect as Tiafoe. Hopefully one of those two make a run this year.

Tiafoe has a big match today at ~3:30pm local against fellow young prospect Alex De Minaur from Australia. Hopefully the home crowd can help him pull through.

Glad to see Taylor Fritz has already won two matches to advance to the Round of 32.

Only 4 American men remain in the tournament, including these two youngsters.