Things are back in action in Flushing, with refreshingly cool and comfortable (I dare say we may see some spectators in jackets or sweatshirts) weather in the forecast for the full tournament. After a fairly uneventful day 1 (Kerber losing, Serena returning to the scene of the crime with an easy win over Sharapova, Fed and Barty each dropping a set), we're seeing some action today, at least on the men's side. 10 seed Bautista Agut, 8 seed Tsitsipas and 4 seed Thiem all lost, with only Agut even managing to get to a 5th set. Not that he wouldn't be a big favorite against any of them, but that's a nice break for Nadal seeing 3 decent seeds fall on his half of the bracket.
Demented and sad, but social, right?
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke
Nadal's draw still seems sneakily tricky to me. It starts with having to play a high-variance ballbasher tonight in Kokkinakis. Verdasco is a possibility for the round after and someone that has given him trouble in hardcourt slams before. And then he's virtually guaranteed one of Cilic (former champ), Isner, or Struff (who hits the ball huge) in the 4th round. And that's before the QF and SF. Further, many of the commentators and players have said the courts are playing a bit faster and lower-bouncing than recent versions, which wouldn't be ideal for Nadal.
With Djokovic maybe having health issues and Federer looking ordinary so far (not mentally recovered from Wimbledon yet?), I'm excited to see if a young gun can break through. Shapovalov? Medvedev? This slam is the one that has produced non-Big 3 winners in the past like Del Potro, Cilic, and Wawrinka.
Even for someone who has plenty of early losses in Slams, this was quite a disappointment for Halep, especially coming off a near perfect match in the Wimbledon final. Career highlight win for Taylor Townsend, and major credit to her for holding on after wasting double match point to give back the break in the 3rd.
Demented and sad, but social, right?
Nadal with a walkover to the 3rd round. He will eventually face some competition. But so far so good.
Go Roger! And Go Coco! Playing Osana in the third round will probably end her run, but what a fabulous run for a 15 year old it’s been! And she’s only just beginning.
Ozzie, your paradigm of optimism!
Go To Hell carolina, Go To Hell!
9F 9F 9F
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Upset alert. Fellow Tulane tennis alum Dominik Koepfer is up 2 sets to none against #17 Basilashvili. Roll Wave!!
Either way the next 3 sets shake out, pretty good showing to win 3 matches in quailes and 2 main draw matches already.
Nice to see Osaka playing at peak level after a difficult summer, even if it came at the expense of Gauff. The post-match hugging and interviews were very sweet.
Demented and sad, but social, right?
Djokovic retires from his match with Wawrinka. He was down two sets to love already, and was complaining of left shoulder pain. The draw is still tough, but things open up a bit for Federer and Nadal.
Osaka loses.
Bencic has now beaten 4 out of last 5 number one ranked players she's faced. She looked dominant.
Baby Fed finally beats actual Fed. Shocking upset. Federer looked... well, he actually looked his age, suffering back and neck issues. The top half is wide open for Medvedev, while Nadal has Schwartzman and (if he wins) Mongolia or Berrettini.
Yeah, but they don't produce a lot of tennis players...
But seriously, a funny iPhone autocorrect for Monfils. Coincidentally, I had caught the autocorrect of Medvedev (Mercedes), but missed that one!
Schwartzman has given Nadal trouble in the past, but it's looking a lot like a Nadal/Medvedev final.