US Open Day 4 - Tsurenko d Wozniacki

The defeat of second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the second round was the biggest story out of Day Four, US Open 2018.

Lesia Tsurenko, from the Ukraine, who made the Cincinnati quarter finals   within the past fortnight, and in 2016 progressed to the US Open round of sixteen, was slow to start, trailing Wozniacki 1-3 in the opening set.

However, once Tsurenko settled, she attacked a number of balls left short by Wozniacki, and the effective use of angled shots enabled the 36th ranked player to win four successive games.

After Wozniacki broke the sequence, Tsurenko was still able to serve the set out 6-4

The momentum was ridden for all it was worth in set two, Tsurenko achieving the only two service breaks.

The upset victory came 6-4 6-2, Tsurenko hitting 20 winners to Wozniacki’s 6 for the match.  The live ranking is up by eight spots, from the start of the tournament, to 28 - if it were to stay there, it would be a career high.

The third round opponent for Lesia will be Katerina Siniakova who defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-7(3) 7-6(4)

Other second round results:

Women:

Angie Kerber (4) defeated Johanna Larsson 6-2 5-7 6-4

Maria Sharapova (22) defeated Sorana Cîrstea 6-2 7-5

Madison Keys (14) defeated Bernarda Pera 6-4 6-1

Petra Kvitová (5) defeated Yafan Wang 7-5 6-3

Aliaksandra Sasnovich defeated Daria Kasatkina (11) 6-2 7-6(3)

Caroline Garcia (6) defeated Monica Puig 6-2 1-6 6-4

Carla Suarez Navarro (30) defeated Kiki Mladenovic 6-1 4-6 6-4

Jelena Ostapenko (10) defeated Taylor Townsend 4-6 6-3 6-4

Kiki Bertens (13) defeated qualifier Francesca Di Lorenzo 6-2 6-1

Dominika Cibulková (29) defeated Su-Wei Hsieh 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4

Aleksandra Krunic defeated Kirsten Flipkens 6-1 6-3

Aryna Sabalenka (26) defeated qualifier Vera Zvonareva 6-3 7-6(7)

Marketa Vondrousova defeated qualifier Eugenie Bouchard 6-4 6-3

Naomi Osaka (20) defeated qualifier Julia Glushko 6-2 6-0

Men:

Roger Federer (2) defeated Benoit Paire 7-5 6-4 6-4

Novak Djokovic (6) defeated Tennys Sandgren 6-1 6-3 6-7(2) 6-2

Sascha Zverev (4) defeated qualifier Nicolas Mahut 6-4 6-4 6-2

Kei Nishikori (21) defeated Gael Monfils 6-2 5-4 (retired)

Marin Cilic (7) defeated qualifier Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-0 6-0

Lucas Pouille (17) defeated Marcos Baghdatis 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 6-3

John Millman defeated Fabio Fognini (14) 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-1

Richard Gasquet (26) defeated Laslo Djere 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3

Joao Sousa defeated Pablo Carreno Busta (12) 4-6 6-3 5-7 6-2 2-0 (retired)

David Goffin (10) defeated Robin Haase 6-2 6-7(1) 6-3 6-2

Mikhail Kukushkin defeated Hyeon Chung (23) 7-6(5) 6-2 6-3

Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Julien Benneteau 6-2 4-6 6-1 3-6 6-3

Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Matthew Ebden 6-7(1) 6-3 6-2 6-0

Diego Schwartzman (13) defeated Jaume Munar 6-2 6-0 5-7 6-2

Nick Kyrgios (30) defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert 4-6 7-6(6) 6-3 6-0

Alex de Minaur defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-4 6-0 5-7 6-2

US Open Day 3 - Williams sisters to meet in R3

Day Three of the 2018 US Open saw second round matches played from the top half of the singles draw, both men and women.

What was predicted pre tournament has come to pass - a third round encounter between the Williams sisters.

Venus defeated Camila Giorgi 7-5 6-4, and Serena was especially efficient in knocking out Carina Witthoeft 6-2 6-2.

The Williams quarter has become a lot easier, with the disappearance of top seed Simona Halep and now 12th seed Garbiñe Muguruza.

The Spaniard manufactured her defeat to Czech qualifier Karolina Muchova, ranked 202, after leading 6-3 4-4, and then 6-3 4-6 2-0.  Muguruza wasted a number of break points for a double break, before losing six of the final eight games, dumped 3-6 6-4 6-4.

Another pair of Spanish players were happier with their exploits - Rafa Nadal (1) rolled on with a second straight sets victory, 6-3 6-4 6-2, over Canadian Vasek Pospisil.

Andy Murray said goodbye to Flushing Meadows, losing out to Fernando Verdasco (31) 7-5 2-6 6-4 6-4.

Cameron Norrie fell to Dusan Lajovic, meaning no more singles representation from Great Britain.

Two men’s seeds left the tournament - Stefanos Tsitsipas (15) at the hands of Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3

Jack Sock (18) kicked out by Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-6(3)

Others were more successful:

• Juan Martin del Potro defeated Denis Kudla 6-3 6-1 7-6(4)
• Stan Wawrinka defeated qualifier Ugo Humbert 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 7-5
• John Isner (11) defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-7(7) 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) 6-4
• Denis Shapovalov (28) defeated Andreas Seppi 6-4 4-6 5-7 7-6(2) 6-4
• Milos Raonic (25) defeated Gilles Simon 6-3 6-4 6-4
• Borna Coric (20) defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6(4) 6-2 6-3
• Karen Khachanov (27) defeated qualifier Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-3 6-3
• Taylor Fritz defeated Jason Kubler 6-3 3-6 6-3 (retired)
• Guido Pella defeated Paolo Lorenzi 7-5 6-0 6-2
• Dominic Thiem (9) defeated Steve Johnson 6-7(5) 6-3 5-7 6-4 6-1
• Kevin Anderson (5) defeated Jeremy Chardy 6-2 6-4 6-4

Three other women’s seeds were eliminated - Julia Goerges (9) knocked out by Ekaterina Makarova 7-6(10) 6-3

Dasha Gavrilova (25) thrashed by Vika Azarenka 6-1 6-2

Maria Sakkari (32) sent home by Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-1 6-4

Winners:

• Sloane Stephens (3) defeated qualifier Anhelina Kalinina 4-6 7-5 6-2
• Elina Svitolina (7) defeated Tatjana Maria 6-2 6-3
• Karolina Pliskova (8) defeated Ana Bogdan 6-2 6-3
• Barbora Strycova (23) defeated Lara Arruabarrena 6-0 6-1
• Kaia Kanepi defeated qualifier Jil Teichmann 6-4 6-3
• Rebecca Peterson defeated Vania King 7-5 6-1
• Qiang Wang defeated Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3 6-1
• Anastasija Sevastova (19) defeated Claire Liu 6-3 6-1
• Elise Mertens (15) defeated Vera Lapko 6-2 6-0
• Ash Barty (18) defeated Lucie Safarova 7-5 6-3

US Open Day 2 - Heat Strikes

Day Two of the 2018 US Open (completing first round singles) was a sweltering affair for the players, and something for which insufficient guidelines had been put in place.

For the men, a ten minute break after three sets was invoked, but too little, too late to avoid the retirement of six players, at least five due to the excessive heat.

Disappointing to lose competitors in this manner, but the good news was for the seeds, who mostly survived the second day.

Leading the charge into the final 64 were the second seeds, Caroline Wozniacki and Roger Federer.

Wozniacki, in the day session opening match in Arthur Ashe Stadium, wasted little time in dispatching 2011 champion Samantha Stosur 6-2 6-2.

Federer, on the same court but in the night session, was just as ruthless in bidding Yoshihito Nishioka farewell 6_2 6-2 6-4.

Those seeds to fail their initial task were:

• Adrian Mannarino (29) defeated 6-1 6-4 4-6 6-4 by American Frances Tiafoe, ranked 44
• CoCo Vandeweghe (24) defeated 6-3 7-6(3) by Belgian Kirsten Flipkens, ranked 57
• Anett Kontaveit (28) defeated 6-7(3) 6-3 7-5 by the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova, ranked 54
• Marco Cecchinato (22) defeated 2-6 7-6(5) 6-3 6-4 by France’s Julien Benneteau, ranked 60
• Filip Krajinovic (32) defeated 7-6(1) 6-7(5) 4-6 6-1 4-1 (retired) by Australian Matthew Ebden, ranked 54

Notable winners, apart from Federer and Wozniacki, were:

• Sascha Zverev (4), who defeated lucky loser Peter Polansky 6-2 6-1 6-2
• Angie Kerber (4), who defeated Margarita Gasparyan 7-6(5) 6-3
• Petra Kvitová (5), who defeated Yanina Wickmayer 6-1 6-4
• Novak Djokovic (6), who defeated  Marton Fucsovics 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-0.  Djokovic trailed in the third set 2-4, but won the final ten games of the match.  Both players struggled with the conditions and appreciated the ten minutes break following the third set, but Fucsovics had nothing left.  Even the ice bath was insufficient to avoid the Novak late charge to victory.
• Caroline Garcia (6), who took Johanna Konta to the cleaners 6-2 6-2,leaving Great Britain with Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie as its only remaining singles representatives

• Marin Cilic (7), who defeated Marius Copil 7-5 6-1 1-1 (retired)
• David Goffin (10), who defeated qualifier Federico Gaio 
• Jelena Ostapenko (10), who defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-4 4-6 7-5
• Daria Kasatkina (11), who defeated Timea Babos 6-4 5-7 6-4
• Pablo Carreno Busta (12), who defeated Malek Jaziri 7-5 6-2 6-2
• Diego Schwartzman (13), who defeated Federico Delbonis 6-2 7-6(6) 6-2
• Kiki Bertens (13), who defeated Kristyna Pliskova 6-0 7-5
• Fabio Fognini (14), who defeated Michael Mmoh 4-6 6-2 6-4 7-6(4)
• Madison Keys (14), who defeated Pauline Parmentier 6-4 6-4
• Lucas Pouille (17), who defeated qualifier Yannick Maden 7-6(6) 6-2 7-5
• Naomi Osaka (20), who defeated Laura Siegemund 6-3 6-2

Wins by Frances Tiafoe and Alex de Minaur has them both rising six spots in the live rankings.

Leonardo Mayer lost through retirement, and dropped seven spots in the live rankings.

Wins by Kiki Mladenovic, Katerina Siniakova and Monica Puig gives them improvements of six, five and five respectively, in the live rankings.

How rankings swing wildly at GS time

Tennis rankings tend to move violently with the arrival of Grand Slam tournaments.  The reasons are largely two fold:

• The successful players from the previous year have many points to defend, and these are lost when studying the live rankings at the start of this years event, and on a daily basis through the fortnight. e.g.  Sloane Stephens has effectively dropped to number 10 because her 2000 points earned from winning the 2017 title are gone, and will only be fully regained should she win back to back.  Even then, if Caroline Garcia or Petra Kvitová were to finish runner-up to Stephens, then either of them would take the number three ranking at tournament end, because of the net gain in points, this year over last.

• Where a player has not competed in the US Open in 2017, such as Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, then they have no points to defend.  For players with renowned records in majors, the potential is to collect a large stash of points and shoot up the rankings charts.  e.g. Djokovic could conceivably increase his points by 360 by making the quarter final, 720 if he defeats Federer should they meet in the final eight.  Winning the tournament would take Djokovic to number three in the rankings, up from six, and closing in on Federer for second spot.  Of course that is hypothetical, but explains how things can rapidly change.  The opposite is true when players don’t play and cannot defend the points won 12 months prior.  e.g.  Pablo Cuevas was a late withdrawal this year due to injury and with zero points from 2018 will have a net loss amounting to the points from 2017.

How live rankings have changed significantly for some due to the above:

Men

• Pablo Carreno Busta begins seven spots down at 19, due to losing his semi final points from last year.
• Denis Shapovalov starts five places lower at 33 thanks to a round of sixteen finish in 2017
• Jeremy Chardy won his opening round match this year, and because he didn’t play last year, has already gained nine places
• Sam Querrey, quarter finalist last year, lost his round one match this year, and has fallen 24 places - this could become worse as the fortnight rolls on
• Mischa Zverev also fell in round one and won’t have the chance to defend his round of sixteen points; he has dropped 13 places so far
• Andrey Rublev, quarter finalist in 2017, has fallen 30 spots as a result of a first round loss in 2018.
• A rapid rise for 20 year old French qualifier Ugo Humbert, who with no points to defend, won his opening main draw match and has jumped 28 places to a new career high of 111.  Of course 111 may only be temporary as there are a few below that have matches in hand and the potential to overtake, plus Ugo has Wawrinka next with which to contend.

Women

• Madison Keys begins seven spots lower at 21 due to losing her points from making last years final
• Shuai Zhang made the third round last year but lost her opening match this year so has already dropped five spots to 39, and that can only worsen as the days pass.
• CoCo Vandeweghe was a semi finalist last year, and has lost those points, so starts this year with a live ranking 22 spots lower at 47.
• Aleksandra Krunic loses her third round points from 2017 and begins with a live ranking seven places lower at 56.
• Vika Azarenka didn’t play last year and with her first round win this year gains enough points to lift her 17 places in the rankings to a temporary 62.
• Although rapt with her win over Simona Halep, Kaia Kanepi still,has to defend her quarter final points from last year.  They have been lost, and her live ranking at this point is 24 places lower than before the tournament commenced.
• Lara Arruabarrena lost her first round match in 2017, but not this year, and that is enough to give her a rankings boost of 16 places
• As said already Sloane Stephens began the tournament seven places lower in the live rankings at 10 due to losing her 2017 title winning points. 

US Open Day One - Halep Gone

Day One of a Grand Slam tournament is always ready for an upset or two or three or ....  and so the 2018 US Open wasn’t going to disappoint in this regard.

The big names sent out in battle to open proceedings included:

Stan Wawrinka v Grigor Dimitrov (8)

Sveta Kuznetsova v Venus Williams (16)

Serena Williams (17) v Magda Linette 

Rafa Nadal (1) v David Ferrer 

Kaia Kanepi v Simona Halep (1) 

Sloane Stephens (3) v Evgeniya Rodina 

Juan Martin del Potro (3) v Donald Young

Sachia Vickery v Elina Svitolina (7)

Zarina Diyas v Karolina Pliskova (8)

Ryan Harrison v Kevin Anderson (5)

Dominic Thiem (9) v Mirza Basic 

The first upset was a minor one - Magdalena Rybarikova (31) was defeated by Qiang Wang 6-2 6-2, but the Slovakian’s form of late hadn’t been flash, winning two of seven matches since making the final in Birmingham.

The next surprise was of earthquake proportions.  

Simona Halep became the first female number one seed in the Open Era to be knocked out of the US Open in the first round.  Simona had been in outstanding form, and it was amazing to see Kaia Kanepi outplay the tournament favourite at her own game - winning from the baseline and attacking from the outset.  6-2 and 4-2, the Estonian seemed home and hosed, but naturally Halep wasn’t about to let this one slip without a fight and she broke back for 4-4 and had 40-15 for a 5-4 lead.

Then it fell apart and Halep was broken for the third time in the set.  Kanepi, a quarter finalist here last year, served it out comfortably to cause the major upset, and at 33 years of age add another Grand Slam moment to her catalogue.

She is no stranger to success at the highest level, having twice been a quarter finalist at each of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Other upsets amongst the seeds:

Women

• Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (27) was defeated 1-6 6-4 6-3 by Rebecca Peterson from Sweden, ranked 61.

Men

• Not so much an upset but Grigor Dimitrov (8) was defeated 6-3 6-2 7-5 by wildcard Stan Wawrinka, in a repeat of their Wimbledon first round result.
• Damir Dzumhur (24) was defeated 3-6 6-1 6-3 6-4 by Dusan Lajovic from Serbia, ranked 62.
• Roberto Bautista Agut (19) was defeated 6-3 6-3 6-4 by wildcard Jason Kubler from Australia, ranked 98.
• Kyle Edmund (16) was defeated 4-6 6-4 7-5 6-1 by Paolo Lorenzi from Italy, ranked 94.

Successful seeds (1-20)

Women

• Sloane Stephens (3) defeated Evgeniya Rodina, from Russia, ranked 80, 6-1 7-5
• Elina Svitolina (7) defeated Sachia Vickery, from USA, ranked 78, 6-3 1-6 6-1
• Karolina Pliskova (8) defeated Zarina Diyas from Kazakhstan, ranked 60, 6-4 7-6(4)
• Julia Goerges (9) defeated teenage qualifier Anna Kalinskaya from Russia, ranked 143, 6-2 6-7(5) 6-2
• Garbiñe Muguruza (12) defeated Shuai Zhang from China, ranked 34, 6-3 6-0
• Elise Mertens (15) defeated Kurumi Nara from Japan, ranked 99, 6-2 6-7(5) 7-5
• Venus Williams (16) defeated Sveta Kuznetsova from Russia, ranked 102, 6-3 5-7 6-3
• Serena Williams (17) defeated Magda Linette from Poland, ranked 68, 6-4 6-0
• Ash Barty (18) defeated Tunisian qualifier Ons Jabeur, ranked 114, 6-1 6-3
• Anastasija Sevastova (19) defeated Donna Vekic from Croatia,, ranked 41, 6-2 2-6 6-3

Men

• Rafa Nadal (1) defeated David Ferrer from Spain, ranked 148, 6-3 3-4 (retired)
• Juan Martin del Potro (3) defeated qualifier Donald Young from USA, ranked 246, 6-0 6-3 6-4
• Kevin Anderson (5) defeated Ryan Harrison from USA, ranked 53, 7-6(4) 5-7 4-6 6-3 6-4
• Dominic Thiem (9) defeated Mirza Basic from Bosnia and Herzegovina, ranked 81, 6-3 6-1 6-4
• John isner (11) defeated wildcard Bradley Klahn from USA, ranked 92, 7-6(3) 6-3 6-4
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (15) defeated qualifier Tommy Robredo from Spain, ranked 214, 6-3 7-6(1) 6-4
• Jack Sock (18) defeated Guido Andreozzi from Argentina, ranked 113, 6-0 7-6(4) 6-2
• Borna Coric (20) defeated Florian Mayer from Germany, ranked 193, 6-2 6-2 5-7 6-4

US Open Forecast - Men’s Singles

Good to see Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic back for this years final Grand Slam tournament.  Also great for Stan Wawrinka to be in good form coming into the 2018 US Open.

This makes for a far more competitive event, even if for Andy this will be just a further step in his comeback from injury and operation.

Now for my forensic dissection of the men’s main draw.

The top half is headed by defending champion and world number one, top seed Rafa Nadal.

For a multitude of reasons, the Spaniard needs to be on the first lines of betting to win once again.

For one, his form leading into Flushing Meadows is near perfect.  In the one tournament he has played since Wimbledon, Nadal picked up the Rogers Cup trophy in Toronto, his 33rd Masters 1000 title, along the way accounting for Stan Wawrinka, and in the quarter finals Marin Cilic.

With a rest before New York, he is fit for purpose, and has been given a relatively kind draw.

A first round against fellow countryman David Ferrer, is a terrific draw for the latter, not because David will win, but that he could be playing his last GS match and it is against his mate.

Rafa will probably meet Karen Khachanov (27) in the third round, the player he defeated in the Toronto semi finals.

A fourth round clash is likely with Kyle Edmund (16) and then the possible drama may arise.

Players that could present themselves as quarter final opponents include Nadal’s 2018 Roland Garros final victim Dominic Thiem (9), last weeks Winston-Salem trophy winner, unseeded American Steve Johnson, Canadian wiz kid Denis Shapovalov (28), the highest ranked teenager in the world, and most likely the 2018 Wimbledon and 2017 US Open finalist, Kevin Anderson.

A potential semi final is Nadal v Juan Martin del Potro (3), and the Argentine has a softer draw on paper.  He is drawn to play Grigor Dimitrov (8) in the quarter finals, but the Bulgarian must first negotiate a path past 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka in the opening round.

Wawrinka won their most recent clash in Wimbledon’s opening round.

del Potro can expect most resistance from the likes of 20 year old Greek rock star Stefanos Tsitsipas (15) in the round of sixteen and Canadian big server Milos Raonic (28) if the latter can make the quarters.

The bottom half offers up tournament favourite Novak Djokovic (6).

Just a couple of months back Novak would be happy to have been regarded as a chance to compete in the second week here. Instead he has made the final of Queens Club, captured Wimbledon for a fourth time, and beaten three top ten players, including Roger Federer in the final, to claim the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Djokovic is seeded to meet Richard Gasquet (26) in round three.  Gasquet has beaten Djokovic once - in 2007.  Novak has won the past ten.

Round of sixteen opposition is expected to be Pablo Carreno Busta (12).

Djokovic has won both times they have met, each time in Monte Carlo on clay, the favoured surface for the Spaniard.

The quarter final, should it occur, is the block buster everyone is itching to see and would be the 47th iteration of Federer-Djokovic.

It would be the 16th time they have met in a Grand Slam tournament, with Djokovic leading 9-6 at present - 3-1 in finals.

At the US Open, it is 3–3, 1-1 in finals, with Federer having last defeated Djokovic in New York nine years ago.

For Federer to reach this years quarter final, he must knock over Nick Kyrgios (30) in the third round - assuming both make it there - A rock solid assumption on Rogers behalf, not so Nick who could fail on any number of fronts, despite his enormous talent.

Fabio Fognini (14) is a renowned shot maker, but two or three shots beneath Roger, so an entertaining round of sixteen match should finish with the Swiss master in a quarter final with Djokovic 

The way the Serb picked apart Roger in Cincinnati leads me to think Novak will have too many cards up his sleeve and will make it through to the semi final, meeting Marin Cilic (7), who has won this before, and made other GS finals, including the 2018 Australian Open.

The Croatian should have too many guns for even the ultra talented Sascha Zverev (4), who is bound to eventually lift a major trophy, or more.  However at 21, he needs to be patient because once he scores his first, a bundle could flow his way.

Yes, I have ignored David Goffin (10), Diego Schwartzman (13) and Kei Nishikori (21), not because I don’t believe they will have good tournaments, but I can’t see them finishing deep into the second week.

In summary, semi finals, in my opinion will be:

Rafa Nadal (1) v Juan Martin del Potro (3)

Marin Cilic (7) v Novak Djokovic (6)

The final should be another Nadal / Djokovic classic and I select Novak to take home major number 14, but don’t take my word on it.  Anything could happen.

US Open forecast - Women’s Singles

The 2018 US Open Women’s Singles title is far from predictable, with a number of players having valid claims as to why they should be seriously considered.

That said, top seed and world number one Simona Halep is the one to beat.  Despite her difficult draw, including a likely third round clash with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, fourth round thriller against one of the Williams sisters, quarter final meeting with Karolina Pliskova or Garbiñe Muguruza, and semi final against defending champion Sloane Stephens.

Ash Barty (18) could be a spoiler in all of this.

In the top half of the draw, I don’t foresee any trouble for Simona before the round of sixteen.

Venus Williams (16) has fellow former US champion Sveta Kuznetsova as a first round challenge, and assuming she clears that hurdle, will probably run into her sister Serena (17) in round three.

The winner will provide Halep a tough task, mentally more than anything, taking into account the venue and crowd.

I believe that Simona has built up a strong emotional defence to deal with these issues, and can overcome a Williams sister this US Open.

Her match with Sloane Stephens will possibly be the women’s match of the tournament, given their recent rivalry and success.

Sloane has prominent players in her quarter with which she may have to deal, including Julia Goerges (9), Elise Mertens (15) and Elina Svitolina (7).  Mertens is the one I rate as a slight danger, but only that.

So from the top half I will predict a semi final as per the seedings - Simona Halep (1) v Sloane Stephens (3)

In the bottom half of the draw, things are less straightforward.  

The round of sixteen, if the early matches are decided by ranking, should give us Kiki Bertens (13), winner in Cincinnati a week or so ago, versus Caroline Wozniacki (2), who lost to Bertens in the Cincinnati first round, albeit it was a retirement after losing the opening set.

Also it should feature 2016 champion Angie Kerber (4) against last years finalist Madison Keys (14)

Petra Kvitova (5), if she has completely recovered from her shoulder injury, should be a key player in this years event, and possibly repeat last years effort of a quarter final appearance.  Maybe more.

She is drawn to play Daria Kasatkina (11) in the fourth round.

Aryna Sabalenka is the big danger here and could well stop Petra based on her outstanding US form to date.

Maria Sharapova could be the unseeded player to make some trouble in the quarter featuring Caroline Garcia (6) and Jelena Ostapenko (10).

Neither Garcia nor Ostapenko have travelled further than the third round at Flushing Meadows, and this record gives hope to Maria and others such as Johanna Konta, Monica Puig and Kiki Mladenovic.

I have no confidence in this selection but it is what it is.

Semi finalists from the top half - Simona Halep (1) v Sloane Stephens (3)

Semi finalists from the bottom half - Angie Kerber (4) v Kiki Bertens (13)

Final between Sloane Stephens (3) and Angie Kerber (4), with Stephens successfully defending her title.

Medvedev, Sabalenka grab titles

As we await the start of the final major of 2018, the US Open, the winners of the final lead up tournaments need congratulations.

The ATP Winston-Salem Open champion is Daniil Medvedev, prevailing over Steve Johnson (8) 6-4 6-4 in the final.  It was the second tour trophy for the Russian who didn’t drop a set all week.

Medvedev will face fellow Russian Evgeny Donskoy, ranked 80, in the US Open first round.

The WTA Connecticut Open champion is Aryna Sabalenka, too strong for Carla Suarez Navarro in the final 6-1 6-4.  This was the first tour title for the Belarusian, and caps off a terrific run of form, and propels her to a career high ranking of 20.

Sabalenka’s 29 winners easily outweighed her 17 unforced errors.

The US Open first round opponent for Sabalenka will be American Danielle Collins, ranked 37.

US fans happy - Johnson in W-S final

Semi finals on the ATP and WTA tours.

WTA Connecticut Open, New Haven:

• Aryna Sabalenka defeated Julia Goerges (5) 6-4 7-6(3)
• Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Monica Puig 4-4 (retired) - Puig had treatment for injury to her abdomen, and although she made an attempt to continue, quickly realised that the US Open was more important than risking further damage here.

Carla has played one complete match this tournament - her opening round win against Barbora Strycova (8).

Since then she has received a walkover from Johanna Konta, had Petra Kvitová retire after one set, and now Monica Puig surrender to injury just eight games in.

No one is suggesting Carla doesn’t deserve her finals berth, but this is a rare run of injury or illness misfortune for three of her opponents.

ATP Winston-Salem Open, Winston-Salem:

• Daniil Medvedev defeated Taro Daniel 6-1 6-1
• Steve Johnson (8) defeated Pablo Carreno Busta (2) 6-3 6-4 to give the American crowd one of their own to support in the final

US Open qualifying:

The 16 spots in both the women’s and men’s main draws allocated to qualifiers have been determined following three rounds of matches.

Women’s

Patty Schnyder, nearly 40 years of age, won through to the main draw and will face Maria Sharapova in the first round.

The pair have met on 8 occasions,  but not since 2008 in Rome.  They first played in 2004 in Birmingham, when Patty was in the top twenty and Maria was a week or so from winning her first Grand  Slam title on the Wimbledon grass.

Former GS tournament finalists, Vera Zvonareva and Eugenie Bouchard won their final matches and have been granted very winnable matches in the main draw first round, Vera up against fellow Russian Anna Blinkova, ranked 100, and Eugenie facing French wildcard Harmony Tan, ranked 399.

Men’s

36 year olds Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Mahut battled it out for three sets before Tommy prevailed, making the main draw for the first time since 2015. That was his 14th main draw showing out of 15 since 2001.

Canadian Peter Polansky, ranked 120, lost in the final round of qualifying to American Donald Young, but because of the withdrawals from the main draw by Jared Donaldson and Pablo Cuevas, entry was granted to Peter as a lucky loser.

This completes a unique year for Peter, where he has made the main draw of each of the four Grand Slam tournaments as a lucky loser.

In each instance, he has lost the opening round match - he will be hoping that his luck extends further this fourth time.

1/4s done in New Haven, Winston-Salem

Results of quarter finals in USA Open lead up tennis tournaments have been:

WTA New Haven:

• Aryna Sabalenka defeated lucky loser Belinda Bencic 6-3 6-2
• Julia Goerges (5) defeated Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-2

• Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Petra Kvitová (3) 6-3 (retired)

A shoulder injury worried the Czech star, and with the US Open beginning on Monday, no risk was worth taking after dropping the opening set.

• Qualifier Monica Puig defeated Caroline Garcia (2) 7-5 1-6 6-2

Puig trailed 2-5 in set one before rattling off the next five games.  While Garcia dominated the second set, Puig again put pressure on Garcia in the decider, winning over half of the points on the French serve.

Semi finals

• Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Julia Goerges (5) (Germany)
• Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) v qualifier Monica Puig (Puerto Rico)

ATP Winston-Salem:

• Daniil Medvedev defeated Ryan Harrison 7-6(4) 6-4
• Taro Daniel defeated Nicolas Jarry (14) 4-6 6-2 6-1
• Steve Johnson (8) defeated wildcard Kyle Edmund (3) 6-1 6-2
• Pablo Carreno Busta (2) defeated Hyeon Chung (6) 6-3 6-4

Semi finals 

• Daniil Medvedev (Russia) v Taro Daniel (Japan)
• Steve Johnson (8) (USA) v Pablo Carreno Busta (2) (Spain)

US Open qualifying:

Women’s 

Patty Schnyder, former top ten player, now just months away from her 40th birthday, has won her third round match and made it to the main draw of the final major of 2018.

Schnyder defeated an American, Jessica Pegula, in the final round but two US women have qualified for the main draw so far - Nicole Gibbs and Francesca Di Lorenzo in her first US Open.

Two former Wimbledon finalists will be playing in the final round of qualifying - Vera Zvonareva and Eugenie Bouchard - Zvonareva also a former US Open finalist.

Men’s

So far the following have qualified for the main draw - 

Hubert Hurkacz, ranked 109, from Poland

Lloyd Harris, ranked 145, from South Africa 

Yannick Maden, ranked 125, from Germany

Dennis Novak, ranked 140, from Austria