US Open - Women’s Singles Preview Pt 2

US Open Women’s Singles - preview pt 2

Aryna Sabalenka was a semi finalist at last year’s US Open, and here is how she will go one better and join CoCo Gauff in the finale this year.

First round against Maryna Zanvska will be no problem. Zanevska has only made the main draw twice in ten attempts at the US Open. Second round last year is as far as she as reached. Not as far this time after her first meeting with Sabalenka.

Anna Blinkova should be the second round victim. Sabalenka has won all three times they’ve played each other, and Blinkova has never gone past the first round in a US Open.

Karolina Pliskova is the 25th seed and drawn to meet Sabalenka in the third round.

Pliskova was the US Open finalist in 2016 and been a quarter finalist four times since, including last year.

Sabalenka was the player who eliminated Pliskova in last years US Open quarter finals and the same fate is about to befall Pliskova this year, but earlier.

Sabalenka heads into the round of sixteen with the draw expecting her to face 13th seed Daria Kasatkina.

Kasatkina has Sofia Kenin as a likely second round opponent.

Kenin is the 2020 Australian Open champion and 2020 Roland Garros finalist, so is an early danger to Kasatkina.

Kasatkina will possibly need to defeat 21st seed Donna Vekic in the third round.

Vekic was a US Open quarter finalist in 2019, and hasn’t progressed past the first round for the past two years.

She may have the honour of playing Venus Williams in the second round.

Williams won the US Open in 2000 and 2001 (when Vekic was just three and four years old), and incredibly she is still here competing.

Vekic does have a 5-2 winning record against Sabalenka, but it won’t matter, as Kasatkina will be the one to lose to Aryna in the round of sixteen.

Fifth seed Ons Jabeur, last years runner up, is in the quarter which will determine who will match up in a quarter final with Sabalenka.

Jabeur will most probably defeat Linda Noskova in the second round and 31st seed Marie Bouzkova in the third.

12th seed Barbora Krejcikova, 2021 US Open quarter finalist, will provide a tough test for Jabeur, but won’t stop this years Wimbledon finalist from winning through to a Sabalenka clash.

After the exit of Jabeur, Sabalenka will need to win a semi final against the winner of quarters 5 and 6 in the bottom of the draw.

Quarter 5 is led by 7th seed Carolina Garcia, who was a US Open semi finalist last year,

Despite her current lack of form, I believe that Garcia will win her third round match against 27th seed Anastasia Potapova.

9th seed, and this year’s Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova will defeat either 2022 US Open runner up Leylah Fernandez or 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in another third round match.

Vondrousova should win the round of sixteen match against Garcia.

Quarter 6 has 3rd seed Jessica Pegula and 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova.

Pegula was a quarter finalist last year and is drawn to play 26th seed Elina Svitolina in the third round.

Svitolina’s last two US Open appearances have resulted in a semi final in 2019 and quarter final in 2021.

Samsonova made the round of sixteen last year, and has two former finalists in her section - qualifier Vera Zvonareva (2010) and 17th seed Madison Keys (2017).

Keys will win a third round match against Samsonova, then upset Pegula.and Vondrousova.

So my predictions for the bottom half of the draw:

Round of sixteen:

Marketa Vondrousova (9) defeats Caroline Garcia (7)

Madison Keys (17) defeats Jessica Pegula (3)

Ons Jabeur (5) defeats Barbora Krejcikova (12)

Aryna Sabalenka (2) defeats Daria Kasatkina (13)

Quarter finals:

Madison Keys (17) defeats Marketa Vondrousova (9) 

Aryna Sabalenka (2) defeats Ons Jabeur (5)

Semi final:

Aryna Sabalenka (2) defeats Madison Keys (17)

Final:

Aryna Sabalenka (2) defeats CoCo Gauff (6)