US Open 2014: The First Update

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Kuznetsova just served for the match, got broken, then double faulted match point down in a tie-breaker after playing an awful breaker. Todd and I have cursed her. We are like the witches of Eastwick.

The first day of a slam is a glorious day. It is filled with so many hopes and dreams, many of which turn out to be futile. It is a day of blood and glory, a day where one cannot win the title but one can certainly lose it. It is a day to be savored for there are only four like it in any given year.

I have changed the format. I know -- I’m playing God. This format means the transition betwixt the first and second week is much smoother. So I look at the big four matches and then choose from the Grandstand and outer court matches. It’s really pretty simple and this way I get to look at the big matches. There are no big storylines so far, but there will be soon, I am sure.

Well I haven’t much else to say so let’s crack on...

ARTHUR ASHE: WAWRINKA d. VESELY
...I decided to use a table to illustrate Wawrinka’s slam performance this year. Impressive, isn’t it? And Wawrinka’s slam results are just as impressive as my factual and fabulous graph.



Anyway, Wawrinka needed to make the final to overtake both Djokovic and Nadal, though only winning it would really ensure he finishes the year atop my fabulous –- and factual -- table. He got off to a good start against Vesely, winning 6-2, 7-6, 7-6 in about two and quarter hours. The talented youngster has the shots [five aces, 21 winners] but not the experience of big matches and he was nervous. He hit 33 unforced errors and double-faulted 6 times. He saved eight break points but was still broken four times. He did manage to get four break points of his own and he took two of those. Vesely, with those tricky lefty shots, challenged Stan and forced him to bring his game. Stan did and came through against the future. Wawrinka was too good this time. Vesely played some good shots and he attacked the net, too, with 33 approaches. It was a good match from Vesely but, really, he was out of his depth all match. It is likely Bellucci will be out of his depth, but statistically it is likely these two will be the only lefties Wawrinka plays all tournament.
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ARTHUR ASHE: DJOKOVIC D. SCHWARTZMAN
...And speaking of being out of one’s depth, that will lead me onto the next match quite nicely. Djokovic comes in looking to win the Wimbledon-US Open double again. Rafa has done it once. Roger has done it four times from 2004-07. Sampras has done it. Laver has done it, as well. Only once has Novak even won consecutive slams within a year. Since 2011, Djokovic has not even won two slams within a year. He is trying to have his best year since 2011 and he is close to that. The 27-year old is looking to finally start converting some of these slam finals into slam victories. He has been the premier hard court player for about half a decade now and he has a chance to add a sixth hard court slam to his resume. He opened against the Argentine number five and the world’s 79th best player. On paper it should have been a comfortable victory for the Djoker. And it was. It was an hour and a half of comfortable. Djokovic ripped winners from everywhere. The gulf in class was evident from the get go in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 romp. Schwartzman spent so long on the defensive he managed just 10 winners. He actually did manage to break Djokovic twice somehow. Djokovic broke seven times, however, and hit seven aces on his way to a very straightforward victory. Djokovic did hit 2 errors and needs to work on holding his serve. There is work to be done but not much. This is a much improved Djokovic and the rest of the field needs to be wary, especially his next opponent, Mathieu.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG : RAONIC D. DANIEL
...It is always nice to have a match you can control in the first round of your slam campaign. It gives one a chance to find rhythm and to find one’s range. So many upsets occur in the early rounds and it is good to avoid them. Raonic won the US Open Series and comes into this as one of the dark horses for the title, like Venus and Dimitrov. Raonic has a big serve and a big forehand and with those weapons he can win any title. Raonic played the Japanese number three Daniel. His match was over quicker than the Djoker’s. It lasted just under two hours but it looked a little closer. Raonic hit 20 aces in a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 victory. He even won that breaker by 7 points to 1. Daniel is good at tracking down balls, but he had nothing with which to hurt Raonic. The Canadian also hit 58 winners in total in his victory and broke four times. He did get broken himself once. So it wasn’t perfect but, really, it was close enough. Next up is Gojowczyk, and I think that is going to go four. But, then again, I thought Sveta would do well here. I clearly know nothing.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG : MURRAY D. HAASE
...Tim Henman used to put the British public through all sorts. He used to go five sets for no reason. He liked to test the loyalty of fans. He liked to win difficult matches. Perhaps when one wins difficult matches it feels so much better than winning in a straightforward manner. Andy Murray has continued on this fine tradition, though he does actually win a fair amount. I mean you don’t get to number two without being good at winning. But Murray still does have a habit of putting his fans. Coming back from the dead against Verdasco last year is a good example. Murray prides himself on his fitness. It is one of his calling cards. So when he has issues with it all is not right in Whoville. Murray suffered from cramps and he did not look like a top ten player throughout his match. He looked off the pace. He looked, actually, almost like a beaten man. He has fight though and plenty of spirit. And he had to call on it in a three hour match. He won through in the end 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5. He trailed 4-2 in that last set, as well, against the dangerous and inspired Dutchman. Haase hit 16 aces to Murray’s 8 and he also hit 62 winners to Murray’s 47. Even the errors were not heavily in Murray’s favor. Haase hit 52 but Murray hit 51 unforced errors. That is not a sustainable rate of error. Qualifier Matthias Bachinger is Murray’s next opponent. He eased past Stepanek. He has weapons, he has form and he has belief. If he took a set I would not be surprised. Murray’s goal has to be just to scrape through to the quarterfinals.
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Grandstand Selection: TSONGA D. MONACO
...Monaco’s woes continued whilst Tsonga found form, flair and firepower. It was a mighty big statement from the Frenchman. He got handed a nasty first round match but decided to simply win anyway. I thought the way Tsonga responded would tell us how his Open was going to go. And it has. On the evidence we have been given it looks as if Tsonga will sweep through this section and then take a set or two off Djokovic. Of course it is never that simple , unless of course your name is Serena. Tsonga came through in two hours and thirty five minutes. He hit twenty aces and 48 winners in total, but did hit 49 errors. He and the Argentine number three exchanged sets before they engaged in a length third set. Tsonga took his single break opportunity but Monaco had six and blew five. In a set where he hit just four winners, Monaco managed to still push it all the way. But then he crumbled to a 7-2 loss in the breaker. Once Tsonga had the breaker, the fourth set was almost a foregone conclusion. Tsonga sealed a 6-3, 5-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory with ever growing confidence and ever bolder shots. It is the positive way to win. Nedovyesov is up next for the fantastic flying Frenchman. And it should be straightforward. It should be.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: VERDASCO D. ROLA
...I bring you a gem from court seven. Ferver booked his place in the second round but he was pushed all the way. He won 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in just about 200 minutes. It was a very tough performance from the fading Spaniard. Rola won more games but he only won 151 points. Verdasco won 152. It was a tight match full of long rallies. Unfortunately, Verdasco was playing against himself and the opposition. This is a fairly regular occurrence. Verdasco often has to battle with himself as well as the opposition. He once lost to Nadal 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 in Cincy I believe, but it may have been in Canada. He simply did not believe he could win despite the many, many, many match points he had. If you don’t remember the match, this sums it up:



Verdasco has landed Kuznetsov [the Russian one] in the next round. That should be fairly straightforward. Kuznetsov really has no way to hurt the Spaniard.
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Any other notes?

* - Sharapova says that perhaps players should pay for their timeouts. That is going to come back to bite her. But when it does she can pay the trainer $2500 to look at it. I could do with $2500.

* - I actually like Djokovic’s outfit.

* - In the battle of the old ones, Venus beat Date Krumm. They have a combined age of something close to 80. On the same day, Cibulkova lost to a fifteen year old.

* - I have a feeling I shouldn’t, but I loved the dress Venus wore. Is there a male version?

* - I had forgotten how hot it can get in NY. It’s not at Melbourne levels, but it is one of the hotter slams. Or it can be.

* - We’ve had a bit more than a day as I finish this and the US Open hasn’t messed up any schedules. It hasn’t made us shake our heads yet. It’s a positive start.

* - In honor of one of my favorite players and of the fact it’s been ten years since she won her maiden slam I am going to be putting up some Kuznetsova moments as we go down the days. Here’s one of my favorites:




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