U.S. Open Day 2: Broken Players and Broken Records

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Ten men and two women retired in the first round. That is the bad news, but the good news is that it broke an era record! That silver lining isn’t great, to be honest, but it does send out a warning signal.

Firstly, the signal it sends is that there payers who enter the U.S. Open simply to get a cheque. It happens at every slam. I think there should be a mandatory medical check-up before the slam to weed out those who are denying other the chance at a cheque. But there is a more important issue, which is that the player’s safety comes first and perhaps we aren’t respecting that. Perhaps the ATP and ITF should take further steps to ensure safety. The heat rule is a good step forward. It should be duplicated.

QUESTION: Who won the mixed doubles at the U.S. Open last year?

*Suicide Picks*
MS 1st Rd: Janowicz d. Carreno Busta {L}
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WS 1st Rd: I-C Begu [28] d. Govortosova {L}

...Janowicz choked and lost in four. Begu lost in a third set breaker despite winning the second set at love.


ARTHUR ASHE: FDERER D. MAYER
...It took Federer 77 minutes and the loss of five games to see off Mayer. That’s six more minutes than Novak and two more games lost. But Mayer is a far better player than Souza and Federer looks in worrying form right now. He looks nigh on unstoppable. And that really is dangerous. Try 29 winners and just one break point conceded in the 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 drubbing. Federer hit 13 aces, which is about one a game. That’s very good. And he won 76 per cent of serving points, too. If you’re looking for a perfect match this was close to it. Five double faults may be a bit high but he did win 67 per cent of second serve points. Federer is through to play Darcis next. Steve got through when Baghdatis retired.
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ARTHUR ASHE: MURRAY D. KYRGIOS
...Purely for the fact he made McEnroe lose his mind in the booth, this was worth watching. But that aside, this was a poor four-setter. The strange 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 scoreline is the only stat that matters. Kyrgios kept trying ‘tweeners and other ridiculous shots. At one point, he walked up to a smash. He was far too casual throughout, which made no sense because when he focused he played some world-beating rallies. Kyrgios was aggressive throughout but he was wildly inconsistent. He half-volleyed frequently and poorly. He came to net at all the wrong times and could find no consistency anywhere in his game. For Murray it was a job well done but the young Aussie needs to go back to the drawing board. With the Davis Cup coming up, it was helpful for Hewitt to see how Kyrgios did against Great Britain’s team. Which is just Murray, really. Mannarino is up next for Murray and that is not a match to be taken lightly. Expect a tight three-setter there. Mannarino has weapons but whether or not they’ll trouble Murray remains to be seen.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG: ISNER D. JAZIRI
...24 aces and 54 winners for Isner as he eased through on Armstrong. Isner lived up to his reputation as America’s number one. Malek improved in each set, going down 2-6, 3-6, and 4-6. He also extended the length of each successive set. Really, though, he was no match for the on-song Isner. Isner was on the ball so much he even managed to win 44 per cent of receiving points. It was another one-sided contest on the second day, which is unfortunate for spectators that pay to watch the big matches. It has ever been thus, and thus it will ever be. Isner is second in the aces leader board but Anderson did hit 32 in one match. Next up for Isner is Youzhny and then Karlovic.
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LOUIS ARMSTRONG: "WARINKA" D. RAMOS-VINOLAS
...Stan now wants his name pronounced ‘wah-rink-a’ and as McEnroe says, once a double slam winner wants to change his name you change it. So it’s goodbye to Wawrinka, I guess. It was another straight sets match but this one lasted two and a quarter hours. Wawrinka [did you say it right in your head?] played well and is really starting to hit the top form we all know he is capable of. He came through a really tough test 7-5, 6-4, 7-6[6] in a match that was never going to be easy. Especially on clay, the lefty Spaniard is a tricky opponent. And to deny him a set when it would’ve been so easy to drop one is an achievement. Wawrinka’s nine doubles and 45 errors are cause for concern no matter how many winners he hit. Talented teenager Chung is up next for the 5th seed and that match will be very interesting. It deserves to be on a big court…
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GRANDSTAND: BERDYCH d. FRATANGELO
...Shall we check in on Berdych? After losing to Robert 9-7 in the fifth at the French Open despite leading two sets to none, anything is possible with Tomas. It’s very rare that a big player loses after going deep into the fifth set. Today there were no problems. Berdych got it done 6-3, 6-2, and 6-4. It nearly lasted an hour and three quarters, too. But with 13 aces to just one double along with 37 winners the win was never in doubt. But this was a flawed performance. Berdych lost his serve. So his grade is a big fat F. No, BACKSPIN is just kidding. This was really an A- performance.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: YOUNG d. SIMON
...Young got one of his biggest victories today. He came back from the dead to defeat world number 11 Simon 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. For Young, Bedene is up next. He beat Gulbis by retirement. A fourth round run is on the cards here. He could get back into the top 50 again. He has shown maturity and the ability to win in tough situations. It’s the mental toughness he lacked. As for Simon, well, he will face a drop in the rankings. Both Isner and Gasquet are likely to overtake him in the London Race. He is way out. He needs to really work hard after the Open to rectify that. Gasquet is ahead of him and so, too, is Isner. With the Spaniards looking vulnerable in 7th and 8th in the race, there could be spots open. This was a match Simon could ill afford to lose.
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Casey lost to Kontaveit in the 1st Round in two straight sets, but do not fret. She and Shvedova (the fourth seeds) start their doubles campaign tomorrow. They open with Gavrilova/Van Uytvanck.

ANSWER: Top-seeded Mirza/Soares defeated Spears/Gonzalez 6-1, 2-6, 11-9.


Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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