The women’s U.S. Open has provided no shortage of compelling stories and revelations in the first week at Flushing Meadows, New York. Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep played a first-round match which was worthy of a quarterfinal or semifinal. Venus Williams moved through to the fourth round, while Caroline Wozniacki did not. What revelations emerged from all the action at the USTA National Tennis Center?
Maria Sharapova Still Has It
The chances that Sharapova would have won the title were not great, but she did show signs of progress. In the end, it proved too much for her to maintain enough precision, timing and fitness throughout two full weeks. After a lot of inactivity and a number of persistent injuries, Sharapova is less than 100 percent fit. However, she is certainly fresh and able to run as much as she needs to. Her shoulder will probably continue to cause some problems with her serve, but the rest of her attacking game is not easy for opponents to handle. In her early matches – and even in her loss on Sunday – she continued to apply pressure to her opponents, even in defeat. And after beating Simona Halep, the No. 2 seed, you would have to say that this week at the U.S. Open was a positive return for her.
Sharapova has shown that she can miss a lot of time and still be a force to be reckoned with. Not everyone in the WTA top 20 can say that. The value of this tournament beyond the pursuit of a major title is that it is boosting Sharapova’s ranking to the point that she will not have to qualify for other major tournaments, assuming she continues to move upward on the rankings ladder.
Garbine Muguruza Looked Like The Best Player In The Tournament Until…
The Wimbledon champion looked like she had not looked back after winning her second Grand Slam tournament. Before her fourth round matchup, Muguruza had lost a total of only nine games in her first three matches combined. She was seeing the ball well. She was reading opponents’ shots. She knew exactly what she needs to do on the court. That was until she ran into No. 13 seed Petra Kvitova.
Kvitova has not been getting much attention at the U.S. Open as most of the spotlight has been on Muguruza, Sharapova and even Caroline Wozniacki. However, Kvitova might be the player everyone has to watch out for in the second week of the event. She ousted Muguruza 7-6, 6-3 in impressive fashion. Looking back, Kvitova has yet to drop a single set in this tournament. In total, she’s lost a total of 26 games in her four matches, which averages out to just over six per match. Next up for her is a test against No. 9 seed Venus Williams.
Sloane Stephens Is Playing The Best Tennis Of Her Career
The time Stephens spent away from tour while nursing injuries was time well spent. She clearly studied her game and took notes on when and where – and how – to hit certain shots and make certain kinds of decisions. She was unavoidably rusty in the first few tournaments she played after returning to the tour, but after picking up a few matches, she quickly settled in and used her many months of rest to her advantage. She has been fitter and more energetic than most of the players she has faced. She is producing fluid and contained tennis which makes her a threat in the second week.
Jo Konta Is Not Quite All The Way There
The No. 7 seed made the Wimbledon semifinals and took a big step forward in her career. However, Konta simply could not get anything going on hardcourts this past month, and a first-round loss at the U.S. Open in which she served under 50 percent and made over 40 unforced errors shows that she is not yet a dominant player. Konta played Aleksandra Krunic in her opening round matchup against ended up losing 6-4, 3-6, 4-6.
Konta should be able to steamroll through first weeks at major tournaments, but she was very hit and miss this year. She has to take the next step if she wants to win a first major title.
Click here to bet on tennis – including all of the major grand slams this season – and many other sports at BetDSI!
