US Open Week 1 Recap: Pliskova and Krejcikova in the Eight Finals, early end for Barty, Osaka and Tsitsipasa

The final grand slam of the season is halfway through. There have been a few surprises, failures of the favourites, many interesting stories have been written and there has been no shortage of top duels. Favourite Djokovic goes through the tournament without any problems and goes for his 20th title. The same cannot be said for his competitors, some of whom have already dropped out. Our players are doing quite well, two of them made it to the eight finals. Who is it? Which favourites have already failed? What is the best match of the tournament so far?

Novak Djokovic has been leading the tournament . He lost just two sets on his way to the eight-finals. The tournament favourite was most troubled by Kei Nishikori in his last match, but the Serb managed to cope with him as well. Djokovic is playing very well, his performance is top notch. He should be tested in the final stages of the tournament. So far, it looks like a 20th GS title is very realistic.

Daniil Medvedev is also showing great performance . The Russian favourite made it through to the 4th round without losing a set. He lost his serve only twice. If anyone can beat Djokovic, it’s Medvedev. But their battle is still a long way off. The Russian has a super draw, the real test may come in the quarterfinals with Schwartzman.

Alexander Zverev is also doing well at the US Open. The German advanced to the eighth round without any problems. He had a bit of trouble with the home team’s Jack Sock, but he had to abandon the match in the 3rd round. The German favourite confirms the super form he has been in for several months. However, he will not have an easy time against Sinner in the eighth round.

In the men’s competition we could also witness several failures of the big favourites. They didn’t make it through their first week at the US Open and the tournament ends in failure for them. One of them is Andrey Rublev. The Russian didn’t make it through his 3rd round match against the home team’s Tiafoe and eventually fell in five sets. Rublev proved once again that he cannot handle the pressure at Grand Slams and his unsuccessful performance at the US Open is a clear proof of that.

The biggest shock of the first week is the elimination of Tsitsipas. The match between him and Alcaraz was the best match of the tournament so far. The 18-year-old Spaniard has tremendous potential and a great future. He is being called the successor to Rafael Nadal and is clearly showing his talent at the US Open. Alcaraz defeated the favored Tsitsipas in five sets to claim the biggest scalp of his career.

He played an absolutely top-notch match, showed an extremely strong mentality and won the favour of many fans in New York. The story of Alcaraz in New York is very interesting. Advancing to the eighth round certainly doesn’t have to be the final. The Spaniard has a solid draw and it will be exciting to see how far he goes.

The only Czech representative, Jiri Vesely, was also in the main draw. However, his stay in the tournament ended in the first round when he lost in five sets to Kevin Anderson.

There were also a few surprises among the women. Ash Barty dropped out sensationally in the 3rd round. The world number one unexpectedly lost to the home team Rogers. The American is historically good against the Australian, so we could expect an even match. However, even the sovereign Barty showed that she is only human. At 2::6, 6::1 and 5::2 it seemed that the favourite’s progress was a mere formality.

But then came a huge collapse. The Australian lost 2 serves in a row and eventually lost the whole match in a dramatic tiebreak. Barty had been showing great performance in the last months, she was the biggest favourite for the title. So her early exit is absolutely shocking.

Naomi Osaka is also not moving on in the tournament. The defending champion was no match for the talented Fernandez and lost to her in a three-set battle. It’s the scalp of a lifetime for the 18-year-old Canadian. The Japanese, on the other hand, failed to confirm her role as the favourite. She hasn’t appeared to be at her best since her comeback, which she confirmed immediately after the match. The Japanese wants to take some time off from tennis. We probably won’t see her again for the rest of the season.

The other favorites have been doing quite well. Sabalenka is now the biggest aspirant for the title. The world number three has advanced to the eighth round, losing only one set so far. Her potential quarterfinal clash with Krejcikova or Muguraza could be epic. However, Belarus will have a tough road ahead of her.

Halep, Andreescu, Muguraza and Swiatek have also advanced to the eight finals . These players could go quite far

Title hopes can continue to be nurtured by our tennis. There are 2 Czech representatives in the top 16. One of them is Karolina Pliskova. The fourth player in the world has been playing very well lately and she confirmed it at the US Open.

Her journey to the eighth round was very difficult. In the second round against Anisimova, she went through hell. She had to fend off a match point, she was one step away from elimination. But she showed a strong mentality and finally managed to turn this dramatic duel in her favour. After winning 7::5, 6::7 and 7::6, she moved on.

In the 3rd round she won easily and can hope for a successful tournament. Pliskova is serving well at the US Open. She’s already hit an incredible 52 aces. If she keeps serving like this, it could help her a lot in the next rounds. Thanks to the failure of the other favourites, she has a relatively playable draw and is one of the biggest title contenders. Let’s see if she can handle the pressure and live up to those expectations.

Barbora Krejcikova may still have big ambitions. The Moravian confirms her excellent performance in New York, she reached the eighth round without any problems. She didn’t lose a single set. She will face a tough duel with Muguraza in the eighth round. It remains to be seen whether she can hope for a similar success as at Rolland Garros. She recently defeated the Spaniard, so the eight-finals might not be the final yet.

Unfortunately, our other representatives have already finished in the opening rounds. Kvitova in the 3rd round with Sakkari, Siniakova also dropped out with the Greek a round before. Vondrousova was not able to beat Kasatkina in the 2nd round. Karolina Muchova’s journey ended in the 1st round against Sorribes-Torm.

The other national players failed to surprise in their matches against the favourites. Still, the double representation is quite a solid achievement. Both Pliskova and Krejcikova definitely have what it takes to make it to the eighth round.

Source: Twitter, Livesport