Another US Open has come and gone and though the record-breaking exploits of Novak Djokovic can’t be ignored as one of the best moments of the tournament, it wasn’t the only one we’ll be remembering for years to come. Here’s what caught the eye over the past two weeks in New York.
Caroline is back
The demands of playing professional tennis at the highest level are huge with hours and hours of training, strict diets and fitness regimes, the pressure of big games on big stages and endless travelling.
So, it was perfectly understandable when former World number 1 Carlone Wozniacki decided to call time on her tennis career back in January 2020, in order to spend more time with her husband and start a family.
But three and a half years and two small children later, she decided she had unfinished business in tennis and marked her comeback with appearances at Montreal and Cincinnati that saw her win just one match from those two appearances.
Grand Slams can bring the best out of true champions though and at this year’s US Open she got the better of Tatiana Prozorova, Petra Kvitova and Jennifer Brady before finding Coco Gauff a little too much to handle in the fourth round, though the Dane did take the hot favourite on the Unibet Sportsbook to a deciding set.
We’ll have to wait and see if she can return to winning tournaments but even at 33, she’s certainly good enough.
But for now, it was just lovely to see one of tennis’ friendliest personalities and most beautiful smiles back doing what she does best.
American tennis in a healthy state
Not a ‘moment’ as such but rather another sort of comeback, and this time not by an individual, but a collection of them.
The USA has produced some of the greatest players ever in both the men’s and women’s game, hosts one of the Grand Slams and plenty of other big tournaments so it’s one of the major countries in the world of tennis. But it’s been a frustrating few years for US tennis fans, who have had little to get excited about.
But this year’s US Open suggested American tennis is on the rise.
In the men’s draw, Francis Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton all made the quarterfinals, the first time there were three Americans going that deep here in New York since 2005. And of those, the unseeded Shelton made the semis, losing to Novak Djokovic.
In the women’s draw, Madison Keys was a beaten finalist, while Coco Gauff not only went better than her compatriot Keys but she went all the way, beating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets on Saturday.
Not only has all this given US fans plenty to cheer about at this year’s US Open, but that’s now looking to be the case for the next few years with US tennis looking in far better shape than a few months ago.
Djokovic’s record-breaking exploits
A bit like Cristiano Ronaldo in the world of football, it seems like a month doesn’t go by without Novak Djokovic setting yet another record.
In beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets in the quarterfinals, he secured his 47th Grand Slam semi-final, moving one clear of Roger Federer (46).
In the process, he also reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams for the sixth time, again beating a Federer record (five).
Not that a place in the semis should ever have been in question. After all, he’s never lost a US Open quarter-final before. It was also his 250th win over a Top 10 player, another record since the ATP rankings were introduced.
And of course, once he made it to the last two- extending his own record of 36 Grand Slam finals- he was in no mood to let slip an opportunity to make it 24 Grand Slam wins, especially given he was a strong favourite at Unibet going into the game. Daniil Medvedev did his absolute best, making Djokovic work for every point, and fighting till the bitter end but it wasn’t to be for the Russian.
In winning, Djokovic equalled Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Slams and in the process, he also became, at 36, the oldest player to win at Flushing Meadows in the Open era.
So, the records just keep on tumbling while Djokovic is around and if Sunday night’s performance was anything to go by, he may still be around for a while.
Isner calls it a day.
In 20 years’ time when the name ‘John Isner’ comes up in conversation, the most likely reaction will be ‘The guy with the huge serve?’
Now, it’s true that a monstrous serve from a man who is 6ft 10 in tall was very much the secret of his success over a 16-year career that saw him reach No 8 in the world in singles.
It was the same serve that has placed him as Number 1 for the most aces in history- 14, 470- and also allowed him to execute the fastest serve ever seen on a tennis court at 157.2 mph.
But Isner deserves more credit than just as a giant server who was almost impossible to break and who won loads of matches courtesy of tight tie-breaks.
There’s more to winning tennis matches than just serving and he claimed 16 titles, amassing over 12 million USD in prize money and reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon and twice making the last four at the US Open, the last of those in 2018.
Aged 38, he announced he was calling time on his career at the end of this year’s US Open.
Things went to plan to begin with, beating F Diaz Acosta in the first round in straight sets, but he went out in the second round, losing to Michael Mmoh, like him a Wildcard entry, in the second round, in a fifth-set tie-break.
It was the last we’ll see of Isner on a tennis court but a few of his serving records will stay around for years to come.
