This Week In Tennis
|
|
|
|
RUNDOWN
- Angelique Kerber beat Karolina Pliskova in three sets to capture her second major title of the year, days after securing the WTA #1 ranking.
- Wawrinka won his first U.S. Open and third major of his career. Wawrinka is now 3-0 in Grand Slam finals and 11-0 in his past 11 ATP Tour finals.
- Karolina Pliskova followed up her Cincinnati title with a run to the U.S. Open final. Over the course of those two events, she scored five top 10 wins: Kuznetsova, Muguruza, and Kerber in Cincinnati, and the Williams sisters in back-to-back matches at the U.S. Open.
- Novak Djokovic came up short in his quest for a 13th major title, losing in four sets to Stan Wawrinka. His path to the final was one of the more unusual ones you'll ever see.
- Monfils continued his consistent 2016 campaign by reaching his first semifinal at the U.S. Open. The match, a four-set loss to Novak Djokovic, was the cause of much consternation due to unusual tactics used by the Frenchman.
- Serena Williams lost her #1 ranking to Angelique Kerber when Karolina Pliskova beat her in the semifinals. Williams' streak of consecutive weeks at #1 ended at 186 weeks, tied with Steffi Graf for the most all-time.
- Caroline Wozniacki turned in her best major performance in exactly two years by reaching the U.S. Open semifinals. After falling to #74 prior to the tournament, Wozniacki re-enters the top 30 (#29) after winning five matches in Queens.
- Lucas Pouille scored the biggest win of his career when he beat Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. The Frenchman also obtains a new career high ranking at #18, cracking the ATP top 20 for the first time in his career.
- Andy Murray, fresh off a Wimbledon win, Olympic gold, and a runner-up finish in Cincinnati, entered the U.S. Open as the man most likely to challenge Novak Djokovic for the title. However, Murray was unable to get past Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals, losing in five sets.
- Anastasija Sevastova retired from tennis in 2013 due to a series of injuries. After mounting a comeback in 2015, Sevastova reached the first Slam quarterfinal of her career before suffering an injury in a lopsided loss to Wozniacki.
- Juan Martin del Potro followed his silver medal at the Rio Olympics with a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open. Moments before he lost that match against Stan Wawrinka, the New York crowd created one of the most emotional moments of the event.
- Venus Williams held and saved match points against Karolina Pliskova in the fourth round before losing to the eventual finalist in a third set tiebreak.
- Kei Nishikori reached the second Slam semifinal of his career (2014 U.S. Open final) before falling to eventual champion, Stan Wawrinka, in four sets.
- Women's Doubles : Safarova/Mattek-Sands; Men's Doubles: Murray/Soares; Mixed Doubles: Siegemund/Pavic
- Felix Auger-Aliassime and Kayla Day are your Boys and Girls Junior singles champions.
PRESS
|
Q. Did you ever wonder if you didn't have enough power or enough weapons in your game to be No. 1? Did you wonder about that and worry about it?
ANGELIQUE KERBER: No, I was always believing in myself. And like my team, as well. They are always believing in me. They are always telling me when I was also down, You are a really good player. You played tough matches against the best players in the world few years ago. It was just the next step to beat the best players. To being consistent like I am right now, I think that was my next step after last year. Also, when I sit down with my team and we spoke about 2016 to playing better in the majors and in the bigger tournaments and playing consistent. I'm fifth year in the top 1o, so this is what I'm doing good: being consistent but playing better in the bigger ones. This is what I changed this year. I was always believing in my weapons and about my tennis. Q. Obviously the final, talk about the emotion. What are you feeling? Sadness? Are you upset with yourself for your performance? KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, no. I think I did a great job. It was my first final. Still was close to winning. I mean, she has more experience to play those finals than me so probably decided in this match. I'm so proud of myself. If someone would tell me I'm going to play finals in this tournament before two weeks I would take it. Not sadness. Q. Have you had opponents do that to you, as well, change up the tactics? GAEL MONFILS: No, because everyone not doing it because of all the question they gonna receive and all the -- is not natural, and I know it is not natural. Because first question is like you're not competing. Fuck, yes, I'm competing, you know. Even I'm like at my best actually. The guy is too good. I just have to change, you know. As I always say, the change is guts, you know. It's like people told me, Ah... No, I think I'm gutsy to try that, you know, against the world No. 1 of the world, you know. 5-0, okay, I show you that I play none academic way. And then I won't win a match like that, but I can win maybe 15 minutes, maybe two more games, one more games. I can push him a little bit to defend also myself, more confidence, and put him out his balance. You know, it was a great strategy, I think. For more U.S. Open press conferences, click HERE |
Q. Every player has dreamed of winning a Grand Slam, but I think your dream is going a little bit further down. Maybe a career Grand Slam. Is it a coincidence in the last two years to collect these three Grand Slams or there is any, can I say a systemic plan with Magnus, focus on Grand Slam?
STAN WAWRINKA: So what? Are you saying next year I focus only on Wimbledon? (Smiling.) There is no plan. The only plan is trying to push myself the maximum to be the best player I can. I'm not good enough to start and say, Okay, I'm going to win a Grand Slam this year. No. I'm trying every day, day by day, practicing hard, trying every match to win. And, again, I think the result will come because I'm doing that every day, because I'm fighting with myself to improve, to be a better tennis player, because I have a great team behind me pushing me every day to try to be a better tennis player. I think this year I'm playing way better than last year. As you said, at the beginning, for me, I never dreamed to win a Grand Slam until I won the Australian Open. It was never a dream because for me it was way too far. And, again here, I arrive here without putting goal to win it. Arrive here, take match after match. Every time I step on the court I know I can beat my opponent. Even today. But when I start the tournament, I'm not seeing the draw and say, Okay, my goal is to win the tournament. Q. You lost two Grand Slam finals now against Stan. What makes it so difficult for you especially to beat him in strong moments like Grand Slam title? NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, he just steps in. He loves to play in the big matches. He comes up with his best game. He's so solid from both corners. He's got a good slice and amazing one-handed backhand, all corners. Big serve. Moves well. He's a very complete player. Sometimes if he feels right he doesn't miss much and makes a lot of winners and it's hard to play him. That's what happened today. Q. On TV Chris Evert kept suggesting you looked a little worn out from yesterday's match. You weren't moving and weren't getting your racquet in position. Did you feel that at all? SERENA WILLIAMS: Okay, I'm not going to repeat myself. I wasn't tired from yesterday's match. I'm a professional player; been playing for over 20 years. If I can't turn around after 24 hours and play again then I shouldn't be on tour. So I definitely wasn't tired from yesterday's match at all. It wasn't a five-hour match. I have practiced three hours, so it wasn't that huge of a deal. |
|
— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) September 12, 2016
|
RANKINGS WATCH
- ATP: Nadal (+1 to #4), Nishikori (+2 to #5), Federer (-3 to #7), Monfils (+4 to #8), Pouille (+7 to #18), Karlovic (+3 to #20), Lopez (-8 to #26), Lorenzi (+5 to #35), Baghdatis (+8 to #36), Anderson (-11 to #46), Marchenko (+13 to #50), Evans (+11 to #53), Edmund (+29 to #55), del Potro (+78 to #64), Chardy (-20 to #75), Young (-22 to #78), Harrison (+26 to #94), Donaldson (+25 to #97)
- WTA: Kerber (+1 to #1), S. Williams (-1 to #2), Pliskova (+5 to #11), Suarez Navarro (+4 to #8), Vinci (-7 to #15), Garcia (+9 to #24), Babos (+8 to #26), Wozniacki (+45 to #29), Sevastova (+16 to #32), Errani (-8 to #36), Makarova (-13 to #42), Bouchard (-9 to #48), Mladenovic (-14 to #51), Konjuh (+40 to #52), Brengle (-17 to #67), Osaka (+12 to #69), Witthoeft (+17 to #85), Pliskova (+27 to #95)
ON THE WEB
Africa's Tennis Talent, Though Obscure, Is Burgeoning
Wawrinka, Kerber, and Two Highly Rivalrous U.S. Open Finals
The Mysterious Transformation of Angelique Kerber
Majors vs. Slams: A Minor Tennis Debate
Three Out Of Four Media People Covering The U.S. Open Are Men
The Difference When You Watch Tennis Up Close
The Happiness of Watching Juan Martin del Potro
How Venus Williams Quietly Became a Successful Entrepreneur (and Why She Can't Go to Movies)
Pete Sampras Isn't Sick of Tennis, Really Loves Pearl Jam
U.S. Open’s Most Exclusive Seat Belongs to a Tennis Know-Nothing
Venus Williams, Off the Court
The Electric, Infuriating Nick Kyrgios
NBA, Tennis Worlds Collide in Unforgettable Coaching Cameo
Jon Wertheim's 50 Parting Thoughts From the 2016 U.S. Open
Sania Mirza's Unlikely Stardom
Farewell to Armstrong
Though Reluctant at First, CoCo Vandeweghe is Becoming a Formidable Doubles Player
Around the Grand Slam Circuit, an Exclusive Club, With Elusive Perks
Venus Williams Seeks Perfection, in Lieu of the Spotlight
Shot Making: Inside the 14 Frames-Per-Second World of Professional Tennis Photography
PODCASTS
The Body Serve - Kerber & Wawrinka Crowned at U.S. Open
No Challenges Remaining - Multiple episodes
The Tennis Podcast - Multiple episodes
Baseline w/ Carl Bialik - Multiple episodes
Realz Tenis Fanz - It’s a Labouring Day at the US Open 2016 Live
Beyond The Baseline - Final dispatches from the 2016 U.S. Open in New York
SI Media Podcast - Andy Roddick
The Main Draw - Maximal Hijinks
The Main Draw - !Viva el tenis!
Tennis.com - Multiple Episodes
Tennis Connected - Previewing Week Two at the 2016 US Open
WTA Insider - Multiple episodes
Mind The Racket - US Open Wrap
2 Comments
a
9/15/2016 02:08:57 pm
Another one for "Around the Web": The Joyful Approach of Nicolas Mahut, Best Known for a Loss http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/the-joyful-approach-of-nicolas-mahut-best-known-for-a-loss
Jonathan Newman
9/15/2016 08:22:10 pm
Thanks for this! What a treat to read.
Leave a Reply.
ARCHIVES
September 2022
July 2022
June 2022
January 2022
September 2021
September 2020
August 2020
May 2020
November 2019
August 2019
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
January 2018
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
October 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
RSS Feed