It is time for the ending of the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. But this tournament in New York has seen some of the most inspiring performances from some of the players who were not expected to reach so far ahead in the tournament.
Being the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open is the one tournament which is targetted by many tennis stars as a victory at the Open would imply into a great ending to the calender year. However, this tournament has seen some of the best tennis stars falter at early stages, failing to reach the last four. But this has happened because some of the lesser rated players have performed exceedingly well.
Trending
Also Read: Blinkers On: Angelique Kerber’s Germane rise to World No.1
Therefore, we have compiled a list of the five male tennis players who came into the US Open as underdogs, but have managed to perform well. Here is a look at the list:
#5 Kyle Edmund
Kyle Edmund went into the US Open as the 84th ranked player in the world but the South-African born British tennis player was at his best during the tournament. The 21-year old reached the fourth round of the Grand Slam as he ended up defeating two experienced players in France’s Richard Gasquet and America’s John Isner.
Edmund started his US Open journey as one of the underdogs of the tournament but nobody would have imagined that the British athlete would progress to the fourth round. The 21-year old started the tournament by defeating 13th seeded Gasquet with an impressive reading of 6-2, 6-2 and 6-3.
The Briton then went into the second round where he faced USA’s Ernesto Escobedo. The game was easily won by the former with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-4 and 6-4.
The win put Edmund in the third round meeting with another American as he defeated 20th seeded John Isner in four sets with a reading of 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 and 7-5. In the fourth round, it was Edmund’s turn to face Novak Djokovic and it was too much to ask for from the 21-year old as he surrendered to the World number one in three straight sets.
It was an impressive tournament for the 21-year old Edmund as he went on to cause two upsets at a Grand Slam at a young age.
#4 Lucas Pouille
France’s Lucas Pouille went into the US Open as the world number 25 and not many pundits expected him to reach the quarterfinals at the tournament. But the Frenchman performed exceedingly well to match the likes of Rafael Nadal and Mikhail Kukushkin at the Grand Slam event.
Pouille started his journey with a four-set victory over the Kazakhstani Kukushkin in the first round of the US Open as he defeated him by 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 and 6-2. The Frenchman then faced Switzerland’s Marco Chuidinelli in the second round whom he overpowered with a scoreline of 4-6, 3-6, 8-6, 6-2 and 6-0.
The win meant that Pouille went on to face Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. The Frenchman did not start off well as he lost the first set but went on to win the match with the reading of 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 and 6-1.
The win put the Frenchman in contention to face Rafael Nadal in the fourth round and to everyone’s surprise, Pouille caused the upset of the tournament as he beat the Spaniard with a scoreline of 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, and 8-6.
However, the French player could not get past his compatriot Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals. 10th seeded Monfils defeated Pouille in three straight sets with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-3, and 6-3. It was the end of the road for the 22-year old Pouille but the start of something if he can replicate his performances in the future.
#3 Gael Monfils
Gael Monfils is 30-years old but is still considered as an underdog in the world of tennis. The Frenchman has always shown enormous talent whenever he has taken to the court, but his shortcoming has been that he has failed to convert that talent into silverware.
The 30-year old went into the US Open as the 10th seeded player in the men’s competition and started off his journey well by defeating Gilles Muller in the first round with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-2 and 7-5. The Frenchman progressed to the second round where he played Czech Republic’s Jan Satral whom he also defeated in three straight sets – 7-5, 6-4 and 6-3.
This meant that Monfils faced Spain’s Nicolas Almagro in the third round whom he defeated comfortably by 6-4, 6-2 and 6-4. This put the Frenchman in the fourth round against the experienced Marcos Baghdatis which ended 6-3, 6-2 and 6-3 in the Frenchman’s favour.
In the quarterfinal, Monfils ended up facing his compatriot Lucas Pouille who was no match for the former as he won the match 6-4, 6-3 and 6-3. If the quarter-finals were not enough, the Frenchman progressed to the semi-finals with an impressive performance in the US Open and faced defending champion Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian did not let Monfils trouble him and won the match in four sets – 6-3, 6-2, 3-6 and 6-2. It was a good US Open for Monfils who is not known to reach the latter stages of any tournament.
#2 Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori has been one of the top Asian players in the international circuit and at the US Open, he showed exactly why he has been one of the most talented players. The Japanese tennis player went into the US Open as the world number 6 and was hoping to go all the way through to the finals, even though not many expected him to replicate that thought.
The 26-year old started his tournament by defeating Germany’s Benjamin Becker in the first round with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-1, 3-6 and 6-3. The Japanese went on to defeat Russia’s Karen Khachanov and France’s Nicolas Mahut in the second and third rounds respectively.
The Japanese defeated both the players in four sets but in the fourth round, Nishikori showed class and defeated Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic in three straight sets – 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.
The fourth round win put the Japanese in contention to face Andy Murray in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Nishikori surprised everyone and defeated the British player in a tough encounter with a scoreline of 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and 7-5.
However, Nishikori’s journey came to an end in the semi-finals as he was defeated by eventual finalist Stanislas Wawrinka by a scoreline of 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, and 6-2. Nishikori was one of the underdogs who did extremely well to get to the semi-finals as he was seeded sixth at the tournament.
#1 Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka would not have thought he would get into the final match of the US Open considering the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic were going to participate in the tournament. But as fate would have it, the Swiss player tried to emulate his fellow Swiss legend Roger Federer as he reached the finals of the US Open in a great fashion by defeating some of the best players at the Open.
The Swiss started the tournament by winning the first round match against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco with a scoreline of 7-6, 6-4 and 6-4. Wawrinka had been ranked as the third-seeded player at the Open and he justified his seeding by winning the second round match against Italy’s Giannessi 6-1, 7-4 and 7-5.
Also read: A recap of the last five US Open men's singles finals
The third round of the Open saw the Swiss defeat Britain’s Evans with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 and 6-2. After the close third round match, Wawrinka pulled up his socks to defeat Ivan Marchenko in the fourth round.
He met Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinals round and did not leave any stone unturned to defeat him with a scoreline of 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 and 6-2. A semifinal clash with Japan’s Kei Nishikori saw the Swiss player reach the finals for the first time as he beat the Japanese 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and 6-2.
The 32-year old Wawrinka will be playing defending champion in the final of the US Open later tonight as he plans on becoming the underdog to win the title.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
