The US Open is up and running and will soon witness the fourth round matchups being played in a matter of hours. So far, the tournament has seen some thrilling matches in addition with a number of upsets. Garbine Muguruza, Milos Raonic, former champions Marin Cilic and Svetlana Kuznetsova are some of the high-ranked players who will be catching an early flight home.However, the tournament has also seen a number of nail-biting encounters where players have rallied back from the brink of defeat to clinch victory. With a couple of hours to spare before the fourth round gets underway at the US Open, let’s take a look at five of the biggest comebacks of the tournament so far.
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#5. Lucas Pouille, vs Marco Chiudinelli
The Frenchman made quite a name for himself at the Wimbledon Championships where he reached the quarter-finals, beating the likes of Del Potro and higher ranked Bernard Tomic in the process. Pouille was seeded 32nd at the US Open and was expected to make it at least to the third round. However, pressure of being selected in France’s Davis Cup semi-final against Croatia took its toll on him in his second round match against 144th ranked Swiss Marco Chiudinelli.Pouilled had a disastrous start to the match and lost the first two sets by a scoreline of 6-4,6-3 and was a break down in the third set but was able to take the third set to a tiebreak. After being 6-2 up in the tiebreak, the Swiss’s accurate served forced a couple of errors from Pouille and the score was soon 6-6.
However, Pouille held his nerve and took the third set tiebreak which turned out to be a confidence booster as Pouille breezed past Chiudinelli in the next two sets by a scoreline of 6-2,6-0 to enter the third round. After another thrilling five-setter against 15th seeded Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round, Pouille will be facing two-time champion and World No.4 Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.
#4. Steve Darcis, vs Jordan Thompson
Three years back, Steve Darcis had scripted one of THE upsets of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships by stunning Rafael Nadal in the first round in straight sets. However, the Belgian hasn’t been able to build a lot on that upset and had to play the qualifiers to book a berth in the main draw of the US Open.In his opening match, Darcis faced 22-year old Australian Jordan Thompson who was making his US Open debut. The Australian was dominant in the opening two sets and soon found himself serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set. However, a resilient Darcis refused to give up and bounced back to take the third set in a tiebreak.
Darcis eventually prevailed to the second round, winning the next two sets as well. However, Darcis’ US Open journey came to an end after losing to 20th ranked John Isner in four sets.
#3. Stan Wawrinka, vs Daniel Evans
World No.3 Stan Wawrinka had made a good start to his tournament, having won his first two matches in straight sets. In the third round, Wawrinka was up against 64th ranked Briton Daniel Evans who had created an upset in the second round by knocking out rising star Alexander Zverev. Wawrinka’s match against Evans lasted four hours and two minutes and produced some scintillating tennis throughout.Evans began to play hard from the very first second of the match, running tirelessly down both wings of the court to track the ball and force an extra shot out of Wawrinka which, on many occasions turned out to be an error. Evans took the first set 6-4 but the two-time Grand Slam Champion improved his game and took the second set 6-3.
However, Evans’ deep shorts down the court was wearing out Wawrinka and Evans took the third set and was a set closer to scripting another upset at the tournament.
The fourth set also went to a tiebreak and Evans had a match point at 6-5 but the Swiss fought off the match point with a brilliant forehand volley winner and later claimed the tiebreak 10-8, thus forcing a fifth set. Wawrinka had a cakewalk in the final set and won the set 6-2 to enter the fourth round where he will now face Ukrainian Illya Marchenko.
#2. John Isner, vs Frances Tiafoe
The 6ft 10in American became a household name when he won the longest professional tennis match in history at the 2010 Wimbledon, beating Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in more than eleven hours. At the US Open, Isner was up against fellow countryman Frances Tiafoe who was the youngest player ranked within the top 150 in the ATP rankings.The teenager was up to a great start and took the opening two sets by a scoreline of 6-3,6-4. The third set went to a tiebreak and soon Tiafoe found himself on the brink of a win, serving at 5-5. However, Isner fought back and claimed the point and the one that followed to take the set.
After winning the fourth set comprehensively, the big serving American was 3-5 down in the final set but rallied back to take the set to a tiebreak. This time, Isner played nearly flawlessly, winning the tiebreak 7-3 and winning a grueling but exciting opening match.
The 2011 quarter-finalist’s journey came to an end in the third round where he was stunned by 21-year old Briton Kyle Edmund in four sets.
#1. Madison Keys, vs Naomi Osaka
Madison Keys has been one of the most promising players this season, having made it to the final of the Rome Masters and the Rogers Cup and a fourth place finish at the Rio Olympics. She was expected to have a good outing at the US Open but did not have an easy outing in the first round against Alison Riske where Keys won in three sets.
Keys had a cakewalk in the second, beating wildcard Kayla Day 6-1,6-1. In the third round, Keys faced 18-year old Japanese Naomi Osaka who beat last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finalist Coco Vandeweghe in the first round.Keys began the match well and took the opening set 7-5 but the World No. 81 was in no mood to be pushed over and fought back bravely to take the second set 6-4 and soon found herself on the verge of possibly the biggest win of her career at 5-1 in the third set.
However, the resilient Keys kept her composure and took the set to a tiebreak which she won 7-3. Osaka was reduced to tears after the match whereas Keys advanced to the fourth round where she will lock horns with two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.
