The 2016 US Open is into its second week and as such is nearing the business end. We have seen brilliant tennis in the first week from the favourites as well as some surprising newcomers. Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have all powered through to the second week as expected.
So did the main challengers – Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber, Stan Wawrinka and the likes. We saw Serena win a record 307th Grand Slam victory, going past the great Martina Navratilova. We also saw Gael Monfils smash a clock on court while Bernard Tomic was fined an astonishing $10,000 for abusing a spectator. But as it always happens, we also witnessed upsets.
Not all of the usual suspects made it past the first week. French Open champion Garbine Muguruza’s bid was halted in its tracks. Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic was also shocked among others. Let’s take a look at 5 of the biggest upsets this year in the US Open.
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5) Anastasija Sevastova upsets Johanna Konta
The British No.1 Johanna Konta, seeded 13th at Flushing Meadows, was the favourite to go through to the US Open quarterfinals when she was pitted against unseeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round. But what happened on court was very different from most of us expected to. Konta, who had jumped from 97th rank last year to 14th currently, just could not get going against the 48th ranked Sevastova.
Surprisingly, the US Open was Konta’s favourite slam as opposed to Wimbledon. But unfortunately for her, the Latvian hit the ball beautifully and romped to 6-4, 7-5 win and booked her spot in the last 8.
Though the result qualified to be in the category of upsets, Sevastova disagreed. She remarked, “In women’s tennis, everybody can beat everybody on their day.” Indeed.
4) Marin Cilic shocked by Jack Sock
Coming into the tournament, Marin Cilic was a heavy favourite to challenge the likes of Murray and Djokovic for the title. He had already won the event in 2014. Not only that, he was in supreme form in the run-up to the US Open and had even ended Andy Murray’s 22-match unbeaten streak in the final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 event.
Naturally, the big-serving Croat, seeded seventh, was the favourite to put USA’s Jack Sock to bed in the third round of the US Open. But 26th seed Sock was having none of it.
He produced a flawless display of tennis to the surprise of the Croat who surrendered meekly. Sock cruised to a clinical 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory in a match that was even less competitive than the score would indicate. So much for being a favourite.
3) Sevastova ends Muguruza’s challenge
French Open Champion. One of two women to beat Serena Williams in a Grand Slam this year. World No.3. These were some of the adjectives used to describe Garbine Muguruza this season. No surprise that the lanky Spaniard was seen as a big challenge to Serena’s bid for a 23rd Grand Slam trophy.
Muguruza was drawn against Sevastova in the second round of the US Open after a shaky opening match which went to 3 sets. The nerves would once again haunt the Spaniard as Sevastova played out of her skin to surprise the Spaniard.
Maybe the fact that it was her debut match at the Arthur Ashe stadium what led to her nerves but Sevastova’s bold game also contributed to her 7-5, 6-4 win. But Muguruza did put up a fight, saving second match points in the second set to get back on serve at 4-5 only to get broken again. A headline result – confidence from which Sevastova would use to beat Johanna Konta later.
2) Milos Raonic ousted by a qualifier
Fifth seed Milos Raonic was another high profile casualty in the first week of the US Open. The big-serving Canadian had just become the first player from his country to reach a Grand Slam final when he defeated Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semifinals.
Though he lost the final to Andy Murray, Raonic had announced himself to the world as a force to be reckoned with at Grand Slams. As such his disappointing 6-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 loss to American qualifier Ryan Harrison in the second round came as a big shock.
He was hampered by cramps in his serving arm but that does not take the gloss of a brilliant victory for Harrison. Raonic also admitted that he suffered a bout of nerves – “It was probably just nerves and stress, a mental sort of over-exuberance.” Whatever the reason, it was a huge upset.
1) Lucas Pouille conquers Rafael Nadal
The 22-year-old Frenchman, Lucas Pouille, had already proven that he was a giant-killing act in his stunning run to the quarterfinals in Wimbledon which accounted for the likes of Juan Martin Del Potro and Bernard Tomic. He repeated it at Flushing Meadows after ending Rafael Nadal’s promising campaign in the fourth round in an epic 5-setter. No mean feat, considering the fact that Nadal had shown resurgent form so far and during his semifinal run in the Rio Olympics.
Nadal was beaten 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 in a gruelling match that lasted 4 hours and 7 minutes. Disappointingly for Nadal, it brought to an end a run which showed glimpses of his best tennis. He had lost only 20 games in the first 3 rounds. But alas, it was not to be as Nadal’s 2016 ended without even a Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance.
Meanwhile, Lucas Pouille enjoys the limelight.
