Tag: 2014 U.S. Open

American Women – More Fizzle than Sizzle at U.S. Open

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With the exception of Serena Williams, there was more fizzle than sizzle on the courts for the American women at the 2014 U.S. Open.

The pre-match publicity set high expectations for the American women. Unfortunately, they didn’t live up to the hype.

The best news was that twelve of the seventeen women advanced past the first round and Serena captured her 18th Grand Slam.

First round losers included Taylor Townsend, Lauren Davis, Alison Riske, Grace Min, and Danielle Collins.

The second round reduced the number of American women from twelve to four.

The losers included Vania King, Coco Vandeweghe, Shelby Rogers, Madison Keys, Christina McHale, C.C. Bellis, Sloane Stephens, and Madison Brengle. The losses by Keys and Stephens were particularly painful.

Varvara Lepchenko, Nicole Gibbs, and Venus Williams bowed out in the third round, with 2-1 records.

There were some bright spots. Overall, the American women won 21 matches and lost 16. (Serena Williams won seven of those matches).

Despite first round loses, Americans Taylor Townsend and Donald Young teamed up to reach the semifinals of the Mixed Doubles. Unfortunately, success in professional tennis is usually measured in Grand Slam singles wins and trophies.

C.C. Bellis charmed spectators with her tennis and innocence. Time will tell if she turns out to be a rising star or the next Melanie Oudin.

The 2014 U.S. Open was a test of not only the player’s tennis skills, but their physical strength and fitness level. Eugenie Bouchard and Peng Shuai can attest to that. Much of the event was played under the WTA Tour’s extreme heat rules, which presented an extra challenge to players in all brackets.

What is in store for the American women when the Williams sisters retire? At the moment the answer is simple. There is heir apparent among the younger American women.

Congratulations to Serena Williams on another great Grand Slam performance.

 

American Juniors Have Strong Showing at 2014 U.S. Open

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The combination of a home court advantage and solid play propelled the American juniors to a strong showing at the 2014 U.S. Open. It also helped that the boys had 17 entrants and the girls 19 in the 64 player draws.

For the boys, seven players advanced out of the first round. The following ten players lost their only match: Dennis Uspensky, Logan Smith, Walker Duncan, Aron Hitzik, Sameer Kumar, Deton Baughman, Tommy Paul, Michael Mmoh, Eduardo Nava, and John McNally.

Only two of the remaining seven players dropped their second round matches: Reilly Opelka, and Alex Rybakov.

In the third round, three players exited the tournament with 2-1 records: Taylor Harry-Fritz, Henrik Wiersholm, and Jared Donaldson.

Stefan Kozlov was ousted in the fourth round (quarterfinals) with a 3-1 record.  Frances Tiafoe was defeated in the semifinals with a 4-1 record.

Overall, the group won 15 matches and lost 17. Although none of the players advanced to the finals, they had one player in the semis, two in the quarters, and five in the round of sixteen.

The results for the girls were similar.

Nine players advanced out of the first round with ten players dropping their only match: Katrine Steffenson, Ingrid Neel, Sofia Kenin, Claire Lu, Brooke Austin, Jessica Ho, Madison Bourguignon, Dasha Ivanova, Kylie McKenzie, and Ena Shibahara.

Five of the remaining nine players were defeated in the second round with 1-1 records: C.C. Bellis, Michaela Gordon, Francesca Delorenzo, Kelly Chen, and Usue Maitane Arconada.

Only one of the remaining four players exited in the third round: Raveena Kingsley. She had a 2-1 record.

In the fourth round (quarterfinals), Tornado Alicia Black was defeated. She won three matches before losing.

Katerina Stewart and Carolyn Dolehide were ousted in the semifinals. Both were 4-1.

Overall, the group won 18 matches and lost 19. Despite the fact that none of the players advanced to the finals, two players were in the semifinals, three were in the quarterfinals, and four were in the round of sixteen.

Does this strong showing bode well for American tennis in the future?

These American juniors are some of the top players in the world. A majority of them will test their skills on the pro tour and some will end up in the top 100. That is the good news.

The most recent group of juniors to enter the pro ranks (Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Alison Riske, et. al.) are demonstrating how difficult it is to become an elite player. The current group of  juniors are likely to face even greater challenges.

If anything, the 2014 U.S. Open demonstrated how tough it is for young players to become an elite player and continue to play at that level.

 

Chicago Cubs, ’69 Mets, USTA Player Development

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What do the Chicago Cubs, 1969 New York Mets, and USTA Player Development have in common? They are the laughing stock of professional sports.

The performance of the American men at Wimbledon was embarrassing. The men won five matches and lost ten. Nobody advanced past the third round.

On the stage of the U.S. Open, the greatest Grand Slam for American players, the performance of the American men was even worse than Wimbledon. They won five matches and lost twelve. Even worse, they lost nine of the matches 3-0, i.e. the American men were not competitive.

First round losers included Marcos Giron, Bradley Klahn, Donald Young, Wayne Odesnik, Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, Noah Rubin, Ryan Harrison, and Jared Donaldson.

Tim Smyczek was 1-1, winning his first round match before being thumped by Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.

Both Sam Querrey and John Isner won two matches before bowing out in the third round. Querrey was destroyed by Novak Djokovic while Isner lost in four sets to veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The combined record of the American men at the U.S. Open was 5 and 12.

The American men are excellent players; however, none of them are elite players and they never will be. It is clear the player development programs of other countries have aspirations for greatness that far exceed those of the USTA Player Development program.

At best, the USTA Player Development program has developed sparring partners for the world’s elite players. Hopefully, the leadership of the USTA has taken notice and will make changes. The U.S. Open would be a lot more fun to watch, if American players were strong enough to compete in the second week of the tournament.