Waiting in the Wings

VICTORIOU5.@AlexZverev wins a 5th Masters 1000 title, defeating Rublev 6-2 6-3 in the #CincyTennis final 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/plFmkk5E8C

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 22, 2021

I admit I've been somewhat actively ignoring the steady ascent of Alexander Zverev over the last year or so for various reasons, but while I've been trying to focus my attention elsewhere, it's becoming increasingly hard to deny the fifth-ranked German's emergence as one of the top contenders for the last Major title of the year.

He, of course, made a pretty strong case for himself last year -- back when his biggest offense was his rather cavalier attitude to COVID protocols. Playing in his first Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open, he ran off to a two-set-to-love lead against Dominic Thiem and seemed poised to upset the Austrian's fourth attempt at capturing that big trophy. He came up short that time of course, but continued to plough through in the new season, so nearly getting to the final in Paris, somehow battling from two sets down to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis to force a decider.

But it's been on the hard courts where he's really shined. At the Tokyo Olympics last month, he thwarted Novak Djokovic's attempt to win the rare Golden Slam, beating the world #1 in the semis on his way to capturing the gold medal. And this week in Cincinnati, he captured his fifth Masters title with wins over a red-hot Casper Ruud, a back-on-track Tsitsipas, and a surging Andrey Rublev, who was coming off his first ever win over Toronto champ and second-ranked Daniil Medvedev.

That gives Zverev his fourth title of the year and an impressive 11-match win streak heading into the U.S. Open, where he'll try to go one better after that disappointment from last year. And there may be no better chance for him to do it -- within the past week Thiem, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal have all said they won't be playing in New York, which gives the next generation a real chance to show us what they've got.

Of course Djokovic will be there, too, looking for the "consolation" prize of "just" a regular old calendar year Slam, as will Medvedev, who's been one of the most dominant players on tour this year. But Zverev will certainly be a threat, and he's certainly shown he's got what it takes to step into the spotlight.

And For the Ladies...

On the ladies side in Cincinnati, Ashleigh Barty further solidified her spot at the top of the women's game, rolling to her fifth title of the year -- at least one each on every surface -- without dropping a set.

And as impressive as her accomplishment was, it's certainly worth highlighting the run by her final challenger Jil Teichmann, a wildcard at the Western & Southern who followed up a monster upset of Naomi Osaka with wins over Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and Montreal runner-up Karolina Pliskova. Then again, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised that he found success on the American hardcourts -- the 24-year-old Swiss did make the final last year in Lexington and beat Danielle Collins when this event was played in New York a week later. Her success may not be enough to get her a seeding at the Open, but it sure should make her a dangerous spoiler in any section of the draw.

Oh, and, by the way, there was a WTA 125 going on in Chicago and, if you weren't paying attention, you might have missed the fact that Wimbledon Cinderella Emma Raducanu hopefully silenced that British dope with a runner-up finish that began with a big upset of top seed Alison Van Uytvanck in the opening round. She did ultimately lose the trophy to fellow teen sensation Clara Tauson, who picked up her first career title this past March in Lyon, but the wins prove she was no flash in the pan and that she might just have what it take to stick around awhile -- regardless of what that guy says.

And So It Begins...

Tomorrow marks the first day of main draw action at the retooled Western & Southern Open -- Cincy in NYC, it seems -- and the true kickoff of the abbreviated, and ultimately surreal, road to the U.S. Open. And while many of the sport's top players will be conspicuously missing from the draws over the next few weeks, there's plenty of opportunity for fireworks that could set the stage for an exciting slate of tennis. And we could see some of that right from the get-go.

Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Cincy anymore....#CInCyTennis pic.twitter.com/1X5oXmkKpf

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 21, 2020

The Qualies

It begins, of course, in the qualifiers, where a surprising number of former standouts have spent the last few days trying just for a chance to compete for the crown. Among the players contesting these pre-event matches: former world #6 Gilles Simon and doubles star Jeremy Chardy -- both of whom fell short in their matches -- as well as two-time Major finalist Vera Zvonareva, whose win this afternoon got her a spot in the main draw. But perhaps the more interesting names in the mix are the newer names who've been trying to make a name for themselves in these strange times.

On the men's side there's Sebastian Korda, who got the win over Simon today -- he's spent most of his time on the Challengers circuit over the years, but taking out the top seeded qualifier could give him some much-needed confidence. And then there's South Africa's Lloyd Harris, who seemed to me to come out of nowhere when he made the final in Adelaide. In #CiNYC he opened with a win over Mikael Ymer and followed it up by defeating Andrej Martin. But perhaps the qualifier to watch most closely is Marton Fucscovics, who made the fourth round of the Australian Open, even taking a set off Roger Federer in the process. After making it through these early rounds, he might get a bit of a breather in the main draw, opening against fellow qualifer Norbert Gombos first. But, if we know anything these days, it's that nothing is for certain.

Meanwhile, Lexington finalist Jil Teichmann faced off for a second straight week against Top Seed giant-killer Shelby Rogers and again came out on top. In her first round, she'll meet Danielle Collins, ranked just one spot ahead of her at #53 in the world, so certainly has room to keep her run going. Then there's young standout Leylah Fernandez, who not only beat Sloane Stephens last week, but made the final in Acapulco back in February. She might have a harder draw, opening against Ons Jabeur, so a continued run is no guarantee. But it could be a great opportunity for the teen to make a real mark for the year.

The Men

Of course the real drama will likely be reserved for the main draw, and with far fewer entrants this year than in seasons past, we could see a lot of that drama early on.

Surprise Auckland semifinalist Hubert Hurkacz is just barely unseeded at the W&S, and faces off in his first round against John Isner. The American won the pair's only previous meeting, but something tells me we could be in for an upset this time. Hurkacz notched wins over Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem at the ATP Cup to start the year and managed victories over Kei Nishikori and Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2019 before winning his maiden, and so far only, title in Winston-Salem. And while he doesn't quite yet have the ace power of Isner, at 6'5" Hurkacz certainly could become a force in that respect. And if he can figure out how to return the big man's serve, he might just be able to do something with it.

Speaking of big servers, you don't get much bigger than Sam Querrey and Milos Raonic, two powerful players who've been unfortunately sidelined on and off and so are both well off their best rankings. But it wasn't that long ago that either's stars were shining bright -- Raonic reached the finals at Wimbledon in 2016 and a handful of Slam quarters since, most recently in Melbourne this year, and Querrey stunned the world with a trip to the final four at the All England Club in 2017. The Canadian is still ranked higher than Sam, and has a 4-2 record, but if these two can channel what they're capable of, this could be a good one.

On the opposite end of the height spectrum is the match up between rising star Casper Ruud and ninth seed Diego Schwartzman, who stands a whopping 5'7" tall. But the Argentine has nevertheless been able to pull off some impressive shots and wins during his career, putting up a nice fight against Rafael Nadal in the U.S. Open quarters last year. He's got a 3-0 record against the young Norwegian, but all of those matches were played back in 2018, before Ruud really hit his stride. And at #36 in the world now, he could prove to be more of a test. I imagine we could get some really great tennis out of this one.

But perhaps the most first round star power will come from the showdown between Frances Tiafoe and three-time Major winner Andy Murray, both wildcards in #CiNYC. Tiafoe was one of my dark horse picks to win a Major this year, and we can all agree that's not happening. Nor is it likely he's going to move significantly higher up the rankings. But he is a talented player with a couple of top-ten wins under his belt. But Murray reminded us of what a force he is when he, recently back from hip surgery, won a title in Antwerp last year, beating Stan Wawrinka in the final. I imagine he's make quick work in this match too, but with a second round match against Alexander Zverev on the line, I sure would love to make this one a thing to remember.

The Women

There are some fun first rounders on the women's side too. While I was looking forward to seeing Kim Clijsters take on Lexington champ Jennifer Brady, the comeback queen put off her return a little while longer. Still there are plenty of games worth watching.

I'll start with another player I had high hopes for at the start of the year -- former world #1 and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, who starts her #CiNYC campaign against 15^th seed Donna Vekic. The Belorussian hasn't quite lived up to my expectations this year, and Vekic has won their two previous meetings. Still Vika has done well on these courts before, reaching the finals at the U.S. Open the same years she won her Majors in Melbourne, and she might just be hungry enough for an upset here.

Then there's Venus Williams, who came out the victor against Vika in their first round in Lexington earlier this month. She's the wildcard, on-paper underdog against 16^th seed Dayana Yastremska, who actually picked up three titles while I wasn't looking over the last couple years. The twenty-year-old Ukranian made the final in Adelaide this season and notched a win over Aussie champ Sofia Kenin in Doha, and is clearly a force on the court. Still, we've seen a lot of great ball from the veteran over the last few months, including a classic against her own sister last week. I wouldn't be surprised to see her pull through again here.

Meanwhile, one of the women who's been a thorn in Venus's side for the past year will look for another big win to add to her resume. Coco Gauff, fresh off a semifinal run in Lexington and at a career-high ranking of #50 in the world, will face world #21 Maria Sakkari. It would be far from the biggest win of Gauff's season -- she's already won battles against Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka in 2020 -- but it would put her in spitting distance of what would be a blockbuster: a potential third round against Serena Williams, what would be the first meeting between the two. Gauff is unlikely to be distracted by that possibility, though, and will remain focused on the task at hand, and there's no reason she shouldn't pull off another big win.

And then there are two ladies who quietly got off to some of the best starts of the year. Ekaterina Alexandrova, another one just out of seeding territory, won her maiden title in Shenzhen in January and then made the semis in St. Petersburg. She's had less success since lockdown, but nonetheless could be a threat. Her first round opponent Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, was on court practically nonstop before March, reaching four finals in five back-to-back events, winning a title in Hobart, before finally pulling out of the third round in Doha -- she's somehow already played 25 matches this year, impressive with only two and a half months of events! This is her first event back in action, but I'm hoping she can pick up where she left off and show us her performance this winter was no fluke.

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So the countdown is on to the first big tournament we've seen in a while, and it certainly seems like we have a lot to look forward to. If these matches live up to their potential, we might not even notice the big holes that seem to be in the draws. And all that could open the doors for some new blood when the stakes are even higher.

And at the end of the day, here's hoping we get some great tennis and a safe and healthy outcome.

Top Shelf Tennis

There may not be any fans in the stands, or the usual post-match handshakes. There's not a ton of prize money or ranking points on the line. For so many reasons these first few weeks back in action since the lockdown really highlight how much has changed in for tennis, and of course, for the entire world. But that didn't stop us from getting some of the most inspiring match play we'd seen since even before the five-month pause went into effect.

One of the most powerful sports pictures of 2020

(Via @CCSMOOTH13 / 📸 Getty) pic.twitter.com/HGJHwIkR0s

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) August 11, 2020

Let's start in Prague, where Simona Halep, the highest ranked player we've seen in action since March, took the court after bowing out of Palermo a week earlier. The top seed got off to a shaky start, splitting lopsided sets with Polona Hercog in her opener and then dropping the first set to wildcard Barbora Krejcikova a round later. But she seemed to get her groove back after that, downing lucky loser Magdalena Frech in less than an hour in the quarters and coming back from a break down in the final against Elise Mertens to capture her 21^st career trophy.

But her performance wasn't necessarily the biggest standout. Fellow Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, once a stone's throw away from the top twenty, had fallen a bit down the rankings in recent years, spending a lot of time on the ITF circuit and playing qualifying rounds in Shenzhen and Hobart. But she picked up steam just before quarantine, winning the Indian Wells Challenger Series, the last event before August. In Prague she opened with an upset of Anastasija Sevastova, and then was cursed with a series of night matches that were suspended for darkness, subjecting her to two straight days of double-headers. She eventually fell to Halep in the semis, but may have done a lot to get her game back in gear.

The biggest surprise out of Prague, though, might have been the showing from one-time world #5 (and three-time Major semifinalist) Genie Bouchard, now ranked all the way down at #330 in the world but granted a wildcard here. She'd had some encouraging results early this year, beating Caroline Garcia in Auckland, and helped the Chicago Smash make the finals in World Team Tennis last month, and that could have helped her this week. She dominated eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova in her first round and endured a tight three setter versus Tamara Zidansek before finally falling in three to Mertens. Whether that's enough to propel her for the rest of the year, we'll certainly see, but it was nice to see glimpses of the former Wimbledon finalist again.

Things were even more interesting at the inaugural Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky, which boasted plenty of starpower in its initial field -- and even more excitement by way of the upsets. Serena and Venus Williams faced off in their 31^st career meeting in the second round -- a match after Venus had dismissed fellow former world #1 Victoria Azarenka -- and put on a show reminiscent of any of their heyday championship matches. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Coco Gauff added more big upsets to her resume, taking out second seeded Aryna Sabalenka and the barrier-breaking Ons Jabeur.

Then there was wildcard Shelby Rogers, who back in 2014 took out Carla Suarrez Navarro, Sara Errani and Camila Giorgi to make the final in Bad Gastein as a qualifier and, two years later, reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. After knee surgery took her out of the game for over a year, she'd struggled to regain form and came into this event ranked #116 in the world. But after a solid showing against up-and-comer Leylah Fernandez, she pulled off what's undoubtedly the biggest win of her career. Down a set to Serena Williams in the quarters -- she dropped the first 1-6 in less than 30 minutes -- the 27-year-old somehow rallied over the next hour, taking advantage of her opponent's errors to defeat the top seed in a third-set tiebreak. It was the first time Serena has lost to a sub-100 player in eight years. Rogers would lose a round later to Switerland's Jil Teichmann, but the win should give her confidence that she still has what it takes to get those big wins.

But of course, the standout story from Lexington is that of champion Jennifer Brady, who picked up her first career trophy with a straight set win over Teichmann today. The 25-year-old entered the event near her peak ranking just inside the top fifty, helped by wins over Maria Sharapova and Ashleigh Barty in Brisbane and a run to the semis in Dubai. Still, unseeded at the event, she had a tough road to the final facing sixth-seed Magda Linette in the second round and a surging Gauff in the semis. But the former UCLA national champion didn't lose a set all week, closing out the Swiss in a little more than 100 minutes. The win helps her not only break the seal of claiming that maiden crown, but also pushes her up the rankings, now within seeding territory for the U.S. Open.

Speaking of the U.S. Open, the field there continues to thin out as players elect not to make the trip to New York in these uncertain times -- while Novak Djokovic finally confirmed his intent to play not just the Major, but the lead up "Cincinatti" tournament this week, defending champion Bianca Andreescu and 2019 semifinalist Belinda Bencic both withdrew. In all, fourteen wouldbe seeds -- nine women and five men -- are sitting out the Slam.

What that means for who's going to walk away with the trophy, I don't know yet. But if this week's action is any indication, we're certainly in store for a lot of great tennis, whatever happens.