Winners and Losers in Tennis as the 2015 US Open Series Begins
In the final week of appetizers before the U.S. Open series slams into action with Canada's Rogers Cup, Kei Nishikori turned in another bona fide result. Is the Japanese star ready for another run at the U.S. Open title? Find out what he did to help his case.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray crashed and burned at the Citibank Open in Washington, D.C., but there is growing promise with an under-the-radar youngster who has quietly progressed the past month.
Find out which German native loves to play in his region of the world and how this translated to another title.
We also look at Rogers Cup matches for the men's and women's tours as we send out another edition of tennis' Winners and Losers.
Winner: Kei Nishikori
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Just in time to regain some badly needed momentum, Nishikori had a terrific weekend to solidify his status as a U.S. Open contender. In the semifinals, the Japanese star came back a set down to defeat Marin Cilic, who denied him last year's U.S. Open title. He closed out his title with a three-set win over big-serving John Isner.
Besides winning his 10th career title (Washington, D.C., is his fifth time winning a level 500 tournament), Nishikori has proved he is healthy enough to play great tennis against power players such as Cilic and Isner. Always in question, his durability will be tested as the U.S. Open series begins with its first huge tournament in Montreal.
Furthermore, the Japanese star moved past Stan Wawrinka to become No. 4 in the world rankings. There will be more tennis to decide this mini-race, but if Nishikori remains in the top four, it eliminates any chance of facing Novak Djokovic before the semifinals.
Loser: Andy Murray
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The biggest star in action this week, Andy Murray was a heavy favorite as the No. 1 seed in Washington, D.C. The week turned out to be a just a couple of hours as Murray was defeated in his first match, a third-set tiebreaker to Teymuraz Gabashvili. Worse, Murray could not serve out the victory with a 5-4 advantage in the final frame. He packed up with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) loss.
While Murray lost out on a chance to win 500 ranking points, the loss might be a blessing in disguise. First, it’s a wake-up call and a chance for him to knock off some of the summer rust. Second, he was slated to play D.C., Canada, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open for a grueling stretch into mid-September.
Instead, Murray can wander up to Canada to train, refocus and have about a week off until his first-round match at Montreal. He will play the winner of two veteran Spaniards, either Tommy Robredo or Feliciano Lopez. Both are capable competitors, but Murray should be ready to play hard.
Winner: Alexander Zverev
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If you like to follow the potential of young players, no doubt Alexander Zverez has captured at least a passing interest the past two summers.
At age 17, Zverev won his first title at the 2014 Sparkassen Open in early July. There were a handful of C-level players and veterans, but he proved right away that he was worthy of being named the top juniors player the previous year.
This summer, Zverev has competed hard, beginning with a five-set, opening-round victory at Wimbledon against Gabashvili, a pair of victories against Thomaz Bellucci, a win over Juan Monaco and tough losses to Robredo.
This week in Washington, D.C., Zverev continued to improve, winning three matches including wins over Kevin Anderson and Alexandr Dolgopolov. He finally bowed out to the defending U.S. Open champion, Cilic, in the quarterfinals 7-5, 7-5(3).
The young German is a slender 6'6", but he's quick and talented enough to play well on clay. There's a resemblance of sorts to clay-court great Gustavo Kuerten, but Zverev's groundstrokes and serve carry more power. Best of all, he has the footwork and defensive capabilities that are smooth and quick, the way Pete Sampras could gracefully move about.
As tennis fans have fretted over the lack of success from ATP players born in the 1990s, it's important to remember that Zverev was born in 1997 and he is not a cohort of the Lost Generation (born 1990-95) of Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov and Bernard Tomic (the latter two were bounced out of Washington, D.C., quicker than Zverev).
Instead, Zverev belongs with Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis and Borna Coric, players 20 years and younger who were born after 1995. Call them Generation Next.
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Loser: Caroline Wozniacki
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Last year, Caroline Wozniacki enjoyed a mini-resurgence as she roared back into the Top 10 on the WTA Tour. The late summer saw her play a few great matches against Serena Williams, including the U.S. Open final.
She’s reaping the benefits of her No. 5 ranking, but her tennis has slipped a level. At the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, Wozniacki took another step back, losing as the No. 1 seed in her first match to Varvara Lepchenko.
Unless Wozniacki can turn things around in a hurry, find more offense and throw fewer pitches to open Dodgers games, she will not make it back to the U.S. Open final, let alone win her first career major. At least she's been enjoying time with gala events such as ESPN's BODY pre-party night for the ESPYs.
Winner: Philipp Kohlschreiber
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Another respected veteran who has done more than just persist as a journeyman, resident Philipp Kohlschreiber won the Kitzbuhel Open in Austria. The German now owns six career titles, all but one of them (Auckland) in the Germany-Austria region.
The veteran has carved out a significant, if unnoticed, career, ranking as high as No. 16 in 2012 and currently back up 11 slots to No. 28. He has a throwback game, willing to use a strong single backhand, approach the net and play aggressive tennis despite lacking some of the big groundstroke gifts his contemporaries have possessed.
The big win this week was in the semifinals, topping red-hot Dominic Thiem in an Austrian-German showdown that no doubt excited the locals.
Loser: Dominic Thiem
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On paper, it seemed like this could be Thiem’s easiest attempt at winning another title. After all, he had won titles in consecutive weeks and was now the No. 1 seed in his home country, Austria.
But he ran into German neighbor Kohlschreiber, and the veteran put on a first-set clinic to douse Thiem’s momentum and go away with the 6-0, 7-6(6) semifinal win.
It’s a disappointing loss, but nevertheless not a total surprise against a tough veteran. Thiem had a rough serving day and was unable to command his powerful baseline strokes against the attacking German.
Thiem will also enjoy a couple extra days of rest as he flies across the Atlantic to compete for the Rogers Cup. He’s already earned a bye for the first round, and he will get his opportunity to start a new streak against either Anderson or Lukas Rosol.
Winner: WTA Rogers Cup Preview Matches
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The Rogers Cup will be held in Toronto this year for the WTA Tour. All eyes will be on Serena Williams’ chase for a true Grand Slam, so everything she does at Toronto and Cincinnati could have an impact on her U.S. Open performance. Is her right elbow OK? Will she conserve her strength or pace herself for the next few weeks?
Some of the best upcoming matches could see Serena take on tough pros such as Andrea Petkovic and Lucie Safarova just to get out of the quarterfinals.
Other interesting quarterfinals possibilities include powerball with Garbine Muguruza vs. Petra Kvitova and a tactician’s delight in Simona Halep vs. Agnieszka Radwanska.
Loser: Madison Keys
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Madison Keys might very well be the future of tennis, but last week was a flop. Keys made a splash to open 2015 with her Australian Open semifinal. Most recently, she battled into the Wimbledon quarterfinal with a power game that is going to bludgeon many opponents during her career.
This past week at the Bank of America Classic, No. 7-seed Keys was upset 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 by Ajla Tomljanovic, who is trying to prove herself as a top-50 player.
This was a disappointment because Keys was playing in her home country in the upper half of the draw that had already seen Wozniacki lose in her first match.
It's exciting to watch her baseline power, but there will no doubt be other disappointing collapses until she is better able to manage the ebbs and flows of her own talent. She's already a terrific player, but she is a quantum leap away from becoming a superstar.
Winner: ATP Rogers Cup Preview Matches
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For the ATP, the Rogers Cup will be hosted in Montreal. World No. 1 Djokovic would normally be a heavy favorite here, especially with No. 2 Roger Federer skipping the event, but how much physicality will the Serbian invest? Nevertheless, the possibility of him sweeping the U.S. Open series is a big story.
Murray might be the most motivated player to turn around his Washington, D.C., disaster. He has Cilic in his quarter, but it would certainly be an enormous match if Rafael Nadal ran through his quarter (including Nishikori) to meet up with Murray.
A few opening-round matches to watch will pit defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against promising teenager Coric.
Kyrgios vs. Fernando Verdasco should he a hard-hitting affair with some tennis hubris, and Janko Tipsarevic continues his comeback against Roberto Bautista Agut.
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