TENNIS: US Open 2014
Sep. 12th, 2014 08:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllI’ve been abroad on holiday for a few days without the internet – but I did have Eurosport in the hotel, so I could actually watch some of the US Open as opposed to following it by headlines. Bizarrely, there was no sound, so I watched a bit of Caronline Wosniaki against Sheng Puai – I really missed the commentary there, as I’d have liked to know if the unseeded Chinese player had had long matches that contributed to her physical breakdown. Wosniacki was one set up and looked to have momentum before her opponent was derailed by pain and disappointment. I didn’t expect the Dane to have enough to contend with Serena Williams if Williams was (finally!) playing well enough to get into the final. And that’s what happened, evidently.
The major surprises were all on the men’s side. I watched the start of the Djokovic vs Niskikori semi and was, frankly, surprised at the score (I say ‘watched’, but I mean had it soundlessly on as I puttered about preparing to go out for a meal). By the time I was home from dinner, Nishikori was winning the fourth and final set and Djokovic hadn’t found enough for a fight back. So, I thought surely Federer would have his chance, but didn’t stay up to watch the second semi final, as with the lack of sound, I’d probably have fallen asleep watching it anyhow.
I didn’t get to see either final – the striking thing about the men’s was who would have predicted it at the start of the tournament? Nishikori and Cilic have been second or even third-tier top tenners, and even though both have acquired champion coaches and there have been rumbles about Cilic for the faster surfaces in the past because of his serve, they haven’t been names to watch out for a la Dimitrov. After Djokovic beat Murray, the expectation was a rematch of the Wimbledon final against Federer, really. Suddenly, the hegemony of the top 3/4/5 of the men’s game is shaken! I heard the fact that this is the first time in a long while that there are eight different singles champions – less of a surprise on the women’s side, especially as all four are former champions.
Fair play to both US Open champions, though. Those were decisive wins.
The major surprises were all on the men’s side. I watched the start of the Djokovic vs Niskikori semi and was, frankly, surprised at the score (I say ‘watched’, but I mean had it soundlessly on as I puttered about preparing to go out for a meal). By the time I was home from dinner, Nishikori was winning the fourth and final set and Djokovic hadn’t found enough for a fight back. So, I thought surely Federer would have his chance, but didn’t stay up to watch the second semi final, as with the lack of sound, I’d probably have fallen asleep watching it anyhow.
I didn’t get to see either final – the striking thing about the men’s was who would have predicted it at the start of the tournament? Nishikori and Cilic have been second or even third-tier top tenners, and even though both have acquired champion coaches and there have been rumbles about Cilic for the faster surfaces in the past because of his serve, they haven’t been names to watch out for a la Dimitrov. After Djokovic beat Murray, the expectation was a rematch of the Wimbledon final against Federer, really. Suddenly, the hegemony of the top 3/4/5 of the men’s game is shaken! I heard the fact that this is the first time in a long while that there are eight different singles champions – less of a surprise on the women’s side, especially as all four are former champions.
Fair play to both US Open champions, though. Those were decisive wins.
