The 2020 US Open resulted in Naomi Osaka winning her third grand slam title and Dominic Thiem winning his first. Osaka defeated Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the women's singles final while Thiem defeated Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 in the men's singles final. Below is my list of 10 things to take away from the two weeks that were in New York.
#1. Dominic Thiem is the real deal: After losing his first three grand slam finals, Dominic Thiem finally broke through at the 2020 US Open. Thiem played an incredibly gritty match against Zverev and showed that he is worthy of winning a grand slam title. What made this all the more impressive is the fact that Thiem came back from two sets down and did it on a surface that hasn't always been his best. Originally better on clay, Thiem is now arguably even better on the hard courts. A true testament to his work ethic and dedication. As for how many more grand slams Thiem will win, I think he'll get at least a couple more. He's not going away any time soon.
#2. Naomi Osaka is the best women's tennis player in the world: Serena Williams is the GOAT, but she is no longer the best women's tennis player in the world. That title belongs to Naomi Osaka, who now has three grand slam titles under her belt. I think there were some who wondered if Osaka's first US Open title was a fluke, but now, I think it's clear that she is no fluke and is a force to be reckoned with. The only area that Osaka needs to improve in is winning away from the hard courts. She's not reached the 4th Round at the French Open or Wimbledon. Once she figures out how to win on the clay and grass, there'll be no stopping her.
Note: Osaka will be skipping the 2020 French Open due to a hamstring injury.
#3. Alexander Zverev has arrived: Despite his lofty, top five ranking, Alexander Zverev had not been to a grand slam final until this year's US Open and he had just one semifinal under his belt (2020 Australian Open). A lot of people including myself wanted to see him back up his ranking and make deeper runs in majors and he certainly did that this time by reaching the final and getting within one set of winning his first grand slam. It's disappointing that he didn't finish the job, but on the flip side, I think he made a lot of progress in reaching the final and getting as close as he did. Zverev has finally arrived for real and he's only going to get better.
#4. Victoria Azarenka is back: Victoria Azarenka reached her first major final since the 2013 US Open. It's been a while! She's been dealing with a lot of off court issues like custody battles for her son and a romantic relationship gone sour. With that all finally resolved and somewhat in the rear view mirror, Azarenka is back focusing on what she loves, which is playing elite level tennis. This was the first time in years that she looked like the old Vika and it was really exciting to see. If she keeps this up, she could be in for a renaissance of sorts and a couple more grand slam titles.
#5. Novak Djokovic blew a HUGE opportunity: The big story of the first week of the US Open was the way that Novak Djokovic exited the tournament, having to default his fourth round match against Pablo Carreño Busta due to accidentally hitting a line official in the throat with a tennis ball that he whacked in frustration. It was an accident, but still, according to the rules he had to default the match. With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both sitting this one out, Djokovic came in as the heavy favorite and probably would have won the event had he not defaulted. To not win this tournament really hurts Djokovic. Especially when you consider that a win would have given Djokovic 18 grand slam titles, one shy of Nadal (19) and two shy of Federer (20).
#6. Serena Williams also blew it: Time is running out for Serena Williams (23) to tie Margaret Court's record (24) for most grand slam titles ever. I still think Williams will get it done, but to not win this event stings. She lost in three sets to Azarenka in the semifinals and had an opportunity to show she's still the best in the world. Instead, she looked like she was kinda running out of steam a bit. With each passing year, it's going to get harder for Serena to tie that record and pass Court, so this is definitely a tournament she would like to have back.
#7. Men's tennis will be fine after the big three retire: Don't get me wrong. I don't want to see Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer retire any time soon. They're legends of the sport and the longer they play, the better. That said, I think the 2020 US Open showed that when those guys do decide to hang it up, the men's game will still be exciting. Thiem and Zverev played a fabulous final and showed that they too can put on a show.
#8. Karolina Pliskova is another player who "blew it": You should be sensing a theme from the 2020 US Open. Key players "blowing it." Another one who "blew it" is Karolina Pliskova, who came in as the #1 seed. Rather than making a deep run and taking advantage of her top seed, Pliskova lost in the second round to Caroline Garcia. Pliskova has never won a grand slam and hasn't reached a grand slam final since her lone grand slam finals appearance at the 2016 US Open. When you consider the fact that some key names like Simona Halep sat this one out, Pliskova truly had a golden opportunity to win her first grand slam and she didn't even come close to getting it done. Major disappointment for her.
#9. Daniil Medvedev had a bit of a setback: After the way he battled against Rafael Nadal in last year's final, I think everyone expected Daniil Medvedev to win this tournament once Djokovic defaulted. Instead, he bowed out in straight sets to the eventual champion Thiem in the semis. He still had a solid tournament, but not going as deep as he did last year and not taking advantage of Djokovic's folly is a bit of a disappointment and setback for him. He'll bounce back, though.
#10. Sofia Kenin needs to regroup: After winning the 2020 Australian Open and coming in as the #2 seed, I think there were a lot of people who thought Sofia Kenin, an American, could back up her title in Australia with a US Open title. Kinda like what Naomi Osaka did when she won the Austrian Open right after she won her first US Open. Instead of picking up her second grand slam title, Kenin lost in the 4th Round to #16 Elise Mertens in straight sets. Kenin needs to regroup a bit after this disappointing US Open and see if she can recapture the magic she had in Australia.
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