10 things to take away from the 2020 US Open

 

                                              (Credit: Reuters/USA Today Sports) 

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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10 things to look for at the 2020 US Open

 

2020 has been a strange year for many reasons, but COVID-19 definitely is atop the list. We saw the cancellation of Wimbledon, the postponement of Roland Garros to September/October, and the dropping out of many big names for the US Open all because of COVID-19. This year's US Open will be the first grand slam event during the outbreak of COVID-19, making it a grand slam unlike anything we've seen before. As a result, my list of 10 things to look for will be unique and different, but I will try to keep things as focused on tennis as possible. Enjoy! 

Note: Click here to check out the draws. Action starts Monday. 

#1. Will the U.S. Open be able to pull this off? The U.S. Open is hoping to find similar success to what the NBA has had with navigating COVID-19 and with fewer players to manage and just two weeks of tennis, I think odds are really good that the U.S. Open won't experience any disruptions due to the virus, but still, the first thing to look for in this event is whether or not the tournament will in fact be completed and how well the tournament does at replicating the NBA's bubble environment. 

Note: The US Open has already had one positive test in #17 seed Benoit Paire, who will be replaced by Marcel Granollers. Click here to read more about that and the US Open's bubble.

#2. How will the eventual champion(s) be viewed? Due to the lack of fans, the fact that many notable names (E.g. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori, Bianca Andreescu, Simona Halep) won't be playing, and just the sheer weirdness of the event, it will be interesting to see how the 2020 US Open champions will be viewed. It will still count as a grand slam in the history books, but it will also be known as the U.S. Open that occurred during the pandemic. While I don't think that de-legitimizes the event, it's human nature for others to perhaps do so. On the one hand, this is a golden opportunity for someone to come in and win their first slam while on the other hand, if you're going to win your first slam, I'm not sure this is the one you would wish it to be. If that all makes sense. 

#3. Expect chaos on the men's side: The only guy who I can feel comfortable predicting will make a deep run is the top seed Novak Djokovic. Djokovic has won three US Open titles and his favorite surface is hard court, so it's a pretty safe bet that he'll at least reach the final. As for the other half of the draw, it's anyone's guess what will happen. Dominic Thiem is the number two seed and the furthest he's gone at the US Open is the quarterfinals in 2018. 

With Federer and Nadal both out, that frees up even more room for someone to make a surprise run to the final. That isn't to say Thiem won't make the final. I think he could, but odds are he won't, which means it's anyone's guess of as to who will come out of that other half of the draw. As for the women's draw, I actually think this is a year where there will be less chaos than the men's side. It'll be interesting to see if that holds. 

#4. Can Sofia Kenin back up her Australian Open title? As a result of winning the 2020 Australian Open, the last grand slam we've had, Sofia Kenin comes in as the number two seed on the women's side. Kenin hasn't gone past the third round at the US Open, but after winning it all in Australia, there's a ton of pressure on her to go much deeper than that this year. It will be interesting to see if Kenin can make a deep run at the US Open or if she'll feel the pressure and have an early exit. 

#5. Can Daniil Medvedev finish the job? Last year, Daniil Medvedev fell to Rafael Nadal in the final. This year, Medvedev is looking to finish the job, coming in as the #3 seed. After initially agitating fans a bit with his antics and temper, Medvedev gained a lot of new fans last year and became much more likable as the tournament went on. Medvedev is one of those guys who really feeds off the crowds, so in the absence of fans this year, it will be interesting to see if he can still fire himself up in the same way. 

#6. Will Black Lives Matter be a theme? We saw Naomi Osaka pull out of the Western & Southern Open in protest only to finish the tournament when the event canceled play for the day as a whole. Osaka made a courageous move and generated some conversation. It'll be interesting to see how much messages of social justice, equality, and Black Lives Matter will play a role in this event. I'm sure a lot of that will depend on who wins and finds the most success. If Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka for example both play well, then I think there's a good chance those messages will become a big story, if not THE big story of the event. 

#7. Alexander Zverev needs to make his move: Alexander Zverev once again comes in with a lofty seeding (#5) despite not having had much success at grand slam events aside from his run to the semis at the 2020 Australian Open. The furthest he's gone at the US Open is the fourth round and with the draw as wide open as it is, he has no excuse to not at least reach the semis and put himself in a position to win this tournament. If he exits in the quarterfinals or sooner, it will be a major disappointment. 

#8. Can Madison Keys finally breakthrough? Madison Keys comes in as the #7 seed, still eying her first grand slam title. The furthest she's gone at any grand slam is a run to the 2017 US Open final, so it's been a while. Keys is in the same half of the draw as Serena Williams, so she by no means has an easy draw. Still, if you're looking for possible dark horses to win this event, Keys has to be considered as a real threat. 

#9. Look for Novak Djokovic to win the men's title: Given that Federer and Nadal are both out, Novak Djokovic has to be favored to win the men's singles title. He's the top seed, coming off an Australian Open title, and all in all seems to have momentum on his side. As it stands, the all-time list for most grand slam titles on the men's side goes Federer (20), Nadal (19), and Djokovic (17). If Djokovic wins this title, he'll be one back of Nadal and two back of Federer. So when talking about history, this event is huge for Djokovic. Especially since Nadal seems to be saving up his energy to win at Roland Garros in October. 

#10. Look for Serena Williams to win the women's title: If Serena Williams wins the women's singles title, she'll tie Margaret Court's record for most grand slam titles (24). Given that they played in fundamentally different eras, to some extent it doesn't really matter if Serena surpasses Court, but that notwithstanding, you know she wants to anyways. Given that the field is a bit weaker and Serena has a pretty favorable/open draw, I expect her to finish the job and in the process use her platform to advocate for social justice. 

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