At the halfway point of this year’s US Open many players have had their tournaments last less than a New York minute whilst others have ended up staying a lot longer than they anticipated. Below are three of the players who can be most proud of their tournament so far and three who probably will try their best to forget it.
Heroes:
Eugenie Bouchard
Not much hasn’t been said about Eugenie Bouchard this year, not caring enough, bad sportsmanship and caring more about sponsors are just a few of the accusations that have been thrown at the 21-year-old Canadian. Working with Jimmy Connors for the tournament, Bouchard was desperate to turn around her miserable year. With a poor record of 11-18 heading into this year’s tournament, very little was expected of the former world number five. However after her first round win against Alison Riske, her second against the American this year, Bouchard’s reaction killed any doubt that she cared. Having not won back to back matches since Indian Wells back in March, the only thing standing in her way of another win was the in-form Polona Hercog. Showing fight that had been missing so much in 2015 though, Bouchard emerged victorious from a tough three setter to move into the third round. Her opponent in her next match was the plucky Dominika Cibulkova who herself was searching for some form. However, Bouchard again ended up fighting through another tough three setter to move into the fourth round and was set to face Vinci who beat the Canadian 6-1 6-1 just weeks ago. Unfortunately though, her US Open was cut short to a concussion caused from a slip in the locker room leading to her withdrawal. She can take solace however from a successful week which saw a return to form and back to back wins and perhaps a future working relationship with Jimmy Connors may be the way forward.
Johanna Konta
With 2015 already being a great year for Brit Johanna Konta, her schedule running up to the US Open consisted or two ITF tournaments which saw her win ten matches in a row to take titles at both Granby and Vancouver. Having to qualify for the tournament itself, Konta breezed through qualifying, confirming her qualification after beating Tamira Paszek. Faced with a tricky first round tie against Louisa Chirico, Konta brushed aside the American, conceding only three games to the 19-year-old to set up a second round tie against Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza. After previously beating the Spaniard in Eastbourne, Konta pulled out a great performance to replicate her win and improve her head-to-head against Muguruza to 2-1. Not one to settle for second best, Konta then put in another great performance against Andrea Petkovic, winning in straight sets to reach the fourth round, a career best performance in a Grand Slam for the 24-year-old. Set to face Petra Kvitova in the fourth round, Konta will need to keep up her current form which has seen her win 16 matches in a row. However, even if her tournament ends here she can look back on her performance at Flushing Meadows with great pride.
Sam Stosur
Former champion in 2011, Sam Stosur has been enjoying a relatively successful 2015, winning titles in both Strasbourg and Bad Gastein. However with two first round losses in Toronto and Cincinnati leading up to this year’s tournament, not much was to be expected from the Australian. However the Australian has quashed most doubts after three clinical performances. With a first round tie against big hitter Timea Babos, who beat Stosur just the week before in Cincinnati, the Australian reversed the result, easing through in straight sets. Following up with a 6-1 6-1 victory against Evgeniya Rodina in the second round Stosur advanced to the third round to set up a tie against Sara Errani. With two of the most contrasting playing styles on the WTA tour, both players gave the fans an exciting match with Stosur ending up as the victor. Faced with an intriguing encounter against fellow veteran Flavia Pennetta in round four, Stosur will fancy her chances of progressing even further into the draw.
Villains:
Caroline Wozniacki
Much was expected of Caroline Wozniacki at this year’s US Open, after reaching last year’s final, the Dane was coming into the tournament with a lot of points to defend. With what looked like a kind draw to start the tournament, the former world number one raced out of the blocks winning her first round tie against American Jamie Loeb 6-2 6-0. A second round tie against Petra Cetkovska awaited Wozniacki in which Wozniacki won the first set before dropping the second. With the third set being a showcase of serving, Wozniacki had four match points but failed to take any of them. With the match heading to a final set tie-break and Wozniacki looking the better player, it was a shock to see Wozniacki drop the last six points to lose the match and exit a tournament in which she thrived just one year previous. Set to drop out of the top five after this loss, the Dane will be more than disappointed with her performance in New York this year.
Karolina Pliskova
After being one of the best players on tour this year, Karolina Pliskova’s main weakness throughout her career is transferring her tour form into the Grand Slams. Having never made it past the third round in any slam the Czech has flattered to deceive many times despite having numerous kind draws. Faced with a first round tie against Anna Tatishvili, a match that outside of a slam would have been an easy victory for Pliskova. However the world number seven again failed to show up, losing in straight sets 6-2 6-1. A testament to her skill is that she is ranked in the top 10 despite not turning up at the Grand Slams but if she is to take the next step in her career then she will be the first person to admit that her slam form needs to improve. It appears that it is more of a mental obstacle rather than a physical one and at only 23 years of age, she has plenty of time to sort it out but it won’t be too long before it becomes a matter of urgency.
Carla Suarez-Navarro
Much like Pliskova, Carla Suarez-Navarro is another player who has had a great year outside the slams. A clay specialist, a lot was expected of the Spaniard at the French Open this year however she failed to deliver and magnanimously exited to Flavia Pennetta in the third round. Heading into the grass and hard court season Suarez-Navarro was enjoying a successful year on tour after reaching three finals. However with a shock loss in the first round of Wimbledon against Jelena Ostapenko there were many critics of how the Spaniard failed to deliver on the big stages. Desperate to turn around her form, the 27-year-old entered three tournaments leading up to the US Open. Unfortunately for her though her horrible form continued as she lost in the first round of all three. With a first round tie against Denisa Allertova, Suarez-Navarro had a good opportunity to end her losing run. However yet again she bowed out in the first round losing in straight sets. Having only won one set since Eastbourne, the world number 10 is looking likely to miss out on a spot at the end of year championships, something will looked so certain earlier this year.