Taylor Fritz was touted as the next American to win the US Open. Things looked pretty promising for the American after he went up two sets to love. How did he lose this match? It was like two different matches. What really surprised me was that he did not fight. Or rather, it appeared that he did not fight. [24] Francisco Cerundolo won 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Embed from Getty ImagesTaylor Fritz Was Unprepared To Fight
[9] Taylor Fritz should have expected the Argentinian would not go down without a fight. He has proven that the two previous times they met; thus, Fritz should have expected no less. One thing I have observed is the need to stay focused until the match is over. Fritz let his guard down and he paid dearly with the loss of a golden opportunity that may never come around again. What will he learn from this collapse?
Embed from Getty ImagesJovic Amongst American Day Seven Winners
[14] Iva Jovic wins the battle between best friends, but at what cost. Each set took at least fifty-five minutes, with the match going over three hours. In the third set, Jovic sustained a leg injury and opted just to take a pain killer. Worse for the American, she was behind from the second set. However, she managed to wrestle the lead from [17] Alexandra Eala late in the third set. She had match point on the Filipino’s serve but could not convert. At 6-5 in the third, something had to give. Eala was leading 30-15 when her wheels fell off (she sent a backhand long) and that was the opportunity Jovic was looking for. Jovic won 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
Embed from Getty Images[4] Coco Gauff will gladly take this easy day at the office after that battle with Paula Badosa. Cristina Bucsa gave a good effort, but Gauff would not be denied. She won 6-3, 6-4. [14] Learner Tien won the first set and almost let the match slip away. Yet, give him credit because [17] Jakub Mensik is no pushover. The American dug deep and got the 6-3, 1-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 victory. There are five American men left in the singles draw, one is in the top half and the other four are in the bottom half. There are also five American women left in the singles draw. Unfortunately, the two in the bottom half of the draw must battle each other (Gauff vs. Jovic).
Embed from Getty ImagesAnisimova Amongst Fallen American Seeds
It was a rough day for American tennis fans. [10] Amanda Anisimova, last year’s finalist, was beaten by [24] Anastasia Potapova in straight sets. The newly minted Austrian won 6-2, 7-5. Do not be deceived by this result. Qinwen Zheng was a former top ten player; thus, beating American [22] Madison Keys is not an upset. Furthermore, given that Keys has been struggling with her form, this loss was not a surprise to me. As much as I wish it was a different outcome for Keys. Keys needed to win that second set. When you come so close, this will be a painful loss for the American. Zheng won 1-6, 7-6(3), 7-5.
Giving American Doubles Players Some Love
Let’s not forget that the number one ranked doubles team is fifty percent American, Taylor Townsend. They (Katerina Siniakova is the other half) won their second round match 6-3, 6-4. American duo of Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery secured a three-set victory over the duo of Moyuka Uchijima and Xinyu Wang. They dropped the second set but righted the ship nicely in the third to secure the 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory. The American duo of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow defeated Ho/Demoliner 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-2. Ryan Seggerman and his fellow American, Patrik Trhac defeated Bhambri/Venus 7-6(4), 7-6(3). In the battle of Americans, Mac Kiger and Aleksandar Kovacevic defeated Brooksby/Giron 6-3, 7-6(6).
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Other Seeded Players Who Lost
[5] Flavio Cobolli finally met his match. After two very difficult matches, the Italian had nothing left in the tank. He could not pull another rabbit out of his hat and [28] Alexander Blockx was having none of it. It was a hard fought first set, which hinted that the Italian was in for a rough day. Blockx shook that set off and refocused his effort to win 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0, 6-3. This gave the Belgium his biggest career win.
Embed from Getty Images[25] Marie Bouzkova gave everything she had, but it was not enough to defeat [8] Iga Swiatek. The Polish player won 7-6(3), 7-6(3). [25] Alejandro Tabilo lost to [1] Alexander Zverev. Sascha was surely relieved to win this in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-2. [23] Elise Mertens lost 3-6, 6-3, 5-7 to [13] Naomi Osaka. [31] Zizou Bergs lost two tiebreakers to lose the match. If he had only won one of those tiebreak sets, he would still be in the US Open. Instead, Botic van de Zandschulp won 3-6, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 to the fourth round.
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