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topicnews · August 28, 2024

Coco Gauff rolls; Holger Rune annoyed

Coco Gauff rolls; Holger Rune annoyed

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NEW YORK – The ease with which third-seeded Coco Gauff defeated France’s Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-0 on Monday has been the exception rather than the rule of late.

It was a tough summer for Gauff ahead of her title defense at the US Open.

After her disappointing early exit at the Paris Olympics, she didn’t play particularly well in Canada or in Cincinnati, where she was also defending a title. So while Gauff can certainly go far, expectations ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam were significantly lower than last year, when she arrived as the hottest player in women’s tennis and still trying to win her first title.

“A few days ago, someone commented on my TikTok and said, ‘Why stress so much? You won literally and figuratively,'” Gauff said in her pre-tournament press conference. “I thought that’s actually a good perspective. Nobody can take that away from me, so why should I stress about something I already have? I just want to add something, whether it happens here in two weeks or next year.”

OPINION: Dominic Thiem is finally given a ceremonial farewell at his last Grand Slam appearance at the US Open

ANALYSIS: US Open storylines: Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, disappointment at the Olympics, doping scandal

On paper, Gracheva looked like a potential opponent for Gauff if she didn’t play well. But it turned out there was no need to worry. Gauff played well enough to make this match uneventful and will face Germany’s Tatjana Maria, ranked 99th in the world, in the second round.

Here are the other storylines from the very busy Monday as the US Open began that you may have missed:

Match of the day

After just a few hours of play between American Chris Eubanks and Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, it was clear that things were going to get wild. On Court 11, between points, and sometimes even between the first and second serves, shouts of “USA! USA!” rang out. The momentum swung back and forth. The spectators did everything they could to help Eubanks win.

Instead, Rinderknech won after 3 hours and 49 minutes with 6:4, 4:6, 3:6, 6:3, 7:6 (10:8).

There wasn’t a huge difference here, but one stands out: Eubanks, known as a strong server, won 77 percent of the points where he landed his first serve. Rinderknech won 80 percent of those points. A small difference, but perhaps a significant one in a match decided by a point here or there.

Biggest collapse

Sloane Stephens, the 2017 champion, isn’t on Centre Court as often these days. Although she’s still a huge crowd-pleaser and capable of beating top opponents when on form, Stephens has slipped to No. 62 in the rankings and seems to be more of a part-time player these days.

So it was odd that she was allowed to face No. 56 Clara Burel on Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. There was even speculation online that this could be part of an upcoming retirement announcement and ceremony. (If that’s the case, nothing came of it on Monday: Stephens quickly left the field and did not immediately meet with the press afterward.)

Instead, Stephens’ performance was memorable for all the wrong reasons. She led 6-0, 3-0 at one point, but her US Open ended with Burel inexplicably coming back to win 0-6, 7-5, 7-5.

And Stephens had every opportunity to close the match out. She couldn’t serve out the second set at 5-4. She couldn’t consolidate breaks in the third set at 2-1 or 4-3 and had the match on her racket again at 5-4 but couldn’t close it out. Overall, it’s the third time Stephens has lost in the first round in her last six US Opens. But this match will probably sting a bit more than the others.

Biggest surprise

Holger Rune, seeded 15th, who reached the semifinals in Cincinnati just over a week ago, played a horrific match against American Brandon Nakashima and was eliminated from the US Open in two sets.

Nakashima, the 23-year-old from San Diego who is ranked 50th in the world, easily advanced with 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.

With all due respect to Nakashima, who played a pretty solid game, Rune was simply awful with only 19 winners and 30 unforced errors, only 39 percent of first serves in the match and 0 of 6 break points.

Rune, who experienced similar ups and downs as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner among the young prodigies a few years ago, ends the 2024 Grand Slam season with a second-round loss in Australia, fourth rounds at the French Open and Wimbledon, and now this first-round loss. He still has a lot to figure out in the offseason.

Biggest heartache

Reilly Opelka, the 6-foot-tall American who reached his career-high ranking of 17th a few years ago, was close to forcing 18th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti into a fifth set when he ran out of steam.

In the fourth set, Opelka led 5-3 and 40-0 on serve, but made several crucial errors to bring the match back to deuce. Opelka paid the price by eventually losing his serve with a double fault. Musetti then won 12 of the next 13 points to close the match.

It’s no surprise that Opelka, 26, is not yet back to top form. He is considered one of America’s rising stars and only recently returned to the tour after two years of injuries, including hip and wrist surgeries. Opelka, who has one of the game’s strongest serves, came back to Wimbledon and showed some good moments, winning five of his 10 matches. He had a real chance to pull off an upset here on Monday, but he collapsed in a hard-to-watch manner when he couldn’t finish the fourth set.

Farewell ceremonies

Although Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman will play more matches before officially retiring, there were brief ceremonies during the tournament honoring each of them for their final US Open matches. Thiem, the 2020 champion, lost 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to No. 13 seed Ben Shelton, while Schwartzman’s match against Gael Monfils completely fizzled out after winning the first set.

Schwartzman has long been a fan favorite as he is one of the smallest players on tour, with the ATP generously listing him at 5’7″. Although he never came particularly close to winning a major, he made the absolute most of his talent, including three good runs at the French Open, two quarterfinals at the US Open and four ATP titles.

Unfortunately, Schwartzman’s game has deteriorated in recent years and his ranking has slipped to No. 244. He will continue playing until next February when the tour comes to his native Argentina. But he said the 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 loss on the grandstand court was a special end to a tournament that has had a huge impact on his career.

“The 2017 US Open was the first time I felt like a great player and entered the top 30 for the first time. After that, my tennis improved a lot and it was always great to come here,” said Schwartzman. “I’m happy with how I did here and how the crowd treated me all these years. I struggled at the end, but I think this journey here to the US Open has been great. Every single moment has been great.”

Notable games on Tuesday

  • No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko against two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka
  • 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu against the youngest Frenchwoman and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini
  • Tommy Paul (number 14) against Lorenzo Sonego, who won the Winston-Salem title on Sunday
  • No. 19 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime against Czech top talent Jakub Mensik
  • Arthur Fils, No. 24 seed, against 18-year-old American novice Tien

Follow Dan Wolken on social media @DanWolken

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