The last Helmet of the season has a lot in common with the first. The US Open and Australian Open are similar not only in the surface. Hard, however, according to the players, is slightly different. There is another factor that unites these competitions in separate seasons. Unpredictable results.
The European helmet tournaments have somehow taught us that they have favorites. Which, with a fairly high degree of probability, achieve results. Nadal "owned" and again "belongs" to Roland Garrros. Federer - Wimbledon. For the time being, it was even easier with women - Serena Williams took everything. But it often happened that in Australia someone from dark horses, taking advantage of the leaders' problems with entering a difficult tournament schedule (Thomas Johansson, for example), and a new favorite appeared in New York, who throughout the season went to his coveted trophy. And it was at the US Open that I achieved the best result. The most memorable are Svetlana Kuznetsova and Juan Martin Del Potro, Marin Cilic. Someone will remember other examples. The current rally is generally unique. In any case, it is difficult to remember at least one tournament in which there are so many favorites. And no one is obvious. In women, eight players claim to be the leader in the ranking at the end of the tournament. Men have three of them. And who claims to be the leader in this Helmet?
Having split the grid into quarters, it turns out that ideally (when the favorites win) the quarterfinals should consist of the matches of Ka.Plishkov - Kuznetsov, Svitolina - Kerber, Wozniaki - Muguruza, Konta - Halep - for women. As for men, initially Nadal - Dimitrov, Federer - Tim, Querry - A. Zverev, Tsonga - Chilich shine. Let's deal with the men first. With all the richness of choice, "there is no other alternative."
The match Nadal - Federer may take place already in the semifinals. And, as often happens, one of the still "underdogs" will fall into the final meeting. Rafa's quarter looks pretty mean in general. Monfils has never been a problem for Rafa, Goffin can become one, but not the fact that he is ready. Dimitrov is still a question. Berdych is no longer even a question. Whether it was Roger. Verdasco and Lopez are very close, Kyrios is a little further, but the threat is very significant. Del Potro and Tim, as well as "Dr. Ivo" Karlovich (if he goes) not earlier than the 4th round, but they are. And every Roger's match looks like a potential bashing.
In the lower network, everything is much simpler. The third quarter is occupied by the American Lomar Querry, Isner, Sokk. True, Sam has yet to prove who the doctor is to whom in the match with Gilles Simon. Therefore, the prospect of Alexander Zverev in the semifinals looks very clear. If inspiration does not descend on Ernest Gulbis. It happened at Wimbledon. And where Tsonga is peacefully dozing, the calm is even steeper. Luca Pui, David Ferrer can go somewhere, but Marin Cilic, having an excellent experience of playing here, should not let this route be too long. Can one of the Shapovalov-Medvedev pair shoot? In theory, yes. But it's too early for them. They have not yet grown out of the shooting gallery. So, in the end, there are not so many applicants. Although two dozen is no longer so bad after TOP-4. Or TOP-2.
But women have a completely different story. Now we will have to list at least 3 dozen players who can cross each other's path. And this is the most complete chaos after so many years of Serena Williams' rule. Serena left, there is no Azarenka, somewhere it is not known where (by the standards of form) Sharapova, Vinas Williams malfunctions, once in the clay, once in the sand of Muguruz ... List and enumerate. And this is probably very good. Intrigue, however! Karolina Plishkova has Mladenovic on the way (although she has already played very badly at several tournaments), Radwanska, Vandewey and Kontaveyt with Kuznetsova. A million options!
In Elina's quarter, starting from her first match against Sinyakova, everything is also confusing. Bouchard (in advance), Gavrilova, Keyes, Ostapenko, Pavlyuchenkova, Kerber (from old memory). Fire! I think very few people will bet Karo Wozniaki to reach the quarter-finals. Makarova, Suarez Navarro, Venus Williams (in the first place). And if "suddenly" happens, then there are Kvitova, Garcia and Muguruza. Although, Johanna Konta has not been different for a long time, but we will also write her as a candidate. In her quarter there is Sloane Stevens, who in recent tournaments looks better than in best years, Ana Konyukh (someday it will break through!). Let us write it down to Tsibulkov and Sevastova in our minds, because then the center pair of the first round is Sharapova - Khalep. A cool batch, however. Of course, predicting the winner by pointing your finger at the sky looks like the most likely option today. There is not a single killer argument in favor of this or that tennis player. But then there are so many chances that you just have time to follow! This means that all this will be very interesting.
We will be rooting for our own people - Svitolina, Tsurenko, Kozlova and Dolgopolov. Well, for everyone who will take part, including in the doubles tournament. It is gratifying that Ukrainian tennis has come to a prominent place in the media space today. And he became the object of attention of very sane commentators with excellent analytical skills. Thanks to our players for that. And good luck to all of them.
1997 - Arno di Pasquale. The most great success in the career of the Frenchman, a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics can be considered. In a duel for third place, Arno then beat Roger Federer himself. The highest rating - 39. One ATP title (on clay). The best result on the Helmets is the 4th circle of Roland Garros. At the US Open only twice reached the second round.
1998 - David Nalbandian. In the final of the US Open, the Argentinian defeated young Roger Federer. Then David's career was quite successful. The only Argentinian to reach the semi-finals in all 4 Helmets played in the Wimbledon final. In 2005 he was the winner of the Final Tournament. 11 career titles, 5 of them on hard (2 Masters).
1999 - Yarkko Niemenen. The best player in the history of Finnish tennis. The highest position in the rating - 13.2 ATP titles, both on hard. Also, Bright holds the record for the shortest match in the Open Era at the Masters, in 28 minutes the Finn beat Bernard Tomic (6-0, 6-1). The best result at the US Open is the quarterfinals.
2000 - Andy Roddick. Andy repeated his junior success at the US Open in an adult tournament 3 years later. Then, in 2003, the American became the first racket of the world, and until 2010 was continuously in the top 10. The US Open, unfortunately, remained the only American Helmet. Andy played three times in the Wimbledon final and three times lost to Roger Federer. 32 career titles, 21 of them on hard. At the 2012 US Open, Roddick retired by losing in the fourth round to JM Del Potro.
2001 - Gilles Müller. Müller has experienced ups and downs in his career. After injury in 2013, he dropped out of the tour for a long time. But upon his return, his game became more aggressive and spectacular. 2017 is the peak year in the career of the Luxembourgian - the first ATP title (at 33), then another, the most successful performance in Helmets (Wimbledon quarterfinals), career-high - 22. It seems that now Gilles Müller is experiencing his second youth and his main achievements are still ahead. At the US Open, the best result is the quarterfinals in 2008.
2002 - Richard Gasquet. At the age of 15 Gasquet became the youngest member of the Masters ever. He was predicted a stellar future - an excellent technique, one of the best one-handed backhand. One of the few who has victories over all BIG-4 representatives. But Richard is inferior to them in physical endurance, alsonegatively affected his career by a positive test for cocaine in 2009 and a series of injuries. Best result at the US Open - semi-finals in 2013.14 titles, 7 on hard. The highest position in the rating is 7.
2003 - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At 32, Jo-Wilfrid is full of strength and ambition. This year, the Frenchman has already issued 3 titles, including the first on clay. Tsonga won the other 14 titles on hard. The highest position in the rating - 5. At the US Open he reached the quarterfinals three times, and this is the most unsuccessful helmet for the Frenchman - in Australia he played in the final (2008), and twice reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.
2004 - Andy Murray. It is interesting that Murray's rival in the final was then ... Sergei Stakhovsky. The Scotsman began his career swiftly, having risen from 407 to 64 in 2005. Further achievements of the world's first rocket are well known - more than 600 victories, 3 Helmets, 45 ATP titles, Olympic gold, 1 win on Final tournament... The US Open was the first TBSH in which the Scotsman reached the final (2008). Murray celebrated a victory here in 2012, becoming the first Briton in the Open Era to win a Helmet.
2005 - Ryan Sweeting. A representative of the Bahamas with American citizenship created a sensation then - being unseeded, he beat the first racket of Donald Young in the final of the youthful US Open. Ryan created another sensation by winning his first and only ATP title in 2011 with a wild card - Sweeting beat in turn Bow, Querry, Gabashvili, Karlovich and in the finals of Kei Nishikori. The highest position in the rating is 61.In none of the TBSH did I go beyond the second circle.
2006 - Dushan Loyda. In his adult career, the Czech did not reach special heights. At the US Open he played only once in the first round, and this is his best result on the Helmets, in the rest of Loyda he never went beyond the second qualifying round. The highest position in the rating - 161. Not a single title in his career.
2007 - Ricardas Berankis. The Lithuanian, whose last name translates as "armless", only once reached the final at the ATP level, where he lost to Sam Querry, taking only 2 games per match. 4 titles in Challengers. Three times I reached the second circle on YUSOpen. The highest position in the rating is 50. Interesting fact - Berankis has only 2 victories in his career over TOP-10 players and both over Milos Raonic. 2008 - Grigor Dimitrov. Grigor was the first racket among juniors and the winner of two TBS (US Open and Wimbledon). At the beginning of his career, Dimitrov was compared to Federer for his style of play, and many experts believed that the Helmet was just a matter of time for him. But so far this has not happened. Highest rating - 8. At the US Open, twice reached 4 laps. 7 titles, 4 of them on hard. In general, a good career, but they continue to expect more from Grigor.2009 - Bernard Tomic. The Australian started off quite briskly - in 2011 he became the youngest Wimbledon quarter-finalist in history, but this remains his best result in the Helmets so far. Conflicting personality and lack of motivation are not conducive to tennis achievement. Tomic is a constant hero of scandals, the last case took place at Wimbledon, when the Australian declared that he was bored during the match. All 3 career titles on hard. Third circle - best achievement at the US Open. The highest position in the rating is 17.
2010 - Jack Sock. The 24-year-old American is making progress every year. 3 career ATP titles, 2 of them on hard this year. The fourth round is the best result at the US Open. The juice also plays well in pairs. Has the best indicator in the combined rating of doubles and singles (18 + 15).
2011 - Oliver Golding. 327 - the highest position in the rating of the Briton. He played mainly Futures. Not a single ATP title in my career. Helmets played only one match (Wimbledon 2012). In 2014, at the age of 21, Golding announced that he was taking a break from his tennis career, which continues to this day.
2012 - Philip Pelivo. In 2012, Pelivo reached the final of all 4 Junior Helmets and won 2 of them. Now the 23-year-old Canadian of Polish descent plays mainly Futures, only 2 won matches at the ATP level (one on Wolandri's rejection). Never played at the base of the Slam (twice qualified for USOPen).
2013 - Borna Coric. In 2014, Borna was the youngest player in the TOP-100. This year Bourna won the first ATP title. The Croat has 2 victories each over Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Highest career rating - 33. Best USOpen result - second round.
2014 - Omar Yasika. The 20-year-old Australian is ranked 252 in the ATP ranking. This year he won his first Challenger. I played on Helmets only at the base of the Astralian Open, where I reached the second round.
2015 - Taylor Fritz.Fritz continued the tradition of American victories at the junior US Open every 5 years (2000 - Roddick, 2005 - Sweeting, 2010 - Juice). The 19-year-old American has already played at the base of all TBSH and has a victory over the representative of the top 10 (Marin Cilic). Having started his adult career in 2015, Taylor immediately made himself known by winning 2 Challengers in a row and reaching the final in the third, and in 2016 he reached the first ATP final in Memphis in his career and reached 52 lines in the ranking. But in recent months, Taylor's results have not been very impressive, perhaps this is due to the fact that in March this year the American became a father.
2016 -Felix Auger Allassim . In 2015, at the age of 14, Felix became the first tennis player born in the 2000s to win an ATP Challenger Tour match and receive the first point in the ranking. This year, the 16-year-old Canadian won his first Challenger title and became the seventh tennis player in history to win a Challenger championship at age 16 or younger. Now Felix is \u200b\u200balmost 17 and occupies 231 positions in the ranking.
The United States Open Tennis Championships is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments currently held in the American city of New York on the courts of the local National Tennis Center.
The main draws of the competition are traditionally held in a two-week period at the turn of summer and autumn, revealing the winners in nine categories: five for adults and four for senior juniors.The tournament was first held under the name of the US National Men’s Singles Championship in August 1881 at Newport Casino, Newport, Rhode Island and only in men's singles. Only member clubs of the US National Lawn Tennis Association could participate in the tournament. The first singles winner was Richard Sears.
The total prize pool in 2017 is $ 50.4 million.
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