There’s just one week of action left at the final Grand Slam of the tennis season.
New York City has been buzzing with the 2023 U.S. Open living up to the hype with epic night matches, explosive rallies, celebrity sightings and surprise upsets.
Novak Djokovic is still on course to reach another major men's final, women’s world No. 1 Iga Swiatek faltered in the round of 16, Coco Gauff continues to surge, while a few American men look poised to snap a 20-year drought.
Here are five things we learned through Week 1.
Djokovic shows mettle, into quarters
He’s simply a mental giant.
Late Friday night on Arthur Ashe stadium, little was working for 23-time Slam winner Novak Djokovic.
His groundstrokes were not penetrating the court, he was unable to generate free points on his serve, and he was being supremely outclassed by his compatriot Laslo Djere, who had stunningly raced out to a 6-4, 6-4 lead.
Djokovic stepped off the court for a short bathroom break, gave himself a pep talk, and returned to court in lockdown mode.
His defensive skills reached new heights as he started to overwhelm an erratic Djere; Djokovic broke in the first game of the third and fourth sets, gaining the upper hand and applying key scoreboard pressure before eventually completing a 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 comeback victory.
Djokovic’s resilience in the best-of-five format continues to separate him from the field.
He’s now had comebacks from down two sets eight times in his career, and four times over the last three seasons.
His next match would prove to be much more straightforward as he defeated Croatian Borna Gojo 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.
Djokovic is into a 57th career major quarterfinal.
Much like Carlos Alcaraz produced at Wimbledon earlier this summer, it will take a truly monumental effort to defeat him in New York.
Speaking of Carlitos…
The defending champion has been firmly in control and dictating play through his first week of play.
Alcaraz has been the hottest ticket in tennis for some time now with his magnetic charisma, electrifying speed, and brilliant all-court game.
The Spaniard is 15-1 at the Slams this season, leads the tour with 56 wins and six titles and is seeking to become the first male player to repeat as U.S. Open champion since Roger Federer in 2008.
The Swiss legend remarkably won five consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows from 2004-2008, before losing the 2009 final to Juan Martin del Potro.
Alcaraz appears to be on an unstoppable trajectory towards greatness and has already mesmerized fans through three matches with some of the best shot-making of the tournament.
The world men's No. 1 is in the more difficult half of the draw with the potential to face Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, and 2021 U.S. Open winner Daniil Medvedev in the semis.
Sinner has become the Spaniard’s most compelling young rival, as the two players have split their six matches 3-3, and played over five sets in New York last season.
Gauff rides New York wave, Swiatek out and Sabalenka stays on course
She’s still only 19 years old and producing electric performances on some of the biggest stages in tennis.
Coco Gauff is the star of the show at Flushing Meadows, and fans have filled Arthur Ashe Stadium, enamoured by her competitive spirit, crisp ball-striking, dynamic movement, and resiliency under pressure.
Twice in the first week, she lost the opening set of her match.
Against veteran Laura Siegemund, Gauff not only grew frustrated and weary of the German’s skill set but also the slow pace of play.
After dropping the first set 6-3, the American managed to regroup, eventually fighting through a two hour, 51 minute encounter to dispatch the 35-year-old.
In the third round, Gauff recovered from a slow start against No. 32 seeded Elise Mertens, before winning 12 of the final 13 games to advance 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.
Even pop star Justin Bieber took in Gauff’s round of 16 match, leaving the 19-year-old starstruck.
A fascinating quarterfinal now awaits with 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
The Latvian stunned defending champion Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, playing near flawless tennis in the final set.
Ostapenko is one of the most unpredictable players on the tour.
She can obliterate the ball from the back of the court and has the ability to overwhelm any opponent if she has her A game that day.
Due to the fourth-round loss, Swiatek will lose hold of her No. 1 ranking at the end of the tournament after a run of 75 weeks.
Gauff and Ostapenko will meet Tuesday evening for a spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has been the most dominant player in the bottom half of the draw, with three easy match wins in her first week in New York.
The 25-year-old, who won her first major title at the beginning of the year in Australia, has reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open the last two seasons.
If she can get past Daria Kasatkina, she could be on a collision course with American Jessica Pegula for a spot in the final.
American men look to snap drought
It’s the best chance the American men have had to win the home Slam in 20 years.
Andy Roddick is the last American-born man to have won the Open, doing so in 2003.
Now, three Americans make up the final eight of this year’s edition of the U.S. Open, with Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton all progressing deep in the event.
Fritz is the highest ranked of the group and has comfortably won his first four matches in New York, without dropping a set.
The toughest possible assignment awaits as he’ll clash with Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
Fritz will have to change plenty tactically and raise his level as high as possible – Djokovic defeated him at the Western & Southern Open 6-0, 6-4 just two weeks ago in Cincinnati.
Tiafoe is the showman of the tournament – dressed in a bright Nike sleeveless shirt, ripping ferocious forehands, and bombing precision serves, he’s already a beloved player for the New York crowd.
His best and most memorable Slam run came at this event last year when he stunned Rafael Nadal in four sets en route to a semifinals appearance before exiting to eventual champ Alcaraz.
His opposition in this year’s quarterfinals could be the face of American tennis for the foreseeable future.
Ben Shelton, 20, has made his second run to the final eight of a Slam in 2023, and his electric and powerful brand of tennis is turning heads at Flushing Meadows.
Shelton has unleashed the most powerful serves of the tournament, hitting an obscene 149 m.p.h. on the gun.
A former collegiate star and ITA National Player of the Year with the Florida Gators, Shelton’s rise since turning pro last summer has been meteoric.
The left-hander debuted at the Atlanta Open as wild card last summer and scored an impressive win over Casper Ruud, then later that fall burst inside the top 100 at the by winning three consecutive ATP Challenger titles.
Shelton plays a relentlessly aggressive style, crushing huge serves, using his heavy left-handed forehand to open the court, and coming forward quickly to the net.
One of Shelton or Tiafoe will advance to the semifinals – a decisive win for American tennis.
Canadians fall flat with early exits
It’s been a trying season for Canadian tennis, with the country's star players failing to produce consistent results at the bulk of events on the calendar.
The U.S. Open was no exception.
Felix Auger-Aliassime entered as the highest-ranked Canuck, though he has been out of form for much of 2023 with only one singles win over the last three months of action.
The Montreal native drew a tough opening round assignment against world No. 39 Mackenzie McDonald, and his lack of confidence proved fatal in key moments.
Auger-Aliassime converted just one of 13 break points and had 11 double faults in a frustrating 7-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 loss.
He will have to rebuild his game through the fall season as he has seen his ranking slip back to 15th.
It was noteworthy and meaningful to see Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont. back at Flushing Meadows competing for the first time since 2020 after spending a full two years on the sidelines, and even contemplating retirement.
The former Wimbledon finalist fell in a tough opening-round clash to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Canadian women also fell short of expectations.
Leylah Fernandez, a U.S. Open finalist two seasons ago, fought admirably in a 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 loss to 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Fernandez has taken a step back results wise, going 24-20 this year, with just one quarterfinals appearance at a WTA event.
The 20-year-old was candid on social media after her loss.
While Fernandez hasn’t seen big performances in singles, her partnership in doubles with American Taylor Townsend continues to pay dividends.
The pair reached the finals of Roland Garros and are into the final eight at the U.S. Open.
Rebecca Marino also suffered a first-round defeat in singles, losing to Romania’s Patricia Maria Tig 7-6, 7-6.
She will be an important piece of Canada’s team at Billie Jean King Cup later in the fall.
Meanwhile, Ottawa’s Gaby Dabrowski is clicking with new doubles partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand (who previously represented Canada).
The pair will face the Czech team of Barbora Strycova and Marketa Vondrousova in the round of 16.
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