The US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, is highly anticipated with all the stars present.
A few weeks after Novak Djokovic's Olympic victory, the US Open tournament began on Monday, August 19 with the qualifiers, before the main draw opens on Monday, August 26. The infernal pace of the tennis circuit therefore continues in 2024 with the succession of Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, the Games and therefore the US Open in barely more than three months.
The draw for the men's and women's draws took place on Thursday evening in New York, and already has a few surprises in store. Amid controversy following the announcement of a double positive test for clostebol last March, before being finally cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, Jannik Sinner has inherited the most difficult part of the draw. He could indeed find Tommy Paul or Arthur Fils in the eighth, Medvedev or Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals and Alcaraz in the semi-finals. His Spanish competitor would face Hurkacz or De Minaur in the quarter-finals. Olympic champion less than a month ago, Novak Djokovic benefits from a less tough part of the draw, with Rublev or Dimitrov in the quarter-finals and Zverev or Rune in the semi-finals.
On the French side, three of them have come out of qualifying this Friday in New York, with the victories of Kyrian Jacquet, Hugo Grenier and Quentin Halys. They will face Dimitrov, Krueger and Virtanen respectively in the first round. No last US Open on the other hand for Richard Gasquet, who was eliminated in the second round of qualifying and received a tribute on the court from the organization. Gaël Monfils could face Casper Ruud in the second round, in decline since Roland-Garros. In the rest of the French, Arthur Cazaux faces Carreno-Busta, Rinderknech is opposed to Christopher Eubanks and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard finds the Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
In the women's competition, only one Frenchwoman made it through the qualifications. It was Jessica Ponchet, who did not lose a set in the three matches played. After an easy first round, she could come up against Elena Rybakina in the second round. Varvara Gracheva, for her part, will face defending champion Coco Gauff in her first round. Caro Garcia, for her part, could come up against Wozniacki in the second round, while Chloé Paquet will face British player Harriet Dart.
In the rest of the women's draw, Jasmine Paolini will have to be wary of her tricky first round against Canadian Bianca Andreescu. While the Italian beat her at Roland Garros this year, she was walking on water at the time and Andreescu is much more dangerous on a fast surface and won in New York three years ago. There is also a duel of hitters between Naomi Osaka and Jelena Ostapenko. Iga Swiatek has on her side a difficult path with Mirra Andreeva as a potential opponent in the round of 16, before Jessica Pegula, who seems to be returning to her best level after her victory in Toronto and her final in Cincinnati. Swiatek could meet Rybakina in the semi-finals. On the other side, Sabalenka has a more open part of the draw with Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals and potentially Coco Gauff in the semi-finals.
The overloaded schedule does not change the dates of the US Open, which will take place from August 26, the day the first round begins, to September 8, 2024, the day of the men's final.
Here is the US Open record for the last fifteen years among the men:
Arthur Ashe Court was once again the scene of history this weekend. Perhaps the completion of a legend on Sunday, with Novak Djokovic's 24th Grand Slam title, a new absolute record for men. Even if the Serb seems to still have the resources to win other major victories beyond his 36 years, this coronation The US Open will perhaps remain as the one that places him alone in the world, in front of a Rafael Nadal who will return in 2024 with the ambition of competing with him again. By dominating Daniil Medvedev in the final (6-3, 7-6, 6-3), “Nole” concluded a brilliant and almost trouble-free fortnight for him, if we except his little scare in five sets against his compatriot Laslo Djere in the third round.
The day before, it was the first page of a legend that we hope will last as long as Flushing Meadows did, with the first Grand Slam title for the prodigy Coco Gauff. The 19-year-old American will have a hard time stopping the comparisons with Serena Williams, winning like her elder her first Grand Slam at home before her 20th birthday. To achieve this, she had to overthrow the new world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final (2-6, 6-3, 6-2). Helped by a supportive public, she won the biggest tournament of her young career and will have to continue to deal with the pressure of her status: that of a player so talented that many more Grand Slam successes are expected of her.
As in all the Grand Slam tournaments this season, with the exception of Caroline Garcia at Wimbledon, no French woman or man reached the last 16 of the US Open. In the women's event, the failure was stinging since only Clara Burel went as far as the third round, where she was logically swept aside by Aryna Sabalenka. Caroline Garcia, the only hope of a long run in the American tournament, was beaten in the first round by the Chinese Yafan Wang, and confirms that she is no longer part of the elite of women's tennis, while waiting, hopefully, for a rebound in 2024.
In the men's competition, however, the absence of a representative in the second week hides a rather encouraging record, with three French players in the third round. Adrian Mannarino, Arthur Rinderknech and Benjamin Bonzi, all authors of their best Major run this season, lost respectively to Frances Tiafoe, Andrey Rublev and Dominic Stricker. These defeats were logical but encouraging, such as that of Arthur Fils against the excellent Matteo Arnaldi, after having eliminated the world number 24 Tallon Griekspoor in the first round. The Frenchman, the youngest player in the men's top 50, continues to gain experience and improve his game, before perhaps moving up a gear next year. Finally, we will remember the beautiful and promising story of Titouan Droguet, aged 22 and winner in the first round of Lorenzo Musetti, 18th in the world, after qualifying for a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
Carlos Alcaraz, eliminated in the semi-finals by Daniil Medvedev, had a very good tournament and continues to gain experience. But now, only one tournament won is a successful tournament for the Spaniard, who gives back his throne as world number one to Novak Djokovic. Less positive to draw for Iga Swiatek, eliminated in the round of 16 by Jelena Ostapenko and who loses her place as leader of the WTA rankings to the benefit of the finalist Aryna Sabalenka.
On the good news side, the Italian Matteo Arnaldi and the Australian Rinky Hijikata, both 22 years old, were the surprise invitees to the round of 16. They reached this stage for the first time in their Grand Slam careers, and have had two very promising runs for the 2024 season. Young Ben Shelton, 20, reached the first Major semi-final of his career on home soil, but was stopped there by the eventual Serbian winner. In the men's doubles, the Ram-Salisbury pair won the title for the third year in a row, while Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe won their first Grand Slam trophy together, in the women's doubles.
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