A U.S. Open to Remember

Like many previous U.S. Opens, 2019’s tournament pool was a mixture of old faces, young guns, and unknowns giving seasoned celebrity players a run for their money. Let’s start with the women. Serena Williams was a remarkable highlight of the whole tournament, as she played like the Serena Williams of 10 years ago. She blew past several opponents, most notably her 6-0, 6-1 game against Wang Qiang of China in the semifinals. However, 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu stole Williams’s thunder in the finals. She won her first-ever Grand Slam title and the first Grand Slam singles title for a Canadian. Keep in mind, Williams has won 23 of those.

One of the most exciting storylines of the tournament was Coco Gauff. The 15-year-old sparkled in the singles and doubles tournaments, and though she was beaten handily by the number one overall player Naomi Osaka in the third round, the two had an incredible moment after their match was over. Osaka embraced Gauff and had her stay on the court for an emotional postgame interview. In the doubles tournament, Gauff and her 17-year-old partner Katherine McNally upset the nine seed in the second round before losing another heart-wrencher in the third set.

The male bracket, per usual, featured the Big Three: Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal. However, only one was left standing by the semifinals. Both Djokovic and Federer fell victim to injuries in the fourth round and quarterfinals, respectively. Djokovic couldn’t even finish his game against Stan Wawrinka and forfeited in the third set while he was down 2-0. The crowd at Arthur Ashe stadium, which is always an interesting component of these matches, booed Djokovic off the court, sparking debate about whether Djokovic should've finished off the game. Federer was up 2-1 in his third-round match, but suffered from neck and upper back throughout the game and especially during the fourth set, ultimately falling victim to the biggest upset in the men’s tournament.

The men’s side culminated in an incredible match between Nadal and Danil Medvedev, two men vastly different in age, height, popularity, and charisma. Nadal, who has always been well-liked due to his charm and quirky habits, was the easy favorite to beat Medvedev. Medvedev sparked controversy in some of his early matches by yelling at the referees and giving the crowd the finger. During his third-round match, he even basked in the boos of the crowd, saying in his postgame interview that he was motivated by them. The match was a fantastic one. Nadal went up 2-0, but right when it seemed he was going to cruise to a victory, Medvedev came back with his 130 miles per hour-serve and long strides. He tied it at 2-2, but his comeback wasn’t enough to defeat the great Rafa, who held on in the fifth set. The game lasted five hours, and the many (over 20) rallies between the two men proved a testament to their insane athletic abilities.

Tennis is expanding, and the future of the sport is very bright. This tournament showed the heart, competitiveness, but most importantly, sportsmanship of every player, even Medvedev (he had a long talk with Nadal after their game). Tennis is a sport that pits two players against each other head-to-head and ends in a friendly hug or handshake. The maturity shown by many of the younger players in the tournament illustrates both the older players setting great examples and the youngsters learning. I know I’ll be tuning in a year from now to get a little Medvedev entertainment as well as see Gauff step into the spotlight again and the Big Three continue to dominate while fighting through injuries. As long as we, the fans, continue to support and love tennis, the U.S. Open will get better and better every year.