US OPEN 2020

starts in like an hour~

i can't handle shapovalov's shortsleeve windbreaker kit

murray back from 2 sets down to survive 1st rd v nishioka

Yeah lol unbelievable

“I’m tired,” Murray said during his on-court interview when the four hour, 39-minute match was over. “My toes are the worst.”

The win had Murray, a devotee of ice baths for recovery, desperate to find freezing water. There is an ice bath in the men’s locker room, but it is only supposed to be used in cases of emergency during this pandemic-era tournament, as officials try to limit how much time players spend together in indoor spaces.

“For me this is an emergency,” Murray said after his longest match since the 2019 Australian Open, who did ultimately get permission to soak. “My body hurts.”

nakashima is as poised as he is talented.. unfortunately for him, his high level is bringing out zverevs best as well, this match is v fun

Great replay! BERRETTINI!! (info - @Galloots ) #USOpen (🎥@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/4ZDBPnDddz

— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 3, 2020

tense/wild match tsitsy/coric

stefanos lost from up 2 sets to 1 & up a double break in the 4th

earlier fritz lost similarly serving to close it in 4, tuff losses

I'm ready to cash in my Stefanos fandom early, before it gets too painful following the guy. Every mp was an unforced error. I'd enjoy this event a lot more if the top seed was removed.

FAA looking v good but not getting my hopes up there either.

tsitsy got tight & couldnt fully get back hitting out and being aggressive, i actually give him a good amt of credit for getting the 5th to a tiebreak

This is probably the saddest and funniest at the same time thing that has ever happened in my career!

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) September 5, 2020

he notably tweeted that 5 mins after losing

I'd enjoy this event a lot more if the top seed was removed.

you got your wish

Lol

Eat grass Djoko.

However it comes, I'll take it. He did a Henman. Amazing.

On Henmans birthday.

wut

Lol

Oh my god, Djokovic got disqualified from the US Open.pic.twitter.com/yCo3Lqw0tg

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 6, 2020

Looking at the men’s draw minus Djokovic is sort of amazing — I can imagine about 4 or 5 of them winning.

I saw this will be the first major semifinal since 2004 without him, Fed or Nadal. Wow.

It's only taken a pandemic, an injury and a bizarre incident

the way Djoker kinda wilts as she really hams it up

F u Jokey Smurf!

what a goofball!

hams it up? she got hit square in the throat.

I think I could weather that. But then, I don't think I'd be seeing dollar signs fast so instantly as to fake trauma that quickly

-fast

Medvedev sure is sharp.

he demoralizes ppl

At the moment Novak exited, with two last-16 matches complete, I'd have said anyone, with Thompson and Tiafoe as long-shots, could have won the title. But it does seem like the pre-event second-faves have gone up a level. It would have been funny to entirely skip the '90s generation and have FAA win it. Didn't expect to him to get crushed like that.

So maybe it is as simple as the winner of the bottom-half semi takes the title. De Minaur looks great, but so did Felix...

Pironkova is playing glorious stuff; the qf vs Serena could be interesting. Sakkari almost clubbed her way through yesterday, but there'll be more variety in this.

jen brady is playing w a lot of confidence

3 years is a lifetime in womens tennis, & with kenin getting knocked out last night it can't happen but there was a slight chance there for a repeat of 2017, 4 US women in the semis, and all different women from 2017

osaka just played really well

She did! Rogers was good, too, but Osaka was focused. Made really precise shots.

this men's match may go all night

pcb is so solid

i don't have a rooting interest in this match, but i kind of think someone who has won 6 games in 4 straight sets should win something.

Three years ago PCB did for Shapo in three breakers. It's like what Novak does to Fed now, and Fed used to do to everyone else.

I didn't see any of this, naturally, it was 2-6am for me. Seems like, after a tight opening game, PCB basically tanked the 4th? Really started warming to Shapo too. Zverev also prevailed over Coric despite winning fewer games. Sascha only intermittently impressive. Hard to call the semi.

(OMG, the "fun" we would have had with "PCB" on the old, stupid tennis threads. He certainly soldered on in this match, such a great presence on the circuit, knows how to conduct himself, blah blah blah)

i only saw the first 3 sets, shapo's footwork and ad court wide serve were both a marvel to watch, but he still makes too many mistakes (less than he used to) to readily get thru someone like pcb

good quote here --“I didn't expect him to come to life like that, especially after the medical,” said Shapovalov. “I mean, he looked dead in the fourth. It's a little bit shocking.”

I agree PCB tanked the 4th. A risky move but obviously paid off, gave him time to recharge. He must have felt like he needed the breather.

Seems like, after a tight opening game, PCB basically tanked the 4th?

in the fifth, mcenroe praised PCB for how hard he'd been working the whole match -- shapovalov really had him on the move -- 'except for the last few games of the fourth set, maybe'

what a fucking grinding win by meds over rublev

The sheer depth of his groundstrokes, struck from so far back. He was struggling a bit physically at the end though.

vika 1 & 0 over mertens o_O

She looks good, that's going to be a tough match for Serena.

I've never been fully on Team Thiem; maybe he reminds me too much of another Austrian slugger, Thomas Muster. But he's at such a sublime hit-through-anything level atm, it's a marvel. Medvedev may drive him to distraction though. I know the days of Super Saturday are over, so I'm guessing this would be Friday night-session? (PCB-Sascha first up around 9pm-UK, perhaps). Maybe I can manage that. I won't be able to stay up for either of the women's semis tonight, though.

I guess one reason to back Dom T is he could *maybe* threaten Djokovic in the rankings; he lost to Fabbiano in round 1 last year, so it's all gain so far. No one can lose anything for the rest of 2020, as they've extended the life of all post-Mar 2019 points (great for Fed, who was never going to be able to defend IW F, Miami W, Halle W, Wimb F, etc), but you can gain if you improve on a corresponding 2019 performance. Thiem could get within 1700 of #1 if wins this, and there's still opportunities to gain in Rome and Paris (Roland Garros and Bercy). He doesn't *need* to defend his Vienna title, and he won't get the chance to defend Beijing. They'll just roll over to 2021. I assume the ATP Finals points will still drop in early Nov, though.

Annoyingly, PCB and Raonic failing to finish what they started vs Novak in "Cincinnati" SF+F meant he pulled further clear as #1. But one can hope.

H2H:

Thiem 2-1 Medvedev
Zverev 1-0 PCB
Thiem 7-2 Zverev
Thiem 7-0 PCB
Zverev 5-1 Medvedev
Medvedev 2-1 PCB

osaka/brady was incred hi quality, both played great

Oof, watching Serena collapse has not been pleasant.

wildly impressive by azerenka tho, serenas level hasnt dipped that much really

yeah azerenka has this gear she gets into where she just dominates. ferocious. she can get rattled, but she's playing really well.

thiem getting that break at 4-5 3rd set was insanely impressive

thiem could win this match in straight sets and lose the final cuz he still feels the effects of this imo

thiem won so many of the long rallies just a wild match

great pair of finals! I would be very pleased with Dominic and Naomi winning it all tomorrow, but wouldn’t be mad if it was Vika or Sascha either.

Somehow Zverev makes the final despite being abject for a good two hours across the QF and SF. 136mph second-serve aces are fun and everything, but I still can't figure him out, or quite how he's gone all the way here. Thiem should really thump him, but if the serve is firing, who knows? Rather wish it had been Shapo from the top half.

(I watched from 3-6 2-6 5-2 in the first semi, and went to bed at 6-2 0-2 in the second; I seem to have an uncanny ability to wake up in the middle of the night at the crucial moment of NYC night matches - I've caught the last few points of Fed-Millman, Fed-Dimitrov in recent years on my score app; woke at 3:50am to see Thiem was 5-1 up in the 3rd set t/b. I gotta hope for straight sets tomorrow night.)

Yeah I won't be mad about any of them winning, but definitely rooting for Osaka and Thiem.

Watching the men's semis was kind of refreshing, a glimpse of a post-Reign of the Titans future.

2-2 after vika raced with the 1st set. The final is on

h8 to be a total basic and a fairweather fan or w/e but naomi osaka not making horrendous noises when she hits the ball is really making me want her to turn this around and win

Osaka breaks!

"naomi osaka not making horrendous noises"

So boring lol

That complaint is so old, stop

This is practically Sharapova! Maybe you need the perspective of an occasional fan ;)

Osaka looks strong. How did the first set finish 6-1?

Set point Osaka

She played out of her skin in a 10 min game to break Vika again

Just looks by far the better player since I started watching

Blistering shit

And breaks in the final set.

Weird set of errors from Osaka

Lol, deuce

4-1, in complete control

She wants this double break

Doesn't get it, Vika played some good serves to keep Osaka at bay, but will she get a chance?

Vika making a couple of great shots here, deuce

Break back!!

And breaks once more. Vika just running out of puff. So to serve for the title

Bad bad return fromVika, 2CPs

1 CP

What a finish, Osaka!!

one of the better final-point rallies

Well done by Osaka. The 1st set was so uncharacteristic of her, she doesn’t usually show nerves like that. But made the bounce back that much more impressive.

lmao at her answer to the first question

What this final needed was a tentative start from Thiem and we have that. Early break

yeah dream start for sascha

Another break. Sascha has played well but Thiem isn't landing enough first serves

6-2

Z is too much rn. His serving is so good that the games are short and Thiem needs to play out of his skin, here he is facing another bp

This is bullshit

Another bp

Break

Finally getting into Z's game

Couple of DFs but Zverev gets through anyway.

Double break lol

zverev is playing so loose and thiem is really pressing

Thiem breaks for the first time. He has one more break but maybe a positive for the rest of the final

Had to produce the goods to see Thiem off. But he is playing well and moving so..

Couple of embarrassing shots from Thiem but he played a beauty to get a bp

Excellent serving to get him out of trouble

Lol he cannot fucking smash

Fucking hell

Break back point, 2nd serve, just fucks it

Sascha trying to play through it. DF then big FH

Breaks back, who knows what's coming next

Thiem breaks to win the third set!

Good to finally see a fucking match

Awesome from Thie at the end of a god rally

Sascha did so well to save that bp

And to hold and resist; Thiem had been the better player but we are on serve

thiem not moving up his positioning when he had break pt chances on zverevs sloow 2nd serves seemed crazy

Thiem breaks, will serve for the set

If this goes five I can't see Zverev having a chance

Well he has been broken and broken back!

And now he holds! Screaming all the way.

On serve!

yikes

5-5

Back on serve after some shot making from Thiem

This has been a hell of a battle. Physio now massaging Thiem’s thigh. Serving for the title.

want to see a tiebreak

And you will!

Wtf at the dfs

this is so nervy on both sides rn

Fuck!

What is going on

that was about as evenly matched as it gets

That was exhausting to watch. Fully invested in a Thiem win tonight. That deserved a packed Ashe going mental.

crazy to say it abt someone who just lost a grand slam final from two sets up, but i'm impressed how zverev played

Well done Thiem.

amazing that thiem was able to dial up some shots like that, he just dug so deep