Classics of Andreescu, Nadal
Teenager Angelika Kurera is making great strides in the ITF circuit
Tennis can be made to look good, only by Tennis players. To surpass the carnival atmosphere of the US-Open and make Tennis stand out and shine, players have to be accomplished exponents. Canadian Bianca Andreescu vs Serena Williams in the Women’s final and Russian Daniil Medvedev vs Rafael Nadal in the Men’s final, did make Tennis look good in New York. The Tennis they produced, after 8-long months on the gruelling professional circuit, is worthy of praise. The 139th US-Open will never be forgotten because of these four.
Andreescu – 1st Canadian
Grand Slam Winner
WTA Tennis, last year, saw the emergence of a few teenage players, with Naomi Osaka winning the 2018 US-Open. Since then, many teenage girls have been dominating WTA Tennis. The latest is Canadian Bianca Andreescu. She stirred a nation, which, up to now, was without a Grand Slam title. She won the 2019 US-Open. What more, she, like last year’s winner Osaka, is a teenager. Serena Willams did not hesitate to comment on the 19-year-old Andreescu’s maturity.
A few years back, Eugenie Buchard of Canada, knocked on the door, trying to win the Majors. By any standard, Eugenie was a versatile player with an effective self-made stroke-making style. Injury and focus issues surfaced. She did not handle them too well. Andreescu surfaced this year and she has been holding Fort. She won the Roger’s Cup, the Canadian title few weeks ago, and made her presence felt at Indian Wells. Bianca is a Romanian Canadian.
USA’s talent stream
To claim that USA’s talent stream still exists, a ‘wunderkind’ surfaced in Florida resident Coco Gauff. Weaponry wise, Coco has every department Tennis needs. Additionally, Coco has very quick sighting eyes and mobility to take the ball from the opponent, well before it reaches the baseline, if needed. This cuts time available to opponents drastically.
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic had her chances to reach the finals, her nerves got the better of her, after a substantial lead in the 2nd Set against Andreescu. In Women’s Tennis Rankings, change of guard is well under way for the top 5 slots. Bianca Andreescu made into the Top 10. With Naomi Osaka and Australian Ashleigh Barty, they are their on the way to replace the senior lot.
Nadal’s Men’s title
Good sportsmanship prevailed during and after the 139th Men’s US-Open final. Fair and square, Nadal earned the title, millions of dollars and his 19th Grand Slam title, overcoming the relentless attack of Daniil Medvedev. One could say this was Nadal’s most difficult Grand Slam title final win. Of the two, Medvedev had spent more time on court getting to the finals, playing big names. In the 5th Set it mattered and the strain restricted Medevedev’s efforts. He was repeatedly attended on by the tournament physio. The loud and partisan New York spectators did little to hide that they were behind their hero, Rafael Nadal. It must have been nerve wrecking for Medvedev, to perform, where a packed Grandstand was 90% for Nadal.
Every big name in the game says Medvedev is difficult to play. He has none of the muscular build of Nadal. His stroke-making has evolved from his tactics and not vice versa. His efforts at Net looked strained, showing it is not his preferred place. Quick eyed to read opponents shots and court coverage speed saw him through most difficult situations. It was not easy to outpace him with winners.
Daniil Medvedev
Most tactical aspect of Medvedev’s game is to restrict opponents shot selection. This simplicity of tactics comes from his maturity. In Nadal’s case, Medvedev kept the ball very low, whereby Nadal could not get a full upward follow through for his top spin ball control. Apart from giving punishing long rallies to Nadal, Medvedev also took an immense amount of punishment himself. He did not leave New York poor, as the Runner-up of the US-Open he gets US$ 1.9 million. US-Open total prize money was US$ 57 million.
Grigor Dimitrov appeared again noticeably in a later round. At one time, a few years back, he was considered the Prince in waiting, surprisingly, he could be that even now. Djokovic had to retire against Swiss big name Stanislas Wawrinka, Roger Federer’s ailing back could not handle the match well. For the first time in his career, he lost to Dimitrov. From the quarterfinals onwards, the quality of Hard court Tennis was a treat to watch.
Anjelika Kurera wins
1st ITF title
In Colombo, last week Sri Lanka teenager Anjelika Kurera won her first ITF Under 18 event, outclassing an international field. She has an overall career aggregate of 20 wins and 10 losses. This year, to date, she has bettered it with 17 wins and 5 losses.
True, American player Coco Gauff is also 15 and was in the 3rd Round of the US-Open. It happened because Coco lives and trains in a country which has good tournament-base-standard. For a Sri Lankan, at 15, it is still a work-in-progress, due to our activity-base-local-standard. An issue that will keep staring at us for decades to come.
Given, that a player who is physically well built and has moderate stroke-making, matures to be an international level competitor, not because of lengthy training, but by playing up to 30 to 40 international standard competition base matches a year. Anjelica and others here have a task ahead.
- George Paldano, Int. player; Accredited Coach of German Federation; National coach Davis-Cup, Federation Cup captain/coach– geodano2015@gmail.com -