It's New York's time to shine for tennis fans around the world. The 144th edition of the final Grand Slam of the season began yesterday, and will conclude on Sunday, September 9th. $75 million in prize money is up for grabs.
In the women's draw, all eyes are on two-time champion Naomi Osaka. She has the power and shotmaking skills, but how is her mental game after her 2023 hiatus, when she had her first child with rapper Cordae? In the other three slams this season, she has exited in the first or second rounds. Osaka won her first round match over 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets (6-3, 6-2).
Sloane Stephens suffered another heartbreaker, losing in three sets to relatively unknown Clara Burel from France. Stephens won the first set 6-0, and was up 3-0 in the second, before losing her focus. Stephens won the Open in 2017.
Americans are sure to make a lot of noise for 3rd seeded Coco Gauff. She is the reigning champion, having won her first and only singles Slam championship here last year. Gauff, 20, appears to have matured into a player with a stronger mental approach to match her groundstrokes, though she is still plagued by an inconsistent forehand.
World number one Iga Swiatek consistently goes deep in the Open, and won here in 2022. Another win would cement her place in the pantheon of all-time Gotham greats. Number two Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open this year, then her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov, the Belarusian former pro ice hockey player, died of an apparent suicide in March. Sabalenka skipped Wimbledon this year.
After a long, long drought, American men's tennis has a few reasons to cheer. Rising star Taylor Fritz had a breakthrough win over friend Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon. The five-setter comeback is exactly the kind of career-altering performance that could see Fritz consistently among the top seeds. He is currently ranked 12th.
Tommy Paul, 27, won bronze in Paris with Fritz. Seeded 14th, he could make a deep run In New York. Paul faces Italian Lorenzo Sonego tonight.
Ben Shelton, 21, has the power and quickness around the court to match any of his opponents. Once he matures, he is likely to win a slew of tournaments. Shelton, seeded 13th, dispatched Dominic Thiem in straight sets yesterday. It was Thiem's last match as a professional.
Of course, the match fans are clamoring to see is a rematch of the legendary Novak Djokovic and Spanish powerhouse Carlos Alcaraz. Their previous two Slam finals matches were at Wimbledon, where Djokovic lost a stunner in 2023, then a listless straight set loss this year. But Djokovic is the reigning US Open champ, and of course he beat Alcaraz in an instant-classic Olympic championship. Djokovic took the court in the first round wearing his gold medal from Paris.
World number one Jannik Sinner won his first round matchup with American Mackenzie McDonald, but it took him four sets (he lost the first 2-6). He made quick work of McDonald after that, dropping only five games over the last three sets. Sinner faces another American, Alex Michelsen, on Thursday.
Going to the Open doesn't require a big ticket purchase. Early rounds during the day aren't as prohibitively expensive, but even to be on the grounds and watching on the big screen while noshing on local New York fare and enjoying a cold beer is worth the subway ride on the 7 train. Pro tip: take the 7 express from Grand Central, save 15-20 minutes versus the local.
