The US Open 2021 is over, but it will be talked about for a long time to come, too much has happened. Six insights on failure, departure – and hope for a slice of normality.
No coronation in Queens
New York showed that Novak Djokovic is only human. Just how much pressure the Serb had been under was shown in the final when he burst into tears sitting on his bench before the last change of ends. A little later the match was over, in three sets the “Joker” lost to Daniil Medvedev and thus missed the Grand Slam of winning all four major tournaments in one year. In addition, Djokovic, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, remains at 20 Grand Slam titles. Until the Olympics, the 34-year-old was more machine than man this year, but towards the end he ran out of steam. In Tokyo he was knocked out in the semi-finals, in Queens he missed the crowning glory.
Tennis with spectators – wow!
New York showed that tennis with thousands of spectators is also much more awesome. The sound from the stands after breathtaking rallies, the cheers before the serves and last but not least the song “Sweet Caroline” for the British sensational winner Emma Raducanu from tens of throats. How sad was the ghostly scene at Dominic Thiem’s 2020 coup against Alexander Zverev in front of the spectator stands suspended by huge tarpaulins. At this year’s men’s final, over 25,000 vaccinated tennis fans sat in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Zverev’s horror at highlight matches
New York has shown that Alexander Zverev is still no match for the greats in tennis. At least on paper. His terrible record against top ten players at the Grand Slams: 0:11 (!). The 24-year-old showed great tennis over five sets, especially in the semi-final against Djokovic, but just like in the final last year, a few points were missing in the end.
Number 150 against 73 – who can foresee such a thing?
New York showed that predictions in women’s tennis are like looking into a crystal ball at the moment. Two teenagers were in the final, in which Britain’s Emma Raducanu prevailed over Leylah Fernandez (No. 73) – as a qualifier, listed at world No. 150 – and without having dropped a single set in the ten matches. Mischa Zverev told a curious side note on “Eurosport”: In the second round of qualifying, Raducanu was trailing 3:5 against Mariam Bolkvadze (Georgia) in the second set and signalled to her box that she would probably have no chance. But she pulled through, still won 7:5 – the rest is history, history.
Kerber polishes her annual record
New York showed that Angelique Kerber is still a force to be reckoned with. Not only in Flushing Meadows, but also in Cincinnati and Wimbledon, where she lost in the semi-finals to the world number one Ashleigh Barty, the player from Kiel was once again convincing with her tennis, and Boris Becker also attested to her enjoyment of the game. Although Kerber was knocked out of the US Open in the last 16 against the eventual finalist Leylah Fernandez (Canada), her form curve is clearly pointing upwards again after a weak first nine months and a first-round exit in Paris 2020 and 2021 as well as at the Australian Open 2021.
Big Three, tennis granny and her obsessions with the 21 and 24
New York showed that the time of the “Big Three” around Federer, Nadal and Djokovic is running out. Daniil Medvedev’s demonstration of power in the final, Zverev’s Olympic victory, the constant and sometimes long-lasting injuries of the ageing tennis elite: many young players are currently stirring up the tennis circus, even the professionals around Stefanos Tsitsipas (out against 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz Garcia), who are actually already established among the world’s top players, first have to assert themselves again – is there any room at all for the stars, each of whom has collected 20 Major titles? The same question could be asked in the women’s singles. Serena Williams – who also missed the US Open due to injury – has been waiting for another Grand Slam victory, her 24th, for more than four years. Will the 39-year-old still manage it? The young generation showed in New York that they certainly don’t want to give the tennis granny from L.A. this triumph.
