Singles – Quarterfinal: (1) Serena Williams def. (11) Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-2
This was one of those matches where it took Serena Williams a while to get warmed up for the contest. But she’s Serena, so get warmed up she did — after all, she is the only player left in the draw to have won a singles Slam. She slightly widens her lead over #2 Simona Halep, and drops Flavia Pennetta — a semifinalist last year — to #16. At least Pennetta still has doubles.
Singles – Quarterfinal: (17) Ekaterina Makarova def. (16) Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-2
Victoria Azarenka had been doing a good job of surviving difficult matches at this U. S. Open, but she han’t yet faced a really tough player, let along a high-tier upset artest. The highest-ranked player Azarenka had faced was #44 Christina McHale. This time, she faced a Top Twenty opponent who has been good at posting upsets. And she was suffering the after-effects of mild food poisoning. The result really isn’t much of a surprise.
But it is, of course, a terrible blow for last year’s finalist Azarenka. Having been on a downward skid all year, she came here ranked #17 but with more than half her remaining points on the line. And she defended less than a third of them. She will fall from #17 to, it appears, #24. But Ekaterina Makarova should easily hit a career high — she will probably be #15. And she’s in her first Slam semifinal — and she’s still alive in the doubles! (It’s interesting to note that three of our sour semifinalists — Serena, Makarova, and Peng — have all won doubles Slams in the past.)
Doubles – Quarterfinal: Date-Krumm/Zahlavova Strycova def. (8) Hlavackova/Zheng 6-3 4-6 6-3
Kimiko Date-Krumm has had some fairly noteworthy moments in her comeback, including titles at Seoul 2009 and a bunch of Challengers, plus a doubles titles at Osaka 2011, Copenhagen 2012, Pattaya City 2013, Monterrey 2013, and Strasbourg 2013, but her Slam results have mostly not been noteworthy. But, here, she not only makes the semifinal, she also knocks out one of last year’s champions. Andrea Hlavackova, #10 coming in, is on her way out of the Top Twenty. We currently show the Top Twelve as follows:
1 (1) ERRANI 10050
1 (1) VINCI 10050
3 (3) PENG 7785
4 (4) HSIEH 7745
5 (5) MIRZA 5965*
5 (6) BLACK 5965*
7 (8) VESNINA 4970*
8 (9) MAKAROVA 4950*
9 (7) SREBOTNIK 4785
10 (11) PESCHKE 4535
11 (14) KOPS-JONES 4150
11 (14) SPEARS 4150
Mixed Doubles – Semifinal: (1) Mirza/Soares def. Y Chan/Hutchins 7-5 4-6 10-7
Mixed rankings would have demoted Mirza/Soares, so the closeness of this is perhaps not a big surprise. Bruno Soares had suffered a very disappointing doubles loss earlier, losing his chance to return to the men’s doubles final. Maybe this will make up for some of it. Interesting to note that Sania Mirza is still alive in women’s doubles also; she has a shot at two finals here.
Mixed Doubles – Semifinal: Spears/S Gonzalez def. Townsend/Young 6-3 6-4
Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez don’t really have much of a mixed doubles track record — with one exception. They made the final here last year. Somehow, this place seems to bring out the best in them. Can it bring out enough to finally let them actually win a Slam?
Estimated WTA Rankings As of September 3, 2014
Rank &
Prior
Rank Name Points
1 (1) SWILLIAMS 8210*
2 (2) HALEP 6160
3 (4) KVITOVA 5926
4 (6) SHARAPOVA 5575
5 (5) ARADWANSKA 5380
6 (3) Li 5270
7 (8) BOUCHARD 4545
8 (7) KERBER 4400
9 (9) IVANOVIC 3855
10 (11) WOZNIACKI 3785*
11 (10) JANKOVIC 3655
12 (14) ERRANI 3215
13 (13) CIBULKOVA 3007
14 (15) SAFAROVA 2965
15 (18) MAKAROVA 2845*
16 (12) PENNETTA 2651
17 (19) PETKOVIC 2525
18 (16) SUAREZ NAVARRO 2420
19 (20) VWILLIAMS 2370
20 (21) STOSUR 2110
21 (39) PENG 1905*
22 (23) CORNET 1900
23 (22) KUZNETSOVA 1860
24 (17) AZARENKA 1813
25 (25) PAVLYUCHENKOVA 1775
26 (26) MUGURUZA 1743
27 (24) STEPHENS 1690
28 (27) KEYS 1670
29 (32) DELLACQUA 1621
30 (29) ZAHLAVOVA STRYCOVA 1601
Singles – Quarterfinal: (10) K Nishikori def. (3) S Wawrinka 3-6 7-5 7-6(9-7) 6-7(5-7) 6-4
This took more than four hours (an outcome which didn’t help the schedule much), and frankly we never knew till the very end who was going to win. Neither player ever seemed to really have his grip on the match. Finally Kei Nishikori broke in the very last game, and that was (at last) that. The win puts Nishikori into the Top Ten in safe points, unless Marin Cilic or Gael Monfils wins the U. S. Open, and leaves Stan Wawrinka still in slight danger of losing his #4 ranking (see the Feature).
As a side effect, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be losing his Top Ten spot.
Doubles – Quarterfinal: (11) Granollers/Lopez def. (2) Peya/Soares 7-6(7-3) 6-4
The big revival that began for Granollers/Lopez at Roland Garros continues. Here, they knock out last year’s finalists. That will drop Peya/Soares from co-#3 to no better than co-#6, with Daniel Nestor currently in the lead to be our new #3 and Nenad Zimonjic our #4.
Doubles – Quarterfinal: (4) Dodig/Melo def. Berlocq/L Mayer 3-6 6-4 6-2
This lets Dodig/Melo defend their result from last year, which means they don’t have to worry about falling in the rankings after all. Marcelo Melo, in fact, looks set to rise from #6 to #5. And, other than the Bryans, they’re the only one of the top ten seeded pairs left, and they aren’t in the same half as the Bryans, so they have a good shot at the final. Make that and Melo is #3, although Ivan Dodig needs a title to rise above his current #8. We currently show the Top Twelve as follows:
1..(1) Bryan………….10530
1..(1) Bryan………….10530
3..(5) Nestor………….6070
4..(7) Zimonjic………..5910
5..(6) Melo……………5870
6..(3) Peya……………5690
6..(3) Soares………….5690
8..(8) Dodig…………..4960
9..(9) Roger-Vasselin…..4740
10.(13) Marrero…………4370
11.(10) Benneteau……….4290
12.(14) Verdasco………..4100
Mixed Doubles – Semifinal: (1) Mirza/Soares def. Y Chan/Hutchins 7-5 4-6 10-7
Mixed rankings would have demoted Mirza/Soares, so the closeness of this is perhaps not a big surprise. Bruno Soares had suffered a very disappointing doubles loss earlier, losing his chance to return to the men’s doubles final. Maybe this will make up for some of it. Interesting to note that Sania Mirza is still alive in women’s doubles also; she has a shot at two finals here.
Mixed Doubles – Semifinal: Spears/S Gonzalez def. Townsend/Young 6-3 6-4
Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez don’t really have much of a mixed doubles track record — with one exception. They made the final here last year. Somehow, this place seems to bring out the best in them. Can it bring out enough to finally let them actually win a Slam?
U. S. Open Rankings Update: Men
Please note: This update was written before the Djokovic/Murray quarterfinal. Not that it matters much to Novak Djokovic. He’s #1. Guaranteed. The only question is the size of his margin, and who the margin is over. That, plus whether he will be the year-end #1. If he wins here, he effectively clinches that. If he doesn’t, he might still be under threat, depending on how well Roger Federer does here and when Rafael Nadal comes back.
The #2 ranking remains in the air. Federer is now exactly 1000 points behind Nadal in the contest for that spot. If he can win the title, he’s #2 (and, obviously, the big threat to Djokovic’s quest to be the year-end #1). Otherwise, Nadal will remain #2 and Federer will be #3. That’s guaranteed; Federer cannot fall below his current #3 ranking.
Stan Wawrinka is very likely to stay #4, but it isn’t quite guaranteed. Tomas Berdych, who has already passed Milos Raonic to reach the #6 ranking, can pass #5 David Ferrer if he makes the semifinal, and could pass Wawrinka with a title.
Berdych is certain to be at least #6 unless Andy Murray or Kei Nishikori wins the Open. Murray, currently at #9 or #10 (depending on his result on Wednesday evening), needs a final to move higher, and he needs to last longer than Nishikori.
We can guarantee Top Ten places to Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Wawrinka, Ferrer, Berdych, Raonic, and Dimitrov; Murray and Nishikori are almost guaranteed, but Marin Cilic or Gael Monfils could still join in with a title.
Definitely out of the Top Fifteen are Richard Gasquet and John Isner — Gasquet will fall all the way to #21. Replacing them are Cilic and either Roberto Bautista Agut or Monfils; it’s Monfils if he can beat Roger Federer, Bautista Agut otherwise. Either way, Bautista Agut will reach another career high. (It looks as if he will be the highest-ranked player to accomplish that feat.)
Out of the Top Twenty are Gasquet and Tommy Robredo, replaced by Monfils and Feliciano Lopez. Out of the Top Thirty are Mikhail Youzhny and Ivo Karlovic, replaced by Gilles Simon and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
The Bryans have long since clinched the #1 doubles ranking; they’re mostly trying to break their Slamless streak, clinch the year-end #1 — and, of course, winning team title #100. We don’t yet know who will be #3 — it will be Marcelo Melo if he makes the final, Daniel Nestor if he doesn’t.
RANKINGS
Estimated ATP World Tour Rankings
As of September 3, 2014
Prior…Player………..Points
1..(1) Djokovic……….11930
2..(2) Nadal…………..8670
3..(3) Federer…………7670
4..(4) Wawrinka………..5625
5..(5) Ferrer………….4495
6..(7) Berdych…………4240
7..(6) Raonic………….4225
8..(8) Dimitrov………..3710
9.(11) Nishikori……….3390
10..(9) Murray………….3150
11.(10) Tsonga………….3100
12.(12) Gulbis………….2615
13.(13) Del Potro……….2365
14.(16) Cilic…………..2205
15.(19) Bautista Agut……1935
16.(15) Isner…………..1925
17.(17) Fognini…………1870
18.(24) Monfils…………1845
19.(20) Anderson………..1840
20.(21) Lopez…………..1770
21.(14) Gasquet…………1730
22.(18) Robredo…………1645
23.(22) Dolgopolov………1535
24.(25) Kohlschreiber……1505
25.(26) MayerL………….1399
26.(31) Simon…………..1360
27.(27) Rosol…………..1290
28.(29) Almagro…………1240
29.(28) Benneteau……….1205
30.(33) Garcia-Lopez…….1203
Topics: Atp, Mixed Doubles, tennis scores, US Open tennis, Wta
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