It was quite a day at the United States Open on Thursday. A couple of the Americans won in gigantic upsets: Taylor Townsend stunned Simona Halep 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). Then, Denis Kudla won 7-5, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 over the the No. 27-seed Dusan Lajovic. They could have lost given that both of them have not reached the top-45 ever. But, they kept trying, digging and, yesterday, they believed in themselves. They are not that fast, but they really wanted to show the fans that we are more than respectable.
More than a few years ago, it looked like Townsend would rise up into the top 10, pretty fast, and then after, she would win a Grand Slam. Sadly, not even close. But this summer, she switched it. Against Halep she attached the net 106 times, winning 64 points for a 60-percent clip. The strategy worked.
“It’s been, like, a really long journey. You flood with emotions of the things you’ve been through, positive, negative,” Townsend said. “Just to be able to get over the hump, it’s such an amazing feeling because after Wimbledon, I was devastated after I lost to [Kiki] Bertens after having a match point. That woke me up out of my sleep. I put my head down and just worked really hard and just tried to take the positives away from it, just continue to press forward. I belong on this level. I’ve had a lot of people doubting me being able to break through, quote unquote.”
She actually has a good chance to reach the second week: on Saturday, she will face Sorana Cirstea, a decent player, but not great. If Townsend will stay composed, she could push her way back and then throw in a few soft drop shots.
Kudla has been playing for a long time now. He plays a lot of challengers, almost every week, in the U.S., Europe, Asia … you name it. He can be very consistent, but he needs to mix it up more. And be more aggressive. But, when he came to the US Open, he was ready to sprint and lock it in.
“I knew if I just stayed patient, if I work, I did a little bit kind of soul searching, whatever you want to call it, just thinking from inside me what’s kind of missing,” Kudla said. “Ever since Montreal [a month ago], I’ve been playing with a different fire, different kind of motivation. I feel inspired again. Just lucky to be back out here.”
While that is true, he will face No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the next round. To be close, Kudla will have to go for the lines when he has an opportunity. If not, he won’t win a set.
NOTES
American Tennys Sandgren beat Vasek Pospisil, and now he will go up against the good veteran Diego Schwartzman. The Argentine is the favorite, but Sandgren can push him hard …
John Isner won again, beating Jan-Lennard in straight sets. Maybe the tall American can go far, if he plays fantastic against Mario Cilic. But, it’s a toss-up. The winner could play Rafa Nadal, who advanced in a walkover. That would be very, very tough, especially when Isner has to face the Spaniard.
Out of nowhere, Caroline Wozniacki won two matches in a row. She has been losing a lot, essentially because she has been injured for months. Now it looks like she is feeling OK. However, Wozniacki has to face the terrific Canadian Bianca Andreescu. What a match it should be…
Two years ago, Jelena Ostapenko won Roland Garros. Then she fell down mentally. Now it looks like the big hitter is focusing. She beat Alison Riske and now she has to play against Kristie Ahn, who was born in Flushing Meadows. If Ahn wins, maybe she can dive into the ocean and swim, and cheer loudly.