2016 U.S. Open Day Nine Preview: A French Connection in Flushing Meadows
Three Frenchman vie for two spots in U.S. Open semis
Tuesday at the 2016 U.S. Open begins the quarterfinal stage of the event, as two matches on both the men’s and women’s side highlight the day’s schedule as the semifinalists are determined. On the men’s side of the draw, two Frenchmen will battle for a spot in the semis, as Lucas Pouille, the 24 seed, meets the 10th-seeded Gael Monfils in afternoon action at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Despite not making the cut for the French national team at the recent Rio Olympics, Pouille has been on a roll in Flushing Meadows, propelling him into the top 20 of the ATP Men’s Singles Rankings as he enters the quarters. A five set win over the fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16 stands out as Pouille’s highlight so far in Flushing Meadows as he looks to defeat Monfils for a spot in the semis.
Monfils too has watched his stock rise in Flushing Meadows, having yet to drop a set through his first four matches, wins over Marcos Baghdatis in the Round of 16, Nicolas Almagro in the third round, Jan Satral in round two and Gilles Muller in the opening round.
“He's in very good form,” Pouille said of Monfils. “He has won so many matches in the last two months and is very confident. He hasn't lost a set, so I know it's going to be hard. But I'm playing well. I have a good feeling on the court, so we'll see. I think it's going to be a tough match for me, but for him as well. It's going to be interesting.”
Pouille and Monfils have met only once before, in 2015 at the Aussie Open, a 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 comeback win by Monfils.
Another Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the number nine seed, will face the top-seeded Novak Djokovic under the lights at Ashe on Tuesday night. Tsonga has dropped just two sets so far in Flushing, defeating American Jack Sock to earn his spot in the quarterfinals. Djokovic has had a fairly easy path to the quarterfinals, having benefitted from a round two walkover win over an injured Jiri Vesely, and was up 4-2 in the first set before his opponent Mikhail Youzhny was forced to retire just 30 minutes in to their third round matchup. A Round of 16 win over upstart Kyle Edmund propelled the world number one into Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup with Tsonga.
“For me, it's to always play the right shot, don't give him too much of a free point … that's the most important for me,” said Tsonga on facing Djokovic. “Anyway, I will play my game … I will be aggressive, as always. But the most important for me is to stay focused on what I have to do and play the right shot.”
Tuesday’s meeting will mark the 22nd time Tsonga has faced Djokovic in their careers, with Djokovic holding a commanding 15-6 advantage over the Frenchman. Their most recent meeting was earlier this year in the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells Masters, a match taken by Djokovic en route to the Indian Wells title. Djokovic is currently tied with Roy Emerson for fourth all-time with 12 Grand Slam titles, including 2015 Wimbledon , 2015 U.S. Open, 2016 Australian Open and 2016 French Open.
On the women’s side of the draw, 2015 U.S. open finalist and seventh-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy faces Germany’s Angelique Kerber, the number two seed, to open the day at 11:00 a.m. at Ashe. As Kerber pushes on in Flushing, she is inching closer to the top spot in the WTA Women’s Singles Rankings, a spot held by Serena Williams for 309 consecutive weeks. Kerber is making her 36th main draw appearance at a Grand Slam.
Last year, Vinci became the third unseeded player to advance to the U.S. Open final, where she fell to fellow countrywoman Flavia Pennetta. The 33-year-old Vinci has dropped just one set so far in Flushing Meadows during her round three win over Germany's Carina Witthoeft.
Tuesday’s meeting will mark the fifth career matchup between Kerber and Vinci, having spilt the first four matchups 2-2. Their most recent meeting was back in 2015 in Nurnberg, a semifinals walkover win by Vinci.
“I think we are both different players since we played years ago against each other,” said Kerber on Vinci. “I have spoken with my coach about my next opponents and I think he watched the match today [with Vinci]. Tomorrow on the practice court, we will talk about match preparation. This is actually what I am doing before a new opponent. I'm talking with my coach and thinking about my plan.”
Under the lights at Ashe for the 7:00 p.m. nightcap, it will be a battle of two unseeded players as Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki looks to continue her comeback run against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.
Wozniacki comes in having dropped just one set to date, the opening set of her first round matchup against American Taylor Townsend, and ever since, has won eight consecutive sets en route to Tuesday’s quarterfinals matchup. She missed two-and-a-half months earlier this year due to an ankle injury, returning to action in June at the Aegon Open Nottingham.
Sevastova is making her fourth main draw appearance at the U.S. Open, and her first since 2011. Sevastova retired from the sport in May of 2013 due to various injuries–mostly muscular and back-related–but returned to competition at the ITF level in January of 2015 after body had fully healed. During her break from tennis she studied leisure management.
Tuesday’s meeting will mark just the second of their career, the first coming back in 2011 at the Australian Open, a 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinals win by Wozniacki.
“She's a tough player … she's a tough opponent,” said Wozniacki of her quarterfinals opponent. “She has a lot of grit and good hands. It's not going to be an easy one, but I'm excited just to have another shot.”
Click here to view the full schedule for Day Nine of the 2016 U.S. Open.
