Elina Svitolina may already become our only representative in the tournament by the second round
The US Open is traditionally a convenient tournament for our tennis players. Our girls love to play on hard surfaces. In addition, the American hard is not as fast as in Australia, not so dependent on the serve. This also plays into the hands of Ukrainian women. Elina Svitolina reached the semi-finals here, many other athletes performed better than the average for the season. On the one hand, this gives the right to expect positive results. On the other hand, our athletes already have something to lose.
Read also: Svitolina – about the trophy in Chicago: A little sad, because there is not even an inscription
Elina Svitolina received the fifth seed in the tournament bracket. At the same time, bookmakers estimate the chances of a Ukrainian woman to win the tournament much lower than the rating. However, Elina has her own arguments. The summer form is at its best, the bronze medal of the Olympics and the won tournament in Chicago give confidence. Between these tournaments, Svitolina played in Montreal and Cincinnati, but she was eliminated there in the first round. Can be attributed to the need for a psychological pause after Tokyo. Elina is ready for the US Open.
The grid is normal for a high rating number. In the first round, her opponent is qualifier Rebecca Marino. 175 number of the world ranking, corresponds to the whole level. However, Canada has its own arguments. In Montreal (where Elina lost at the start), she reached the third round, eliminating Madison Keys and Paulo Badosa during the tournament. Strong tennis players, moreover, both created problems for Svitolina. Elina should pass the Canadian, but under no circumstances should she be underestimated.
The next likely opponent of the Ukrainian – Ana Bogdan – is also quite capable. Normal opponents to get into the rhythm if you plan to play for two weeks. In the third round of the bracket, Elina will most likely be waiting for Daria Kasatkina. At this level, the Russian is probably the best option for Svitolina. Full advantage of Elina in personal meetings (5-0). Of course, any series may end sooner or later, but there are reasons to expect a good result.
Starting from the fourth round, it is no longer possible to argue in categories of good or bad. At this level, there will be no weak opponents at all. Even those who are lower in the ranking are in good shape, otherwise they would not have made it high. Potential rivals are Anastasia Rybakina or Simona Halep.
The quarter-final is the moment of truth. Elina is in Naomi Osaka’s quarter. It is very important to win here. Firstly, Osaka is one of the favorites of the entire tournament. Secondly, Elina defends the points for the 2019 semi-finals (yes, they are still valid for the Ukrainian). Talking about the complexity of the opponent is pointless if you intend to win the tournament – you need to win the best.
Elina has a good chance of reaching at least the quarterfinals (although this will require significant effort). It will be very difficult to repeat your achievement and reach the semi-finals. But Elina loves to play in the USA.
In addition to Svitolina, three more Ukrainians will perform at the US Open – Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremskaya and Angelina Kalinina. It should be said that they were not so lucky with the lot.
Marta Kostyuk in the first round plays with Maria Sakkari. The Greek is a very difficult opponent, she is in excellent shape. Frankly speaking, an unpleasant option for the starting match. Kostyuk reached the third round of the US Open last year. There is something to lose, and the opponent is at a higher level than Marta is playing now. It remains to hope for the excellent readiness of the Ukrainian and the desire to achieve more than the current rating shows.
The grid for Marta turned out to be quite saturated, perhaps the most difficult among all Ukrainians. After Sakkari, Anastasia Sevastova or Katerina Sinkova can become her rivals. Next – Petra Kvitova, Bianca Andreescu, Karolina Pliskova. Depends on how far you want to look. Even defeating Sakkari will already be an achievement and will require a lot of strength. Further – only more difficult.
Angelina Kalinina can be generally satisfied with the lot. She got lucky loser Maiar Sheriff. Angelina played with the Egyptian at a tournament in Montpellier and won. But there is one point that gives the meeting an element of chance. Angelina and her opponent play much better on clay (the tournament in Montpellier was also clay, by the way). How both will play hard with each other is unknown. To put it bluntly, the rivals are equal in this regard. For Kalinina, the advantage is that she did not qualify, did not have time to get tired.
The second round can give us a Ukrainian derby, because Angelina goes to the winner of the Yastremska-Kerber pair. All subsequent rivals are very strong, and are unlikely to be passable for Kalinina. Someone from the Gauf-Stevens-Keys trio, then Naomi Osaka, in the future – access to Elina Svitolina. The probability of meeting Ukrainians at a later stage is very low. Kalinina can pass the first round (and add points to his piggy bank). The above is very difficult.
Our fourth representative is Dayana Yastremskaya. It should be noted here that Dayana is not at all in the form that everyone is used to. The out-of-competition doping scandal ruined almost the entire season. Yastremskaya could train and keep fit. However, Dayana did not have any season planning, adequate practice and a normal exit to the peak. Yastremska has held several tournaments since her return, all of which were unsuccessful in terms of results. Dayana was able to win only against rivals who are clearly below her level. Not a single victory over tennis players from the top 100. There are objective reasons for this, but it also speaks about the chances at the US Open.
Kerber performed well on hard in Cincinnati in the summer. Reached the semi-finals, beating Svitolina along the way. Angelique is the clear favorite of the meeting. In her best form, Dayana has already beaten the German. But count on this form is unlikely to have this season.
As already mentioned, the winner will go to Kalinina. And it will be a favorite in a meeting with Angelina.
Ukrainians play quite successfully in the USA, but this year the lot for the majority has become too cruel. Yastremska’s form is far from fighting, and for Kostyuk every match will be a challenge and an achievement. Elina Svitolina may already become our only representative by the second round. It will be very difficult to repeat her best result. However, Elina is quite capable of this.
Source: Sportarena
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