The U.S. Tennis Open, always guaranteed to be exciting, has concluded with victories by Iga Swiatek from Poland as the women’s champion and Carlos Alcaraz from Spain as the men’s champion.
For Swiatek, ranked number one in the world, it was her second Grand Slam victory this year following her win at Roland Garros. She prevailed in two sets against Ons Jabeur from Tunisia, who fought back in the second set but lost in a tightly contested tiebreak. Jabeur, who also contested the ladies singles final at Wimbledon this year, will become the number two player in the world when the next ranking is released.
Following his victory in a thrilling four-set match against Casper Ruud from Norway, Alcaraz also became the highest-ranked male player in the world. Ruud will be ranked number two on the ATP list.
But the US Tennis Open will be remembered, not necessarily for the tremendous exploits of its victors, but by momentous events leading up to the final matches.
The most thrilling game of the competition, perhaps even the best game ever to be played at Flushing Meadows, was the titillating match, lasting over five hours, between Carlos Alcaraz—the eventual winner of the tournament—and Jannik Sinner from Italy. Their match, which finished at 2:50 a.m. in the morning, also pulverised the record for the latest finish in U.S. Open history.
The Last of Serena Williams
The Open was the last competitive game for Williams, who will turn 41 years later this month.When she entered the centre court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, she was worshipped as a queen by the American spectator fans, who sensed that they were witnessing a historic moment. She has won 23 Grand Slams, one less than the absolute record holder, Margaret Court. Williams had been unsuccessfully trying to equal Court’s record for a few years.
Williams’s career was certainly rich in achievement but also tainted and diminished by controversy. For example, in her semi-final match against Kim Clijsters at the 2009 U.S. Tennis Open, Williams’s behaviour towards the lineswoman Shino Tsurubuchi lost her a point, giving victory to Clijsters, who went on to win the Open.
Yet, the media sometimes claims that Williams is striking a blow for women’s rights, overwhelmingly creating an image of a player who retired as the world’s greatest tennis legend.
In this context, sports columnist Phil Mushnick writes that, at this year’s Open, Williams “was crowned as more than a world championship tennis player” but also as “a woman of extraordinary valour and class.”
Williams was interviewed on centre court after her third-round match loss against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, who will always be known as the player who ended Williams’s career.
Nick Kyrgios’s Controversial Behaviour
Not surprisingly, the second player who made an impact was Nick Kyrgios, the talented Australian tennis champion. On several occasions, he smashed his racquet, and when he lost his quarter-final match in an engaging five-set thriller against Karen Khachanov—who subsequently lost in in the semi-final against Casper Ruud, the Norwegian tennis sensation who advanced to the final—he completely went off the rails.Earlier, he had been given a heavy fine for using expletives and spitting. For Kyrgios, it was another painful defeat, even though he had been touted as the favourite to win the tournament following his elimination of the number one ranked player, Daniil Medvedev.
Kyrgios’s outburst following his defeat was condemned by the fans and tennis commentators on the ground that, in sports, it is necessary to be able to graciously accept defeat as well as victory.
However, there is no doubt that he is a potential Grand Slam winner if only he were to concentrate on his game whilst keeping his volatile emotions under control to avoid embarrassing instances of bad behaviour.
Bringing out the Best and Worst
The Open was full of adventures and misadventures. Rafael Nadal hit himself on the nose with his racquet. Nadal was not visibly upset when Francis Tiafoe, a promising young American player, defeated him: his early departure from New York enabled him to return home, where his wife is expecting their first child.It is unfortunate that the Open again confirmed that sports and politics are intertwined. Indeed, Russian and Belarussian players were merely introduced to the tennis public by name, but unlike the other players, their country of origin was not mentioned. While the situation in Ukraine remains unstable, tennis players should not be penalised for actions they are not themselves responsible for. Sport is meant to bring people together in a peaceful, competitive endeavour and should not be subject to the vicissitudes of politics.
In conclusion, the U.S. Tennis Open did not disappoint in bringing the best and the worst out of participating tennis players. But it certainly continues to enthral people with the gladiatorial skills and abilities of the most talented tennis players in the world.
