COCO GAUFF WINS THE US OPEN 🔥 The 19-year-old defeats No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka for first-career major title 🏆 (via @usopen)
“Everybody Is expecting her to win”: Sabalenka is the heavy favorite according to Wilander
WTASunday, 25 August 2024 at 06:30
Mats Wilander analyzed the top contenders for the title in the US Open women’s draw and named Aryna Sabalenka as the undisputed favorite. For the 7-time Grand Slam champion, Iga Swiatek has looked ‘vulnerable’ lately, while Coco Gauff “has stagnated slightly.”
Regarding the Polish player, Wilander noted that Swiatek’s recent losses have made her appear less invincible than before: “We actually really did think that she was going to have a really good chance to win Wimbledon,” Wilander told Eurosport.
Wilander warns of vulnerability on all surfaces
Swiatek achieved a record of 21 consecutive wins during the clay swing, but it all ended at Wimbledon, where she fell in the third round to Yulia Putintseva. She later returned to the clay courts of Roland Garros for Paris 2024, but ‘only’ managed to secure a bronze medal after being upset in the semifinals by Zheng Qinwen.
In her return to hard courts, she suffered a crushing defeat to Sabalenka in Cincinnati, who for the first time defeated Swiatek in straight sets, narrowing the head-to-head to 8-4 in favor of the Polish player. “Of course, she was going to the Olympics on her favorite surface, in her favorite stadium, and she didn’t win. And now she didn’t win in Cincinnati, which, again, is not her favorite surface. It plays very fast,” Wilander commented.
“So I think she’s showing that she’s vulnerable not only on hard courts and grass but even on clay courts at the Olympics. There’s a moment of concern. I think she’s still searching,” he added. “To me, she needs to start thinking about, ‘How do I win tennis matches on clay and try to play like that on other surfaces, realizing I am never going to win as much on hard court and grass as I have at Roland Garros.’
“Just look at her big idol, Rafael Nadal. He did exactly that. He won a lot of tournaments trying to play clay-court tennis, most of the matches. And she needs to get back to playing like she does at Roland-Garros. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but that’s where she’s comfortable. The style of tennis is what she needs to get back to playing.”
Swiatek won the title in 2022 US Open
Wilander tips Sabalenka as US Open favorite
With Swiatek not at her best, Wilander considered world No. 2 Sabalenka as the main candidate for the US Open title. The Belarusian reached the final in 2023 but lost to Coco Gauff. “She’s becoming the big favorite in most tournaments, to be honest, even when it’s on clay,” Wilander said. “I still put her at 50-50 with Iga Swiatek, but I think that there are more players that can beat Sabalenka on a clay court than there are that can beat Swiatek.”
“Now, when you go the other way on hard courts, there are very, very few players that Sabalenka can lose to. There are very, very few players on a hard court that believe they can beat Sabalenka. There are a few players that believe that Sabalenka can beat herself, but with every win she has in tournaments, with every win she has against Swiatek, every win she has against the best players in the world, the less that is true.
“Sabalenka knows that she can win matches and tournaments when she’s not at her best, which I think makes her play her best tennis more often. So a huge favorite,” Wilander added.
“And the interesting thing is, it’s a big change because in women’s tennis we haven’t had a big favorite in quite a few years, especially on hard courts. Yes at Roland Garros, but otherwise not. And Sabalenka has become the huge favorite to win the US Open, and maybe that’s the first time for her as well, that everybody is expecting her to win.”
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Gauff has stagnated slightly, but US Open could revive her
A little further behind is Coco Gauff, although still one of the main favorites. The defending champion arrives with inconsistent results, having suffered early losses in Toronto and Cincinnati, and has only secured one win so far in the hard-court swing: “I think technically you would have to say that she has stagnated slightly,” Wilander said. “Her serve didn’t improve as much as we thought. Her forehand didn’t improve as much as we thought.
“But I think her fighting spirit is there, and the US Open is going to fire her up. And can you imagine the American fans, how they are going to support her, mainly because she is not playing well. I think they’re going to be so much on her side that it’s really going to help her.”
Coco Gauff lift her first Grand Slam title in 2023 US Open.
“I’m not sure what’s wrong with Gauff, except I think what is most probably different is that she’s so young. She’s already won the US Open. She’s the American hope. Obviously, in many ways, she’s sort of become a little bit of the face of the WTA tour.
“Yes, we have Sabalenka, Swiatek, and of course [Elena] Rybakina. But Gauff is younger. She plays a different style of tennis, and I think people really, really enjoy that. And for her to answer the call of being a Grand Slam champion, doing it at home, that gives her so much confidence when she gets to play in a Slam, and she knows how to do that.
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“So I’m not worried. I think it’s another situation where, ‘Hey, listen, I proved the point to myself and to a lot of critical people out there that I can win a major.’ Who cares in the end if you win in Cincinnati or Washington, which she did last year? Who really cares because it’s all about the major," Mats Wilander concluded.
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