Summer tournaments leading up to US Open 2022

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Andy Murray is in Newport, Rhode Island, where last night he demolished Querrey with the loss of just two games.

Andy is seeded 6th - and I'm not sure how long it's been since he was last seeded - and plans to put in a good run of tournaments in the hopes of getting enough points to be seeded in New York at the USO.

Meanwhile, Dom Thiem, playing in Bastad in Sweden, has finally got a win having had a long losing streak. It would be good to see him make something of a comeback.

Looks like we may get a will he/won't he over any Djoko participation in the USO. Regardless of whether Novak plays or not, I think there's a good chance for the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner to do well in New York.

Emma Raducanu hammers Serena Williams 6-4 6-0 - farewell party not going well for the American

Andy Murray took the first set v Cam Norrie. You feel Andy will have to win in two as the longer it goes on the more chance the younger, fitter Norrie will have.

Cam Norrie did eventually outlast Andy Murray 3-6 6-4 6-3

Taylor Fritz chopped down Nick Kyrgios 6-3 6-2

John Isner took out Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 6-7 6-2

Denis Shapovalov came from a set down to beat Tommy Paul 3-6 6-4 6-3

19 year old Ben Shelton beat Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3. This was the American’s Masters 1000 debut.

Emma Raducanu laid waste to Victoria Azarenka, the Brit pulverised the Belarusian 6-0 6-2

Simona Halep pulled out with injury.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Emma Raducanu hammers Serena Williams 6-4 6-0 - farewell party not going well for the American

Serena seems to have made a sensible choice to evolve in other directions now...

This result presumably means Raducanu will be have the rare distinction of holding a positive career head to head win-loss record over Serena  

Borna Coric outlasted Rafael Nadal winning 7-6 4-6 6-3.
Spaniard looked a little undercooked as is to be expected after the stomach injury.

Coric reached #12 in the world back in 2018 when he was 21, since then he has been affected by injuries, especially a shoulder injury which he says has affected him for about two years. He is currently ranked #154 but is hoping to ascend the ranks again given he now seems to have recovered from the shoulder injury. Coric has a 3:2 head to head against Nadal:

2022 ATP Masters Hard R32 Coric
2017 ATP Masters Hard R32 Nadal
2016 ATP Masters Hard R16 Coric
2015 US Open Hard R128 Nadal
2014 ATP 250 Indoor Hard QF Coric

Daniil Medvedev sees off the dangerous and enigmatic Denis Shapovalov 7-5 7-5. Medvedev is just to consistent for Shapovalov, whom can do crazy stuff but it’s not really a feasible strategy against Medvedev.

Jessica Pegula beat Emma Raducanu 7-5 6-4. The American was just more consistent than the young Brit.

Daniil Medvedev beats Taylor Fritz 7-6 6-3 to reach semi finals in Cincinnati.

Stefanos Tsitsipas beats serve bot John Isner 7-6 5-7 6-3 to setup semi final showdown with his arch nemesis Medvedev.

Borna Coric continues his good week by beating FAA 6-4 6-4. FAA failed to muster a single BP

Cameron Norrie outlasted Spanish sensation Carlitos Alcaraz 7-6 6-7 6-4 to setup up semi final against Coric
Say whatever you want about Norrie, but his fitness is crazy.

Borna Coric beats Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-4 to reach second ATP 1000 final of his career.
It’s been a remarkable run for the Croat
Musetti, Nadal, Bautista-Agut, FAA and Norrie
It felt like one match too far for Norrie, probably that last match with Alcaraz last night emptied the tank.

Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Daniil Medvedev 7-6 3-6 6-3. Somewhat bizarre match. Tight first set. Medvedev was 5-0 up in the second when his serve started to misfire. At one point Tsitsipas got back to 3-5 0-40. Then in the final set Medvedev got broken at 2-4 when he had multiple game points.
By and large the second and third sets pretty poor quality.

Agree that Norrie was probably over weary and had little left for his semi.

Reckon that the Alcaraz win was his best of the season, especially after being 3-1 down in the final set.

Alcaraz, and possibly Sinner too, may now be suffering from the effects of a long season on young bodies. They'll hope to have enough in the tank for New York.

Can Coric win today? It should be remembered that he has been as high as 12th in the wolrd.

Good to see Kvitova thru to the final where she will play fast-rising Caroline Garcia, whose tear up the rankings has come so recently that she had to qualify despite being 35th in the world.

Always been a big Kvitova fan due to her clean hitting. She also appears to be one of the most popular players on the tour.

Caroline Garcia beats Petra Kvitova 6-2 6-4 to win her third WTA 1000 title. Outstanding week for the Frenchwoman.

Borna Coric brilliantly wins Cincinnati to register maiden ATP 1000 title.
The Croat systematically broke Stefanos Tsitsipas down to win 7-6 6-2

So what happens now to Cinci champs Garcia and Coric?. Coric has a protected ranking so should be OK for the USO.

Not quite sure of my ground here, but it could be that Garcia was so lowly ranked at the USO qualie cut-off point that, technically, she might have to qualify.

So you could have the situation that a player who would normally be seeded in New York (Garcia is up to 17th) does not have automatic entry into the main draw.

The obvious thing would be to give the French girl a WC but haven't they already dished all of them out? Updates on this strange situation would be welcome.

Coric winning the tournament, and especially in the manner he did, makes Nadal's performance look slightly better. As others have noted, Coric was one of the bright young things about 5 years ago, but has been hindered by shoulder issues in the last 18 months

So only the 250 point WInston Salem tournament this week - Dimitrove the only one of the top 20 participating - played Thiem in the first round and retired while leading, which must be a concern with the USO so close

British interest with Jack Draper through to the last 16 (beat Fognini in 3 in the first round) and has jumped 3 places in the 'live rankings', so up to a projected career high of 52. A semi final appearance may see him reach the top 50 (depending on other performances) and a final appearance definitely will, passing Murray in the rankings. A tournament win, which would be an achievement but is not impossible given the field, would see him on the fringes of the top 40.

It’s sad watching Thiem in his current guise tbh. He was always such a ferocious hitter. But all these injury issues makes it look like he playing with a shuttlecock at times.

Draper took out Thiem 1 and 4 in, by all accounts, a dominant display.

He now plays a qualifier who had a very long match last night. So there is a good chance of reaching the semi.