My friend Rinky!
I think this is due to an 'agreement' that the USTA must have with Tennis Australia - because I really see no justification for it on merit alone.
Happy to see him there, though.
R.I.P. Amal...
“The opposite of courage is not cowardice - it’s conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”- Jim Hightower
There are several of these wildcards that I have never heard of like Emilio Nava, Learner Tien, Rinky Hijikata and before this tournament in Cincinnati, I never heard of Ben Shelton. On the women's side, I never heard of Jamie Forulis, Eleana Yu, Peyton Streams,and before a few tournaments ago Elizabeth Mandlik.
if the game is naming people who will NOT win the USO, here is my list:
Badosa, Sakkari, Kontaveit, Jabeur, Keys, Stephens, Anisimova, Gauff, Halep, Sabalenka, Pegula, Muguruza, Kasatkina,Bencic, Haddad Maia, Pliskova, Collins, Krejcikova, Kudermetova.. we are down to #20 on the ranking list now! Much easier to play this game, isnt it?
This year, it will be Camila Osorio playing Camila Giorgi in the final.
Of your list. I would not count out Pegula. I would give Bencic a remote chance (she made QF's last year), as well as Kasatkina. REMOTE.
HaddadMaia has improved.
Your list:
Medvedev 40%
Rafa 20%
Sinner 20%
Kyrgios 10%
Field 10%
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 2:14 pm
This year, it will be Camila Osorio playing Camila Giorgi in the final.
Of your list. I would not count out Pegula. I would give Bencic a remote chance (she made QF's last year), as well as Kasatkina. REMOTE.
HaddadMaia has improved.
Your list:
Medvedev 40%
Rafa 20%
Sinner 20%
Kyrgios 10%
Field 10%
Rybakina, 20%
Switek, 15%
Sabalenka, 10% - people are forgetting about her
Jabeur, 10%
Sabalenka, 5%
Raducanu, 5%
Osaka, 5%
Leylay, 5% - a little rusty, but if she feels good, the crowd can fire her up.
Serena, .01%. NYC Night Magic Factor.
FIELD: 24.99% (top contenders: Gauff, BHM, Pegula, Kastakina, Pliskova, Rogers)
Nick Kyrgios better change his mindset, and I think he will once he steps foot on the courts at the USO. Right now he is just floating along at like a 20% pace, and if that is what his plans are for the USO he will be out very quickly.
No way Naomi Osaka, Leylah Fernandez or even Emma Raducanu stand that high of a chance of winning the USO.
AcesAnnie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:38 pm
Nick Kyrgios better change his mindset, and I think he will once he steps foot on the courts at the USO. Right now he is just floating along at like a 20% pace, and if that is what his plans are for the USO he will be out very quickly.
No way Naomi Osaka, Leylah Fernandez or even Emma Raducanu stand that high of a chance of winning the USO.
He thinks he can turn on the focus like a switch, and maybe he can. But maybe not on hard court, where the conditions are more of an equalizer than grass. Best of 5, lots of competition... he takes it for granted that he'll be able to step up when he cares.
5% is barely any chance! Someone has to win this thing! Two-time champ, defending champ looking strong, defending finalist who loves the crowd there. I think 5% is conservative. I wouldn't underestimate Osaka. If she finds a groove, she's very tough to beat there.
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
AcesAnnie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:38 pm
Nick Kyrgios better change his mindset, and I think he will once he steps foot on the courts at the USO. Right now he is just floating along at like a 20% pace, and if that is what his plans are for the USO he will be out very quickly.
No way Naomi Osaka, Leylah Fernandez or even Emma Raducanu stand that high of a chance of winning the USO.
He thinks he can turn on the focus like a switch, and maybe he can. But maybe not on hard court, where the conditions are more of an equalizer than grass. Best of 5, lots of competition... he takes it for granted that he'll be able to step up when he cares.
5% is barely any chance! Someone has to win this thing! Two-time champ, defending champ looking strong, defending finalist who loves the crowd there. I think 5% is conservative. I wouldn't underestimate Osaka. If she finds a groove, she's very tough to beat there.
He is good, but he isn't that good to just sluff off and go at matches at less than 100%. These are all professionals he is playing. He needs to bring his A game all the time.
Osaka has the talent, but so do many others, and I just think she will come up against one of those players that will take her down.
ESPN Plus will be increasing their monthly fee from $6.99 to $9.99 on August 23 (Tuesday). There is no professional tennis in September that I am aware of after the US Open on ESPN or ESPN Plus. The Laver Cup is the only big event that comes to mind towards the end of the month as being a possibility and I believe that will be on Tennis Channel again.
So if you only subscribe to ESPN Plus for one month and then cancel after each of the Grand Slams, I highly suggest subscribing in the next 4 days, with August 22nd (Monday) being the last day to lock in the lower monthly price this time around, and it will carry you thru the end of the 2022 US Open.
ponchi101 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 18, 2022 2:14 pm
This year, it will be Camila Osorio playing Camila Giorgi in the final.
Of your list. I would not count out Pegula. I would give Bencic a remote chance (she made QF's last year), as well as Kasatkina. REMOTE.
HaddadMaia has improved.
Your list:
Medvedev 40%
Rafa 20%
Sinner 20%
Kyrgios 10%
Field 10%
Rybakina, 20%
Switek, 15%
Sabalenka, 10% - people are forgetting about her
Jabeur, 10%
Sabalenka, 5%
Raducanu, 5%
Osaka, 5%
Leylay, 5% - a little rusty, but if she feels good, the crowd can fire her up.
Serena, .01%. NYC Night Magic Factor.
FIELD: 24.99% (top contenders: Gauff, BHM, Pegula, Kastakina, Pliskova, Rogers)
Re ,'surprise winner,' Flavia Penetta, people forget she had won iW the previous year..she had some hard court creds! Raducanu, similarly, had done well at Wimbledon already, didn't come out of nowhere..I think there are always signs, we tend to overlook them.