NEW YORK — A double bagel (in the third round of a Grand Slam), some major upsets and a Nick Kyrgios-Roger Federer clash — what a way to kick off Labor Day weekend at the US Open!
Surprising early exits for Kerber, Zverev
It was not a good day for two of Germany’s biggest stars. After No. 4 seed Angelique Kerber bowed out in a tough three-setter against Dominika Cibulkova, Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed on the men’s side, faced the same fate.
After winning the first set in a tiebreaker, Zverev could not hold serve during crucial moments over the next three sets, losing to his countryman and fellow Davis Cup teammate Philipp Kohlschreiber. It was a clinical and patient 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 victory for Kohlschreiber, who makes his second consecutive fourth-round appearance at the US Open.
Zverev, meanwhile, has not been able to reach the Round of 16 at Slams this season, losing in the third round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon prior to Saturday’s result.
“At tour events, I lose as well, there’s just more tour events,” Zverev said of his poor Grand Slam results this year during his postmatch news conference. “You probably recognize it less. I lost to Robin Hasse in Cincinnati and I lost to [Stefanos] Tsitsipas in Toronto. Those losses weren’t great for me, either. There’s a lot of focus on the Grand Slams.”
When asked if he feels like a different person during a Grand Slam, he said, “You’re overthinking this.”
Nick Kyrgios needs no introduction
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios lost against Roger Federer in straight sets in under two hours, but if you thought he’d go through the third-round match quietly, you don’t know Kyrgios. During the first set, Kyrgios imitated Federer’s serve — and to fans’ astonishment, Federer wasn’t able to return it.
– doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 1, 2018
That was not it. At the end of the first set, he was overhead on the tournament video feed swearing at his camp, unhappy with some of their suggestions to improve his first serve.
“Say something else … ‘Move your feet.’ First serve, first serve, obviously I’m trying to make my f—ing first serve.”
At one point during the second set after missing a shot, he yelled out, “I need to hire a coach.”
There was also a fun and surreal moment. When Federer returned a shot around the net post for a winner (the best shot of the tournament, by far), Kyrgios’ jaw dropped and could not help but marvel at Federer’s skill. “Oh my god,” he said. He shook his head and smiled before continuing to the next point.
Osaka dreams big, and delivers
Naomi Osaka has apparently been eating bagels with smoked salmon for breakfast every day during the tournament — she, like many tennis players before her, are superstitious; and, she also said she just loves bagels.
Whether that habit fueled her latest win is debatable, but her 6-0, 6-0 victory against Aliaksandra Sasnovich was an absolute shocker given the strong year Sasnovich has had (she booted out Petra Kvitova in the first round at Wimbledon). The 20-year-old from Japan made just three unforced errors in a match that took just about 50 minutes.
I thought Federer blitzed Kyrgios till I saw what Naomi Osaka did to Sasnovich
– Tosin (@TosinM_) September 1, 2018
Osaka did not disappoint during her postmatch news conference. When a reporter asked her if she remembered the last time she had double-bageled, she said, “Yes, it was you, in my dreams.”
She also joked about the atmosphere around the Big Apple. “I walk around and hear the lovely honking and stuff. I just like walking in the city. It’s just there is a lot of energy. And then you come back to the hotel very angry because everyone just makes you very angry.”
It was a day of upsets, especially in the women’s draw. While 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys held off a dangerous Aleksandra Krunic in three sets, the same could not be said of Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber, No. 6 seed Caroline Garcia and Cincinnati Open finalist Kiki Bertens. All three top-15 players pushed their matches to three sets, but couldn’t convert them into wins.
No. 30 seed Carla Suarez Navarro (who beat Garcia) reached her maiden US Open fourth round; Cibulkova, who dropped the first set against Kerber, demolished the Wimbledon champion in the next two frames, as Kerber continues to struggle holding serve deep into matches. (She struggled against Johanna Larsson in the previous round and held on, but the weakness got the better of her in Round 3.)
Bertens’ loss to unseeded Czech Markéta Vondroušová was much closer — two tight tiebreakers in the first and third set decided the victory. Regardless, Bertens has had a breakout year, reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals and Cincinnati final.
Fitting end for @CarlaSuarezNava as she blasts a backhand winner past Garcia to advance to R4!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/hctHlnS1I0
– US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2018
That double-handed fist pump celebration is becoming a thing at this year’s US Open.
Family time in the Big Apple
A few hours before Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic took the court against Richard Gasquet, he spent some quality time with his wife and son in New York City.
Ready, set, go! ����#familytime #nyc #asicstiger #asicstennis pic.twitter.com/tZNgYcpLGD
– Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) September 1, 2018
Come on, how can people not like this guy?
Where is the chair ump at?
Mohamed Lahyani has been embroiled in controversy since he got out of his chair to give Kyrgios a pep talk in the previous. When US Open officials announced Lahyani would continue to work the tournament, Twitter had been trying to figure out which match he would be at next. They got their answer Saturday — Lahyani was assigned to chair a lower-profile doubles match on Court 4.
There’s a good chance he will be back to work some of the bigger matches, considering the outpouring of support he received from players — both current and former — praising his skills as an umpire, even if it came with a caveat of him crossing a line with Kyrgios.