Ash Barty and Alexander Zverev registered wins in the Western and Southern Open titles in Cincinnati as both players built up tremendous momentum for US Open.
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Ash Barty and Alexander Zverev have enjoyed a great run in 2020 heading into the US Open. Barty, who won the Wimbledon championships to create history, won the Western and South Open title in the women’s section. Barty took eight of the last nine games from wild card Jil Teichmann for a 6-3, 6-1 to win the title and signal her intent of winning the US Open. In the men’s end, Alexander Zverev continued his great form having recently won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Zverev disposed of seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev, winning the first four games en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory. The match lasted 58 minutes. Zverev had a grueling three-set semi-final win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. With the gold medal win and now Cincinnati, Zverev has now staked a claim as the only individual who can deny Novak Djokovic the Grand Slam in 2021.
Both Barty and Zverev have hailed their brilliant week after winning the Western and Southern Open. For Teichmann, it was a great tournament. She defeated Naomi Osaka, Karolina Pliskova, and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic. Zverev, on the other hand, improved his record against Rublev to 5-0 in head-to-head encounters.
Barty was full of praise for Tiechmann, who had shown her talent. Tiechmann acknowledged that Barty was simply too good for her and that she capitalized on the breaks and went ahead. Commenting on her week after the end of the match, Barty said, “I got better and better in most parts of my game. I was just excited to get some matches under my belt in some tough conditions, and I think it put us in good stead going to New York.”
However, if Alexander Zverev wants to win the US Open, then Novak Djokovic is the main threat. Djokovic has won the Australian, French, and Wimbledon titles. However, his quest for a gold medal or a medal in Tokyo Olympics 2021 was dented by two big losses, including one to Zverev. Now, Djokovic is coming over to the US Open without any hardcourt practice.
In the 2020 US Open, Djokovic was eliminated from the tournament by default after he hit a line umpire in frustration. “I do think that he’s still the favorite. I do think he’s going to be playing incredible tennis there. He’s going to be fresh, and I think there are also other guys that are in very good form. Let’s see how it goes … I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I have to find my rhythm in New York as well,” Zverev said.
The German had lost in the final of the 2020 US Open to Dominic Thiem in a tough five-set encounter. Djokovic will become the second player after Rod Laver to achieve the calendar Grand Slam in the Open Era if he wins the US Open. Zverev, on the other hand, will want to capitalize on the gold in Tokyo and Cincinnati to avoid a repeat of the 2020 loss.
