Women's
(4) Gauff 6/4 - 7/6 (2) Sabalenka
Sabalenka opened the semifnal match in full fury mode to take a break right away from Gauff. My mantra: the Russians in tennis have big talent and big blowups (e: big game but big headcase) and early on Sabalenka was using her power to push Gauff out of her comfort zone. But as the 1st set wore on, it felt like Gauff was making better use of Sabalenka's fury than Sabalenka was and Gauff was able to get the break back and take it to a tiebreak. Then the surprise happened: rather than completely falling apart, Sabalenka showed great discipline through the tiebreak and took the 1st set. From there it felt over to me, it did not feel like Gauff was gonna come back and when Sabalenka went up a break in the 2nd, it didn't feel like Sabalenka was going to blow it. Sabalenka at her best is maybe the most talented in all of women's tennis right now, but she melts down, too, and Gauff is the kind of hardnosed competitor than can take advantage when Sabalenka flails. That scenario was on the table but Sabalenka played with wisdom and used her talent instead of her fury to play a successful match. I love Gauff, she moves like a cat out there, and she's got the mind of a savvy veteran (though she looks like a little kid--a very muscular little kid!), and she's still got a lot ahead of her. But Sabalenka played well here and didn't make the big mistakes and when she does that, she's probably the best in the world right now.
Yastremska 4/4 - 6/6 (12) Zheng
The Ukrainian-born Yastremska had some good moments early on, but she looked to be in over her head pretty quick. She rose up from the qualifiers, meaning she played an extra week of hard tennis and I think her body just wore out and whatever zing her game had, it just wasn't semifinal quality. Zheng just looked cooler in return and her defensive style allowed her to keep so many rallies going that Zheng played herself into having more opportunities than Yastremska could ever get for herself. Nice run for Yastremska, but Zheng was the better player. Zheng's ability to defend so well will give her a real chance against Sabalenka in the final: the key is to keep rallies going and let Sabalenka frustrate herself.
(12) Zheng 3/2 -6/6 (2) Sabalenka
Zheng has a great ability to play defense, to place her returns in a variety of places and paces. I thought if she could just fight off Sabalenka's physical strength and play some frustrating defense, then it was certainly possible that Sabalenka was lose her shit and Zheng might have a shot at an upset. But, no. Sabalenka played a very mellow brand of tennis and won convincingly and quickly. Good run for the defending champ, I really do think Sabalenka is the best in the world right now (when she keeps it together).
Men's
(1) Djokovic 1/2/7/3 - 6/6/6/6 (4) Sinner
Wow, haven't seen Djokovic get handled like this in a long long time. Sinner (and Alcaraz) can beat Djokovic, there are a few guys at the top that can hang and maybe steal a victory from Djoker, but Sinner can go toe-to-toe with Djokovic and beat him at his own game. Not to say that all is lost for Djokjovic, but this is what Djokovic did to Federer back in the day: provide him a formidable opponent, not just a guy good enough to get lucky. Sinner took Djokovic's first two service games--stunning!--and then went up early again in the 2nd set. Djokovic came to life in the 3rd set (too late) but he drove Sinner to a tiebreak and suddenly it felt like maybe a titanic Djokovic comeback was in the offing. But, no, that went away pretty quick in the 4th and Sinner cruised to victory. Good match but really only because we saw the giant get bested--again, its not over for Djokovic, he's still better than just about everyone else on earth. But he's not the only predator in the jungle anymore, he's got real competition now and we'll see how much hardware he can steal on his way out.
(3) Medvedev 5/3/7/7/6 - 7/6/6/6/3 (6) Zverev
I couldn't get through this one. I knew it was gonna be at least a 4-hour match and I just knew I wouldn't be able to sustain. Zverev took the first two sets and even though I knew there was a long way to go, I retired thinking he would be the victor. Nope. Medvedev came back from 2 sets down and now, of course, I wish I'd watched more of it. Both of these guys are nice but both are too self-destructive to be able to get it done. Does Sinner just beat Djokovic or does he beat the other guys, too? I'm betting he does, won't be easy, but I think Sinner takes Medvedev.
(4) Sinner 3/3/6/6/6- 6/6/4/4/3 (3) Medvedev
Medvedev is a defensive player, a grinder, a snake in the grass that seeks to survive and wear opponents down; but, whoa, that's not at all how he came to play in this Final. He attacked Sinner's serve early and often and two breaks in each of the first two sets. I know it was still going to be a long match (I believe Medvedev set the record for most sets in a single Major tourney), but I felt like Medvedev was still in his comfrort zone and ready to play a long game. But his return kinda disappeared and his ability to keep rallies going just didn't make for any momentum turns for him. Sinner was shellshocked early on, but he kept his head and the 3rd set he got his serve working. I feel bad for Medvedev, this was his best shot at winning another Major and though he came out with an innovative game plan that had early success, he still can't get an audience to get on his side. Tough break. But great win for Sinner, this will not be his last Major, I'm guessing.
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