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WTA Tour 2019: US Open Preview (Round of 64)

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The round of 64 gets underway at the US Open with Damien Kayat previewing the respective matchups between Alison Riske and Jelena Ostapenko as well as 
Danielle Rose Collins and Caroline Wozniacki. 

WTA Tour 2019 | US Open | Flushing Meadows, New York
Selected Round of 64 Matches – 29-30 August 2019

Alison Riske (11/20)
vs Jelena Ostapenko (27/20)
2017 French Open Champion Jelena Ostapenko pulled off two remarkable results last season, seemingly setting her up for a strong 2019 campaign. She reached the Miami Open Final and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon. So just exactly why her 2019 season has torpedoed so dramatically is beyond me. She has endured no fewer than 12 first-round defeats this year. Her best results came on grass, with a quarterfinal in Birmingham the standout. She has made the 3rd round of Flushing Meadows for the last two years and will be looking towards creating a three-peat this week. She desperately needs to draw on some of the muscle memory gained from her experience in major events.

It’s been quite a year for 29-year-old American Alison Riske. She started the year by reaching the Shenzhen final for the 3rd time, and she would then go on to capture the Rosmalen event in surprise fashion. She reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon, pushing Serena Williams in straight sets. She then got married, with a Bollywood style wedding dance going viral soon thereafter. It’s been an interesting year for American tennis on the women’s side, with the likes of Riske, Collins and Gauff breaking into the conversation. Riske has been particularly surprising and will look for a deep run to punctuate an extremely satisfying year.

This will actually be the first time that these two players have met. Ostapenko has the Grand Slam pedigree but has been in shocking form. She will also have to contend with a highly partisan crowd currently immersed in a wave of tennis euphoria. I think Riske to win in straight sets at 5/4 sounds reasonable. 

Danielle Rose Collins (23/20)
vs Caroline Wozniacki (6/10)
One would have thought that Wozniacki’s maiden Grand Slam victory last year in Melbourne would have opened the floodgates to more Grand Slam success. But the opposite seems to have occurred in her case, particularly this season. Aside from an appearance in the Charleston Final, this year has essentially been a wash for Wozniacki. She did have issues with health towards the beginning of the season, picking up a viral illness that caused her to withdraw from Doha and Dubai. Perhaps she hasn’t quite been able to shake off that early-season break of momentum. Wozniacki is always a leading candidate for an early upset in Grand Slam events. She hasn’t progressed past the 3rd round of a Slam this year. She just seems vulnerable in these stages, perhaps feeling the need to blow her opponent away when more considered tennis would be preferable. But as a two-time runner-up in this event, Wozniacki certainly has the pedigree to go far this year.

From an established figure on tour to one of the more mysterious currently plying her trade on the circuit. Danielle Rose Collins is a graduate of the American college system, winning the NCAA title twice. So she has been a slightly late bloomer in the professional circuit. But she made a sensational splash earlier this year, gate-crashing the Grand Slam party for a completely unheralded semi-final run in Melbourne. But she has struggled to maintain that kind of form as the year has progressed. A 3rd round run at Wimbledon hinted at her ability to mix it in Grand Slam events. She will feel completely comfortable in the rowdy New York atmosphere, which is in many ways similar to the crazy competitive atmosphere of college tennis.

Both of these players needed three sets in the opening round and both are desperately short of form. This will be their 3rd ever meeting, with the spoils shared thus far. Critically, Collins won their last encounter in Rome this year. Sadly enough for Wozniacki, a Collins victory wouldn’t even come as much of a surprise. Collins reached the semi-finals in her last Slam on a hard-court and will have fanatical home support.

Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets.

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