Damien Kayat previews Aryna Sabalenka vs Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams vs Elina Svitolina at the WTA’s US Open.
WTA Tour 2019 | US Open | Flushing Meadows, New York
Selected 1st and 2nd Round Matches | 28th August 2019
Aryna Sabalenka (13/20)
vs Victoria Azarenka (11/10)
It’s been a long, hard road back to the big-time for former World Number One Victoria Azarenka. The two-time Aussie Open returns to the sight of great success and heartbreak. She lost in consecutive US Open Finals in 2012 and 2013. Outside of Serena Williams, Azarenka was probably the premier hard-court player in the world at one stage. In addition to the two Aussie Open titles and runner-up US Open finishes, Azarenka also won the Sunshine Double ‘Double’ in 2016. But the fallout from her pregnancy and subsequent custody battles have been quite catastrophic to her tennis career. She did reach the Monterrey Final earlier this year only to withdraw due to injury. If there ever was a suitable stage for an Azarenka statement, this would be it. It seems somewhat fitting that Belarus’ maiden Grand Slam winner will play their current tennis superstar: Aryna Sabalenka.
Winner of last year’s ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award, Aryna Sabalenka is a big-hitting baseliner who leaves very little to chance when she gets on court. That gung-ho attitude can also be to her detriment at times. It’s been a decent enough year for Sabalenka, though there has been a fundamental lack of consistency at times. She won the Shenzhen title to open the year, prior to semi-finals in St Petersburg and Strasbourg. She recently lost in the Silicon Valley Classic Final. But she has generally underperformed in Grand Slams and Premier Mandatory events. Having said that, she did win the Miami Open and Indian Wells titles in Doubles this year. She reached the 4th round here last year, with her characteristically flat groundstrokes well suited to this surface. Sabalenka is a real talent who just needs to curb her aggressive impulses from time to time.
This will be the first time that these two have met in singles competition. Sabalenka will be the clear favourite considering her form over the past 18 months. But Flushing Meadows is a venue for fairy-tales and could prove the platform for Azarenka’s resurgence. She feeds off of the pressure-cooker atmosphere here as well as anyone.
Venus Williams (11/8)
vs Elina Svitolina (4/7)
One wonders whether this could be Venus’ final bow at Flushing Meadows. Just looking at her truncated 2019 schedule and list of results, you start to wonder how appetite she has left to compete at this level. Venus has enjoyed sporadic success this year, with quarterfinals at Indian Wells and the recent Cincinnati Open. That performance in Cincinnati actually showed some signs of the old Venus, with impressive victories over Kiki Bertens and Donna Vekic. Williams won back-to-back US Opens in 2000 and 2001, highlighting her amazing longevity in the upper echelons of women’s tennis. She will be buoyed by her performance in Cincinnati and will know this is her final chance of impacting the Grand Slam fabric this year. She thrashed Zheng in the opening round and should feel fairly fresh going into this 2nd round match.
Ukrainian Elina Svitolina has been one of the most consistent players on tour this season. This consistency has been exacerbated by the wild rollercoaster fortunes of the likes of Osaka and Halep. She has reached no fewer than four semi-finals, including her maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon. That experience could prove crucial for a player who has often flattered to deceive at the very highest level. She enters this event in fairly negligible immediate form, having reached the quarters in Canada and last 16 in Cincinnati. She has played a lot of tennis this year and maybe feeling some of the effects of a burdensome schedule.
This will be their 4th ever meeting, with the Ukrainian holding a narrow 2-1 lead. That, however, doesn’t tell the entire story. Williams last beat Svitolina in 2015, Svitolina’s last two victories have been landslides. I just think that those victories over Bertens and Vekic in Cincinnati make Williams and attractive outside bet here, particularly considering the fanatical partisan support she will receive.
