Good week / bad week: US Open week one

From history makers to match flakers, there’s been plenty to chat about at the US Open this week. We take a look at who has had a good week and who has struggled in the US Open week one.

Good week

Serena Williams
It has been a very good week for Serena Williams. Of course, she took the record for an incredible 307 Grand Slam wins – more than any other woman in the Open Era. But to get to that number she has had to win, and Serena has been making that look easy. The manner in which she has swept aside opponents like Ekaterina Makarova simply underlines the fact that the world No.1 is the woman to beat at Flushing Meadows.

Caroline Wozniacki
Where has this come from?! Caroline Wozniacki isn’t just winning at the US Open, she’s crushing it. After an utterly abject 2016, the two-time finalist has swept aside formidable opposition – most notable Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys. If she carries on like this, there’s every possibility that the world No.74 could find a way into her third final.

Novak Djokovic
Two retirements in three matches equals a very good week for Novak Djokovic. The world No.1, who went in the tournament saying that he needed as much time as possible for his wrist to heal, has got that. What’s more, he has dodged some tricky opponents on humid days in New York. Yes, he might be short of intense match practice, but Novak is effectively playing a Masters 1000 schedule now, and we all know how good he is at those…

An honourable mention to…
The French: Lucas Pouille, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga… the French have powered through the draw at Flushing Meadows.

Grigor Dimitrov: A man on the up. Grigor Dimitrov seems to be recapturing some of the form that excited the tennis world.

The roof: It’s big, it’s brash and it works. Yes, the roof made a great first impression on Arthur Ashe.

Bad Week

Garbine Muguruza
Muguruza has featured a couple of times in Bad Week recently, and it’s easy to see why. The world No.3 was supposed to be using the US Open to re-energise a waning year. Instead, the wane continued as the French Open champion crashed out to Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets.

Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios’ week at the US Open started with a hint of controversy, and ended in a flood of tears. The Australian, who struggled with a hip injury through the opening rounds, was forced to retire while playing on the biggest stage in tennis: the Arthur Ashe Saturday night session. It was a disappointing end to a tournament that had promised so much.

Ana Ivanovic
A little like Muguruza, Ana Ivanovic is a regular visitor to the Bad Week column. This time, the Serb crashed out in the opening round to unheralded Czech Denisa Allertova. Ivanovic, who entered the US Open at her lowest ranking (No.31) in over five years, struggled to put up much of a fight in the straight sets defeat.

An honourable mention to…
Marin Cilic: After looking like one of the men to beat going in to Flushing Meadows, the 2014 champ was dumped out by an inspired Jack Sock.