J J Wolf shocked 16th seed Roberta Bautista Agut in the first round of the US Open, taking out the Spaniard in three straightforward sets.
JJ Wolf defeated Spaniard in straight sets
J.J. Wolf, who played college tennis at Ohio State, needed a wild card to enter the US Open, and his record in Grand Slams has not been great. This season the American had only entered the Australian Open qualifying, choosing to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon. The 23-year-old has only ever once previously reached the main draw of a Slam.
At the 2020 US Open Wolf defeated the 29th seed, Guido Pella, in four sets. The American then defeated Spaniard Roberto Carballés Baena in straight sets. Wolf then ran into third seed Daniil Medvedev, who was too strong for the young American.
Wolf was against Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round. The Spaniard was the 19th seed and on paper was expected to defeat the American. However, Wolf had not read the script. The 23-year-old needed just over two hours to devour the Spaniard.
Bautista Agut could not stop the young American from breaking serve. Apart from the performance in 2020, Wolf has not been very successful in the Grand Slams. Beating the Spaniard on home soil goes down as the biggest win of his career to date.
Will the Wolf be able to back it up? Hopefully the American won’t fall to the curse that usually follows defeating a seeded player. Generally it is hard to back up the shock win in the next round. Wolf will play Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the second round. Tabilo needed a four set victory in the first round over another non seeded player.
Did getting rid of the mullet help improve Wolf’s Grand Slam tennis? Probably not, as Agassi played well with and without hair. However, making the second round after a straight sets win over a Top 20 player is a fantastic achievement. It is also good for U.S. Tennis, who have not had that much to cheer about in Grand Slams lately.
Ok, so it’s way too early to be having Wolf as a title contender, but if he is able to back up the win and move through the draw and take out more seeds, then well who knows, anything is possible.
