Ranking points and prize money are certainly nice, but one of the biggest goals of the two-week Masters push through Canada (Toronto and Montreal) and Cincinnati is gaining momentum and getting hard court-ready in time for the US Open. For many players, these two Masters 1000-level events represent the only hard court match play after Wimbledon and leading into New York.
With both events now in the rear view mirror along the path towards Flushing Meadows, it’s a good time to look back on who might have achieved that coveted momentum and gained some confidence heading into the season’s last major. On the other side of that coin, there’s also the players whose disappointing performance has raised questions about their level of play.
Here’s your US Open stock watch:
US Open Stock On the Rise: Jessica Pegula & Coco Gauff
Two weeks, two American women knocking off world No. 1 Iga Swiatek en route to a Masters Series triumph. In Montreal, Pegula jumped out to an early lead and held strong in the face of a Swiatek comeback, topping the Polish star 6-2 6-7(4) 6-4 in the semifinals.
Exactly one week later, it was Gauff who booked her spot in a Masters final at the expense of Swiatek, her first career victory over the French Open champion. In eerily similar fashion to Pegula, Gauff took the first set and then held on just long enough to claim a 7-6(2) 3-6 6-4 victory.
The two women also had a competitive, entertaining quarter-final clash in Canada that saw Pegula emerge with a 6-2 5-7 7-5 win. Suddenly, the United States can boast two bona fide Slam threats who are feeling pretty good about themselves.
Stock On the Decline: Carolina Garcia
We could fret over Swiatek’s showing, but she made two deep runs which were preceded by a dominant run through her hometown Warsaw Open event. World No. 7 Carolina Garcia warrants far more cause for concern.
Garcia has played in three events since reaching the third round of Wimbledon and is one-and-done in each. After falling to Marta Kostyuk as the No. 2 seed at the Citi Open, she fell to Marie Bouzkova and Sloane Stephens in Montreal and Cincinnati, respectively. It’s a far cry from the form the Frenchwoman displayed at this time a year ago, when she won Cincinnati along the way to the US Open semifinals.
Stock On the Rise: Hubert Hurkacz
The men’s draws were rife with inconsistency over the past two weeks. National Bank Open champion Jannik Sinner, Alex de Minaur, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Alcaraz slayer Tommy Paul all thrived in Toronto, but failed to make waves in Cincinnati. Let’s, then, tip our hat to Hubert Hurkacz, who enjoyed a pair of strong runs that might have been longer were it not for Alcaraz.
In Toronto, Hurkacz topped Alexander Bublik and Miomir Kecmanovic to advance to the third round, where he fell just short in a 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(7) marathon against the Spanish world No. 1. One week later, the Polish 26-year-old came agonizingly close to knocking off Alcaraz again, falling in a three-set semifinal after ousting the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Borna Coric.
Heading into New York, Hurkacz may want one more crack at Alcaraz–or he may want nothing to do with him.
Stock On the Decline: Holger Rune
The US Open remains the only major in which Holger Rune hasn’t at least reached the round of 16. And if the Dane’s ailing back doesn’t get significantly better in a hurry, that may not be about to change.
In his first match in Toronto after a first-round bye, Rune stumbled out to a 6-2 4-6 6-3 loss to American qualifier Marcos Giron. In Cincinnati, he came up against wild card Mackenzie McDonald (who also deserved consideration as a “rising stock” player), falling behind 6-4, 2-0 before retiring with back issues. With a winnable draw in front of him, Rune’s biggest foe has clearly been his back.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
