{"id":51811,"date":"2022-08-28T21:48:42","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T01:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=51811"},"modified":"2022-08-28T21:48:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T01:48:42","slug":"2022-us-open-contenders-wta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2022\/08\/28\/2022-us-open-contenders-wta\/","title":{"rendered":"2022 US Open Contenders \u2013 WTA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Open is upon us and we are set for a profoundly interesting tournament.<\/p>\n

The late great commentator Bill Threllfall once said \u201conly the best players win the US Open.\u201d\u00a0 Bill made this statement during an era of dominant players jockeying for top spot. Including players the caliber of Martina Navratilova to Steffi Graf to Monica Seles and Serena Williams. However, we have the most open field I can remember, thus making any prediction completely hazardous.\u00a0 Anyone is capable of winning the US Open this year, regardless of ranking or form going in.<\/p>\n

2022 US Open Contenders \u2013 WTA<\/h2>\n

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Iga Swiatek<\/h4>\n

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The way things were going between March and June, Swiatek would be red hot favurite to win this title.\u00a0However, things have changed since then.<\/p>\n

With Ash Barty\u2019s sudden retirement<\/a> in March, Swiatek ascended to #1 and was beating everyone in sight. This included wins in Miami and at the French Open, culminating in a 37 match win streak.\u00a0This streak ended dramatically in the 3rd<\/sup> round of Wimbledon, when \u201cveteran\u201d French player Alize Cornet outplayed her in two sets. Since that defeat, Swiatek has found it difficult to get back her rhythm and confidence.<\/p>\n

During the hard court season Swiatek lost in the Round of 16 in both Canada and Cincinnati. In Cincinnati she lost to Madison Keys, a dangerous player on hard courts. In fact, not only is Swiatek losing early in big tournaments, her team are raising the issue of the balls used at the US Open<\/a>. I feel deja vu here because Ash Barty and her coach did the same thing last year at the US Open. Both Barty and Swiatek want to play the diagonal game and use their forehand to dictate play. But the US Open use a lighter duty tennis ball for the women, allowing players who hit with a little less topspin, i.e. \u201cflatter,\u201d to excel.\u00a0This is slightly concerning as it shows Swiatek is not 100 percent concentrated on winning.<\/p>\n

As for the tournament itself, despite not having a great summer, I see no reason why Swiatek cannot get to the final at least. She has the pedigree and is accumulating experience.\u00a0 If Swiatek wants to join the truly great players, she will have to win major tournaments outside of clay.\u00a0 The US Open is as good as it gets, so why not have a go.<\/p>\n

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Aryna Sabalenka<\/h4>\n

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Sabalenka had a tremendous 2021 but so far has not backed that up in 2022. In 2021 Sabalenka made the semifinal of both Wimbledon<\/a> and US Open, and won two titles including Madrid. 2022 has not gone the way she would like but she is still number 6 in the WTA rankings.<\/p>\n

This year Sabalenka has made two finals to date, losing to Swiatek in Stuttgart and the Rosmalen Open to Ekaterina Alexandrova.\u00a0 Sabalenka was barred from Wimbledon so had more time than usual to prepare for the hardcourt season. In Canada Sabalenka lost to Gauff in round 16 but did make the semifinal of Cincinnati, going down to Caroline Garcia. In Cincinnati, Garcia remarkably came through qualifying to win the tournament. All the same, Sabalenka should use the good run of matches to her advantage.\u00a0 Sabalenka is the archetypal modern player. Tall, strong, powerful ground strokes and a big serve but not the best volleyer.<\/p>\n

Last year Sabalenka had two great opportunities to make grand slam finals. Unfortunately, bad decisions during those semifinal matches and a slightly suspect temperament scuppered her chances. You will think if Sabalenka can get into a semifinal situation this time, she will react better to the occasion.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>