We are already almost half way through the 2nd week of the last grand slam of the year. Can you believe it and man is it hotting up in both the actual tennis draw and the fantasy league leaderboard.

Today we start with the men’s matches and the first men’s match on was between 4th seed and now favourite in this half to make the final, Zverev and 12th seed, and America’s top seed, Fritz. Heading into the match as well, both players had scored 28 points in the fantasy league so nothing could separate them. Fritz was the man to take the first set which is always important in a match which can go either way. Zverev hit straight back as he took the 2nd set to level the scores at 1 set all. The 3rd set seemed important and both players were playing it as if it were the deciding set and it was the American, Fritz who took the all important 3rd set. Zverev managed to take the 4th set to a tiebreak but it was Fritz’s day in New York as he knocked out the 4th seed and he was into a grand slam semi-final. The end score was 7-6(2); 3-6; 6-4; 7-6(3).

The 2nd quarter-final in the mens draw was between 9th seed, Dimitrov who had held his nerve in a 5 set battle with Rublev and 20th seed home favourite, Tiafoe. Again this was a match which was hard to call so the opening set was important for either player to set the tone of the match and it was Tiafoe who set the tone as he took the opening set. Dimitrov hit back and just about avoided a 2 set deficit as he took the 2nd set in a tiebreak and just as the match before, the 3rd set seemed all important. Tiafoe was the man to take it and raced to a 4-1 lead in the 4th set before Dimitrov called it a day due to injury. What a sad way to end. This however means it is an all American semi-final at the US Open as Fritz will take on Tiafoe for a spot in their first grand slam final. The score ended 6-3; 6-7(5); 6-3; 4-1 ret.

The ladies matches were both straight set matches.
The first quarter-final was between yet another American, 13th seed, Navarro and 26th seed Badosa. Navarro had been playing some superb tennis but so had Badosa so this one was always going to be a good match. Navarro started the better of the 2 players as Badosa struggled to find her range. The 13th seed, taking the opener comfortably 6-2. However it was Badosa who started off the 2nd the better of the 2 players and raced to a 5-1 lead. Navarro forced her to serve it out at 5-2 and after failing to do so, Badosa mentally just fell apart. It was something extraordinary to watch as Navarro rattled off 6 games in a row to take the set 7-5 and the match along with it.

The last match on was between Sabalenka the 2nd seed and gold medalist and 7th seed, Zheng. Sabalenka still the hot favourite in my books to take the title but Zheng had been playing some good tennis to reach this point. However this match turned out to be very one sided as Sabalenka dropped just 3 games on her way to a 6-1; 6-2 win and yet another semi-final. She now becomes the best female pick after she picked up 10 points on day 9 and now sits on a total tally of 35 points for the tournament.

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and the top of the leaderboard is hotly contested at the moment. ‘Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of’ still lead but their lead seems to be getting smaller and smaller everyday. It is now just a 1 point between 1st and 2nd who is now once again ‘Lord of the Strings’. Just 1 point further back in 3rd is ‘Sinners Physio’. This means there are 3 teams separated by just 2 points. Incredible. Moving on up was ‘Uncle Sam’s Army’ who moved up into 4th spot 7 points back from 3rd. ‘Team Kickbutt’ had a bad day dropping down to 5th and tied in 5th with ‘Oh My Hat’. The last prize is being shared currently between ‘Fraud Watch’ and ‘Flush’ who both occupy 7th.

The wooden spoon has officially been won. Well done to ‘Victorious Secret’ who has won it. They are the first team to be eliminated after Zverev lost to Fritz.

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a tennis fantasy league organiser.http://Eishonline.co.za/jftl