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W&S Open ATP Qualifying Recap

By Rahul Datta

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 05: Serena Williams of the United States in action against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine at sunset on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 05: Serena Williams of the United States in action against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine at sunset on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by TPN/Getty Images) /
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The Western and Southern Open is set to officially begin tomorrow. Today, the ATP Qualifying came to a conclusion.

Among the shockers during qualifying was Jannik Sinner’s loss to journeyman Italian Salvatore Caruso. Americans Michael Mmoh and Brandon Nakashima also lost on Day 1 of qualifying.

Another shocker was Jermey Chardy getting swept by 21 year old Emil Ruusuvuroi out of Finland. NextGen players Mikael Ymer and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also lost during Day 1 of qualifying.

Day 2 of qualifying was very eventful, as 3 of the matches went beyond 2 hours. Of these matches, Norbert Gombos beat Soonwoo Kwon 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, American Mackenzie McDonald beat Dominik Koepfer 6-7, 7-5, 7-6, and Ricardas Berankis beat Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-2, 5-7, 7-6.

Among the other winners during Day 2 of qualifying were J.J. Wolf, Lloyd Harris, Marcos Giron, Salvatore Caruso (who continued his impressive play from Day 1), Martin Fucsovics,  Sebastian Korda, Aljaz Bedene, and Emil Ruusuvuroi.

Day 1 of the Western & Southern Open will hold some interesting matches to watch for. By far the most appealing is the battle of old versus young in Marin Cilic vs Denis Shapovalov. Some other interesting matches set to take place are the young FAA versus Nikoloz Basilashvili, Borna Coric versus Benoit Paire, and John Isner versus Hubert Hurkacz.

The top 8 players will all have bye rounds on Day 1 and will play their first matches on Monday. Among the most interesting storylines to watch for is how Djokovic is going to play after contracting COVID 19. Djokovic has been outspoken in his support to play tennis again this season to the point where his own tournament ended causing a COVID-19 breakout, so it will definitely be worth watching to see how well Djokovic plays. In addition, viewers should keep an eye on how Alexander Zverev plays, as he recently signed David Ferrer to be his new coach.

Next. W&S Open Draw Announced. dark

Western and Southern Open action kicks off tomorrow at approximately 11 AM EST on Tennis Channel and ESPN. For tennis fans, the wait is finally over. Let the games begin.

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