The most prominent story of the first week of the 2022 United States Open was the fact that Serena Williams of the United States had advanced to the third round before losing to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. Now we enter the second week of the final major of the year. Here are the top five stories to keep an eye on.
1) Resurgence of Nick Kyrgios.
Despite being fined on a regular basis for his questionable conduct, it has been a great summer for Australian no.1 Nick Kyrgios. First, he reached the Wimbledon Final, won the Citi Open in Washington, and then beat Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the National Bank Open in Montreal, 6-7, 6-4, 6-2. On Sunday in the fourth round under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, Kyrgios will play Medvedev again. Medvedev is the world number one despite not participating at Wimbledon, while Kyrgios is the 23rd seed.
2) Four Spaniards in the round of 16.
This has been a great U.S. Open for Spanish male tennis players as four Spaniards are in the round of 16. Rafael Nadal, the second seed, and four-time U.S. Open champion, is facing 22nd ranked Frances Tiafoe of the United States, the third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain is facing the 15th seed and 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain is facing Matteo Berrettini of Italy, and the 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain is facing the 27th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia.
3) Five Americans in the round of 16.
Tiafoe is the only American man left in the singles draw. There are four American women left in the fourth round. They are the eighth seed Jessica Pegula, the 12th seed Coco Gauff, the 19th seed Danielle Collins and the 29th seed Alison Riske-Amritraj. Pegula will play the 21st seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Collins will play the sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, Gauff will play Shuai Zhang of China, and Riske-Amritraj will face the 17th seed and Cincinnati Masters champion Caroline Garcia of France.
4) Seven players without a country in the round of 16.
Heading into the fourth round, seven players who did not have a country’s flag next to their name are still alive. That is because Russians and Belarusians are not recognized due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In addition to Khachanov, Sabalenka and Medvedev, 18th ranked Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, 26th ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Ludmilla Samsonova of Russia, and Ilya Ivashka of Belarus are still alive. Kudermetova is facing the fifth seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, Azarenka is facing the 22nd seed Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic, Samsonova is facing Tomljanovic, and Ivashka is facing 11th seed Jannik Sinner of Italy.
5) Could Nadal leave before the end of the tournament?
Nadal is in the fourth round, and the world number two definitely has a chance to win his 23rd grand slam title. However, his wife Xisca is reportedly 32 weeks pregnant, and has had complications with her pregnancy. Nadal could be with his wife while she is in hospital.
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