A rainy Thursday in New York City will make for an exciting and tennis-filled last Friday at the U.S. Open. The two women’s semifinal matches, cancelled due to weather, will fill the morning slots and they will be directly followed by the two men’s matches.
In the first women’s matchup, 26 seed Flavia Pennetta will take on two seed Simona Halep. While the difference in seed may make this seem like a mismatch, never let the number next to the name fool you in women’s tennis. Ranking is particularly mercurial on the ladies side, and Pennetta has done some heavy lifting to earn her place in the semifinal. She took out 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova (2011, 2014) in consecutive matches.
On the other side of the net, Simona Halep is seeking her first appearance in a U.S. Open final and ultimately her first Grand Slam championship. Earning the nickname “Jalapeño” for her quick and fiery play, Halep is an aggressive offensive player with great agility and speed making her a difficult opponent to defeat. She is able to cover more of the court and track down balls slower players wouldn’t be able to reach. Despite Pennetta’s run so far, I believe Halep’s athleticism will carry her into the final.
Directly following the Pennetta vs. Halep match will be Serena Williams and the last unseeded player in the women’s draw, Roberta Vinci. I know I said right before this not to be dissuaded by player’s rankings, but in this one I think it will make an obvious difference. Without detracting at all from the accomplishment of making a Grand Slam semifinal, Venci has been a little lucky. She has yet to face another seeded player and had a walkover in the round of 16 when Eugenie Bouchard was forced to retire due to head injury.
Venci is about to go up against the best women’s tennis player of her time in Serena Williams, who has the weight of tennis history on her shoulders. Without saying too much because I am superstitious by nature, I think that Venci would be more than overmatched by Serena even on her best day.
Following the last women’s match and opening the afternoon session will be one seed Novak Djokovic and last year’s champion and nine seed Marin Cilic. Djokovic has a 13-0 record against Cilic, and has already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. He is an aggressive baseline player with incredible groundstrokes and what some people say is one of the best backhands of all time.
Despite the overwhelming head-to-head record against him, Cilic can’t be counted out. He is the reigning champion and he has fought hard to make the semifinals again. Cilic also boasts powerful groundstrokes, but he would need to rely heavily on his powerful serve if he has a chance of hanging with Djokovic. However, Cilic has always been the spottier of the two players, and Djokovic has been playing great tennis all year. In this one, I’d have to pick the one seed.
The final match of the day pits two countrymen against one another. The second-seeded Roger Federer will take on fellow Swiss player and five seed Stan Wawrinka. Wawrinka has had a relatively easy road to the semifinals, beating only one seeded player, Kevin Anderson (15). He has been playing great tennis this year, winning the only Grand Slam title Djokivic hasn’t claimed this year, the French Open.
But then there’s Federer. Already in the conversation of greatest tennis players of all time, Federer has been playing inspired tennis. He hasn’t dropped a single set. In his quarterfinal match, he was moving around the court with such grace it reminded me why he’s always been referred to as an artist. There’s nothing in the game of tennis he doesn’t do well. And he’s well rested. So my sincerest apologies to Stan Wawrinka, but I’m taking Fed and I can’t wait to see what kind of art he has in store for us next.
Coverage of the U.S. Open Semifinals begins Friday, September 10 at 8 a.m. PST on ESPN.
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