Battle Into The Night
It was well past midnight at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, in New York, but no one was moving. Two athletes were engaged in an extravagant bout of tennis; not prepared to concede even an inch to the other. The crowd was on tenterhooks as the see-saw battle raged between the experienced Madison Keys of the US, the crowd favourite and the new World no.1 Aryna Sabalenka, a performer powerhouse. A berth in the Final of the US Open was at stake.
Sabalenka’s Roaring Comeback
Madison Keys playing some fluent tennis at the US Open this year, surged ahead in the match and in no time had pocketed the first set 6-0. Sabalenka had not even arrived and Keys was already racing away with the match. In the second set too, Keys was ahead and had ample opportunity to close out the match and cause an upset, but Sabalenka came back with a spirited display of both power and finesse to buttress Keys’ plans and took away the second set in a tie-break.
Sabalenka Victorious
A Heart Broken New York Crowd
The third and final set was a replica of the second. Keys again forged ahead 4-2, but could not resist the pressure from Sabalenka as she again fought back with blistering strokes and tireless agility. The third set was pushed to the tie-break and a more mentally tough Sabalenka scraped home, leaving a beleaguered Madison Keys in tears and a heart broken American Crowd.
As Close As It Gets
There was very little to choose between the two players who fought tooth and nail and entertained one and all. How close was the match can be seen from the statistics. Sabalenka won 102 points in the game against 99 by Madison Keys. The difference being just a mere 3 points. It was an incredibly close game.
The Evolution of Women’s Tennis
Women’s tennis has evolved drastically since the Williams Sisters arrived on the scene. The levels of fitness and the power of the groundstrokes are easily comparable to Men’s Tennis and there may be instances where the women would be hitting harder than the men. Equality in prize money therefore is more than fair. Sabalenka would be facing the American teenager Coco Gauff tonight in what is expected to be a terrific contest.
Medvedev Trumps Alcaraz
Medvedev Beats Alcaraz for Title Clash with Djokovic
In the Men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev outclassed Carlos Alcaraz, the world no.1 and defending Champion in an engaging contest. Alcaraz gave it all, but Medvedev who lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon semi-final this year ( rather timidly ) stoically defended, made far fewer errors on important points and emerged triumphant in 4 sets. Alcaraz was not at his best as his game swung between sheer brilliance and outright casual. Medvedev will play the great Serb Novak Djokovic on Sunday night in a repeat of the 2021 contest, where the Russian had prevailed. We shall wait and watch how it transpires this Sunday.
The Weekend is loaded with exciting sporting events across the world. A treat for the Sport lover indeed.
Read Quick, Read Better @ rizkhan.in
From on the court game heroics of both the players a winner is chosen statistically. But this cannot demean the spirit and quality of one player against the other. Both emerge winners in their own mould entertaining spectators with excitement and thrill.
Thanks to Riz Khan for dwelling on this amazing contest which could have swung in anyone ‘s favour.
A very crisp assessment. Really appreciate