2019 ATP YEC: Tsitsipas Wins Biggest Title Of His Young Career

Surprising many, Stefanos Tsitsipas finished his breakout 2019 season by coming from behind to win his first ATP Tour Finals title over Dominic Thiem 6-7(6) 6-2 7-6(4). The 21-year-old Greek player is the youngest player to win the  year-end tour championship since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001 and the seventh player to win it in his tournament debut (Grigor Dimitrov did that in 2017).

Tisitsipas finished the year with wins over every member of the top 10, including the big 3: Nadal, Djokovic and Federer.

2019 ATP YEC: Tsitsipas-Thiem Final

For the fourth consecutive year, the ATP Finals will be won by someone new, i.e. someone who is not a previous champion of the event. This sequence started in 2016 when Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic to become World #1 for the first time, then in 2017 Grigor Dimitrov defeated David Goffin, last year Alexander Zverev beat Djokovic to win the biggest title of his career and tomorrow either 26-year-old Dominic Thiem or 21-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas will win their biggest title. On paper one has to give the edge to Thiem, who has played in two major finals but only won one Masters series shield (defeating Roger Federer in the 2019 Indian Wells final). Plus Thiem leads the head-to-head with Tsitsipas 4-2.

Despite my predictions of a Federer-Thiem final, Tsitsipas was able to blast past Federer in a thrilling 6-4 6-3 win while Thiem dispatched defending champion Zverev 7-5 6-3.

MadProfesah's prediction: Thiem d. Tsitsipas.

2019 ATP YEC: Federer-Tsitsipas, Thiem-Zverev Are Semis As Djokovic and Nadal Are Eliminated

The semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals are now set: Roger Federer will face Stefanos Tsitsipas while Dominic Thiem versus 2018 champion Alexander Zverev. Both the World #1 Rafael Nadal and World #2 Novak Djokovic were eliminated via different paths in the last two days.
In a blockbuster showdown between Federer and Djokovic (their 49th career meeting) for the semifinal slot, Federer shocked Djokovic by defeating his rival in straight sets 6-4 6-3 to bring their head to head of 23-26 in favor of Djokovic. Interestingly, the result of this match also decided the World #1 race for 2019. Nadal claimed his 5th yearly World #1 (2019, 2017, 2013, 2010, 2008), matching the other members of the trivalry: Djokovic (2018, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011) and Federer (2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004). The significance of the Federer-Djokovic match was set up after Dominic Thiem beat Djokovic in one of the best matches of the year: 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(5). Thiem's victory meant that Djokovic wouldn't gain undefeated ranking points in the ATP Finals, thus making his task to reach the #1 spot that much more difficult.

In fact this year's ATP Finals was one of the most thrilling in years. In addition to Thiem-Djokovic and Federer-Djokovic there was another notable match in Medvedev-Nadal. Medvedev was up in the third set 1-5 3-40 on Nadal's serve and the Russian twice served for the match at 5-2 and 5-4 but eventually he lost in a third set tiebreak. Other important wins were Zverev's first win over Nadal and Tsitsipas's first win over Medvedev. In the end, despite winning two matches in the round robin round (both 3 set victories, against Medvedev and Tsitsipas) Nadal was eliminated when Zverev defeated Medvedev in straight sets, claiming the final semifinal slot to join Thiem, Federer and Tsitsipas.

MadProfessah's prediction: Federer d. Tsitsipas and Thiem d. Zverev.

TENNIS TUESDAY: France Wins Fed Cup Merci A Kiki; Zverev, Thiem and Tsistipas Get Surprising Wins at #ATPFinals

KIKI STEALS THE SHOW AS FRANCE WINS FED CUP IN PERTH

Much to the surprise of many observers, France defeated Australia in the Davis Cup Final held in Perth, Australia last weekend. After the first two matches were 6-1 6-1 France (Kiki Mladenovic d. Ajla Tomljanovic) and 6-0 6-0 Australia (Ash Barty d. Caroline Garcia), most people expected the World #1 to lead her team to their first Fed Cup in 45 years. But after leading 6-2 against Mladenovic Barty's game went off and eventually she lost in a 3rd set tie-break. Amazingly, Tomljanovic was able to win her match to even the tie at 2-all but then Garcia and Mladenovic teamed up to win the decisive doubles tie against Barty and Samantha Stosur and victory for France.

SOME SURPRISING RESULTS AT THE 2019 ATP YEAR END CHAMPIONSHIPS

The ATP Year-End Championship is happening now in London. Currently called the Nitto ATP Finals, it will be moving to Turin, Italy in 2020. Although it started off slowly, there have been some surprising results. Dominic Thiem has defeated Roger Federer for the third time this year. He followed up that win with a 3rd set tiebreak victory over Novak Djokovic which many people are calling the best 3-set men's match of the year. However, in the even more surprising results section is the fact that both Alexander Zverev and Stefans Tsitsipas defeated players whom they had 0-5 head-to-head records against in straight sets. Zverev defeated World #1 Rafael Nadal and Tsitsipas defeated Daniil Medvedev.

2019 WTA YEC: Barty Defeats Svitolina To Win Biggest Paycheck in Tennis

Ash Barty this weekend won the biggest paycheck in women's tennis history when she won US$4.42 million for winning the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen by defeating 2018 WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina. Barty has had an amazing 2019 tennis season (which technically is over because she is playing in the 2019 Fed Cup final next weekend against France in Perth, Australia). In 2019, after never being ranked higher than #15 in the World or reaching a major semifinal, she won the 2019 Roland Garros title and ascended to World #1, eventually earning the end-of-year #1 ranking for 2019.

At the WTA Finals (which she qualified for the first time this year, becoming one of the very few players to win it in their debut) she was able to come from behind against World #2 Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals to win 4-6 6-2 6-3 (as I predicted). Svitolina  had a  lot more trouble with Belinda Bencic than I expected, with the Swiss player becoming the 4th(!) to withdraw from the tournament, following the heels of Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and  Kiki Bertens. Bencic won the first set 7-5 against Svitolina but then had an injury in the second set, lost that 6-3 and finally withdrew from the match and tournament trailing 1-4 in the third.

I suspect Barty's year will come to a perfect end when she powers Australia past France in the Fed Cup.

2019 WTA YEC: Barty versus Pliskova, Svitolina versus Bencic

The semifinals of the WTA Year-End Championships, now called the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, are set for Saturday. They feature World #1 Ash Barty versus current World #2 Karolina Pliskova and 2018 defending champion Elina Svitolina versus Belina Bencic. Svitolina is now 8-0 in the last two year-end championships; she has never lost in the tournament so far and she is the first player to reach the semifinal stage without dropping a set since Serena Williams achieved that feat in 2014. Svitolina has beaten Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova and (2nd Alternate) Sofia Kenin all in straight sets to reach the knockout stage.

Barty leads Pliskova 3-2 and Bencic leads Svitolina 2-1 in the head-to-head matchups.

MadProfessah's predictions: Svitolina defeats Bencic (in 3) and Barty beats Pliskova (in 2).

TENNIS TUESDAY: Murray Wins 1st Title With Metal Hip; WTA Elite 8 Set; Shapo Wins First Title

ANDY MURRAY DEFEATS STAN WAWRINKA IN BATTLE OF COMEBACK KIDS
Former World #1 and 3-time major champion Andy Murray defeated 3-time major champion Stan Wawrinka 3-6 6-4 6-4 to win his first title since March of 2017. The tournament win is notable because both Murray and Wawrinka had extended departures from the tour due to injury, with Murray having a "hip resurfacing surgery" in January of this year which most people expected to completely end his competitive tennis career.

BENCIC GRABS LAST SLOT IN WTA TOUR FINAL BY WINNING KREMLIN CUP
Belinda Bencic continued her excellent 2019 season by grabbing the final slot in the Elite 8 season-ending WTA Tour Finals by winning the Kremlin Cup title over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Bencic only needed to reach the final to claim the berth but came back from a set to win her 4th career title.

SHAPOVALOV REACHES FIRST ATP TOUR FINAL IN 8 TRIES AND  WINS IT!
Denis Shapovalov of Canada had lost his first 7 ATP tour semifinals but at the Stockholm Open he reached the final and surprisingly won it with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Yuichi Sugita. The 20-year-old Canadian rejoins the Top 30 and gets bragging rights over his 19-year-old countryman Felix Auger-Aliassime who is higher ranked on the tour but has yet to win an ATP tour title despite reaching 2 finals this year.

ELITE EIGHT OF WTA TOUR FINAL SET (SERENA DOESN'T QUALIFY)

The competitors in the WTA Tour Finals (now called the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzen) are set: Ash Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova Belinda Bencic and Elina Svitolina.

TENNIS THURSDAY: Medvedev Wins Shanghai; Coco Wins 1st WTA Title At Age 15; Federer Reveals 2020 Tokyo Plans; Rafa Gets Married 10/19

MEDVEDEV CONTINUES HOT STREAK WITH SHANGHAI TITLE
Daniel Medvedev continued his streak of extremely-hot tennis which began over the summer by winning his second Masters series event of the year, defeating Alexander Zverev in the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters Open 6-4 6-1. It is Medvedev's sixth consecutive final appearance and third title of the year. Earlier in the tournament, Zverev had beaten Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Novak Djokovic to open up the draw for the 23-year-old Russian.

GAUFF MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST TITLE AT AGE 15

CoCo Gauff again made good use of one of her limited opportunities to compete in a WTA professional tournament due to her age (15 years old) and became the youngest player since 2004 (the year she was born!) to win a tour title. Gauff defeated 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 1-6 6-2 to the Linz, Austria tournament. With her win CoCo will rise to #71 in the WTA rankings and will be guaranteed direct entry into the 2020 Australian Open.

FEDERER CONFIRMS HE WILL PLAY OLYMPICS AND ROLAND GARROS
Although not a huge surprise, Roger Federer finally confirmed that between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open next year he will participate in the 2020 Olympics, hoping to finally win a singles Gold medal. He has Gold medal in Doubles (from Beijing 2008) and a silver medal in singles (from London 2012) and did not play the Rio 2016 Olympics due to injury.

RAFA WILL MARRY LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND ON OCTOBER 19 IN MALLORCA
Finally! After 12 years of dating, Rafael Nadal will marry his girlfriend Xisca Perrello on October 19. The World #2 is the last of the Big 4 (Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Nadal) to get married. The others have 8 children between them and Murray is expecting his 3rd child any day now.

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Serena Williams Turns 38!

Although she doesn't celebrate birthdays due to her professed Jehovah's Witness faith, Serena Williams birthday is this week (Thursday September 26) when she turned 38 years old. She is one of only four women who have been ranked in the Top 10 over the age of 38: Venus Williams (38 years and 29 days), Martina Navratilova (38 years and 75 days), and Billie Jean King (39 years 322 days).

Amazingly, for the second year in a row, Serena reached 2 consecutive major finals (Wimbledon and U.S. Open) and lost both of them without winning a set. Regardless, I still have confidence that she will eventually win major title number 24.

Happy Birthday, G.O.A.T.!

TENNIS TUESDAY: Europe (Barely) Wins Laver Cup; Osaka Wins Osaka; Halep-Cahill Reunion

EUROPE WINS LAVER CUP FOR 3RD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
The Lave Cup is a new team competition (begun in 2017) dreamed up by Roger Federer and his agent Tony Godsick a few years ago modeled on the very successful Ryder Cup in golf. Two teams (World and Europe) compete in singles and doubles over a weekend in host cities that move around the world. This year the competition was in Geneva, Switzerland (next year it will be in Boston, Massachusetts and last year it was in Chicago, Illinois). One of the key delights of the Laver Cup is the ability to see legends like Rafael Nadal and Federer interacting together and combining to coach younger players who they are usually rivals with (like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem). Federer is still undefeated in three years in singles. This year World came the closest to winning the Laver Cup when Jack Sock stunned himself (and everyone else) by beating Fabio Fognini. The American then teamed up with John Isner and defeated the Federer/Tsitsipas to give World its first-ever lead in Laver Cup. However, Federer beat Isner in singles and Zverev (for the second consecutive year) won the deciding match, this time in a Super Breaker 10-7 over Milos Raonic.

NAOMI OSAKA FROM OSAKA WINS OSAKA WTA TOURNAMENT
Naomi Osaka, World #4 and reigning Australian Open champion, won her second title of the year in her birthplace of Osaka, Japan. Osaka ended her title drought by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets.

HALEP ANNOUNCES COACHING REUNION WITH DARREN CAHILL FOR 2020
After winning her second major title at Wimbledon 2019 without his (official) assistance, Simona Halep has announced that she will be reuniting with her coach  Darren Cahill for the 2020 season. Presumably her focus will be to win one of the two hard court majors (and perhaps an Olympic medal?) in 2020.

2019 US OPEN: Nadal Wins 19th Slam, 4th US Open Title

As I predicted, Rafael Nadal won the 2019 US Open title, by defeating Daniil Medvedev in a surprisingly tight 7-5 6-3 5-7 6-4 6-3 in nearly 5 hours. This is Nadal's 19th major title (1 Australian Open, 12 French Open, 2 Wimbledon, 4 US Open), putting him just one behind Roger Federer's total of 20 and increasing his lead over Novak Djokovic's 16.

2019 US OPEN: Men's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Daniil Medvedev (RUS) [5] vs Rafael Nadal (ESP) [2]

Here are my predictions for the men's final between  Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships. I also (incorrectly) predicted the women's final between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 1 of 2 men's semifinals,  4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I incorrectly predicted Serena Williams would defeat Naomi Osaka.

MEN'S SEMIFINALS REVIEW

Daniil Medvedev (RUS) [5] d. Grigor Dimitrov (BLR) 7-6(5) 6-4 6-3.  Despite having fewer winners, more errors and a winning fewer points in the first set, Medvedev was able to steal it in the tiebreak.  He was able to continue his improbable winning streak by ending Dimitrov's even more improbable run at the U.S. Open. The 6-foot-6 23-year-old Russian played the bigger points better and was rewarded with his very first major final appearance.

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [2] d. Matteo Berrettini (ITA) [24] 7-6(6) 6-4 6-1. Matteo Berrettini  made a lot of fans with his play in the first set of his very first major semifinal. He was up 4-0 and 6-4 in the tiebreak but somehow Nadal was able to win the last four points and the set as the young Italian got tight at the sight of the finishing line. After that, Nadal was able to squeeze out the second set and run away with the 3rd to reach his 5th major final in New York City (3-1 record).

MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW

These two met in the final of the Rogers Cup just over a month ago and Nadal won easily (6-3 6-0). Although no one expects the final to be that one-sided, Nadal is a clear favorite to grab his 19th major title (in his 27th major final), and become the first man over 30 years old to win 5 majors. He has only lost one set so far (to 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic) and also had a walkover. Medvedev has had a much tougher path to the final; only his first round and semifinal round were straight set victories.  MadProfessah's pick: Nadal.

2019 US OPEN: Andreescu Wins 1st Major, Delaying Serena's Quest For 24

Defying my prediction, Bianca Andreescu defeated Serena Williams in the women's final of the 2019 U.S.Open 6-3 7-5 to win her first major final. The 19-year-old Canadian became her country's first major title winner (of any gender) and the first player born since 2000 to win a major title. (There is still no player born in the 1990s or the 2000s who has won a major title on the ATP tour.)

HOW THE TITLE WAS WON

For the fourth time in a row that she has played in four major finals since returning after getting married and having a baby, Serena was unable to play her best tennis. Despite winning the first point with an ace, Serena still got broken in her very first service game, by hitting a double fault on breakpoint. In fact, this was an augur of things to come, because Serena had an awful serving performance today, with only 44% of her first serves going in (compared to 66% of Andreescu's). But even from the back of the court, Andreescu was able to match (and at time, outmatch) Serena's power, and most definitely consistency. For the second US Open in a row, Serena played a player more than a decade younger who had won the Indian Wells tournament and who was completely unfazed by playing in her first major final. Some people say that Serena lost these matches to Osaka and Andreescu because the younger players played the "best match of their lives." I strongly disagree. They played well, but not extraordinarily so. Andreescu is always aggressive and today was no different. After losing in the first round of qualifying last year (and the year before), the 19-year-old won the entire tournament in her first maindraw appearance. In fact, she has won her first 8 matches against Top 10 players and will make her debut in the Top 10 herself at #5 on Monday. How many more majors will Andreescu win? Time will tell, but she appears to be the multi-slam winner women's tennis has been waiting for.

2019 US OPEN: Women's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Serena Williams (USA) [8] vs Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15]

Here are my predictions for the women's final between Serena Williams and Bianca Andreescu at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships. I will also predict the men's final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 1 of 2 men's semifinals,  4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I incorrectly predicted Serena Williams would defeat Naomi Osaka.

WOMEN'S SEMIFINALS REVIEW

Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15] d. Belinda Bencic (SUI) [13] 7-6(3) 7-5.  This was the first meeting between these two players and the score doesn't reflect the level of drama that resulted. Bencic was the better player for most of the first set; she had 6 break points to go ahead but Andreescu was able to win all of these pivotal points. Then in the tiebreak Bencic had her one double fault--a devastating mental error. However she rebounded strongly in the second set, quickly racking up a 4-1 (double break) lead. But in the very next game she inexplicably got broken at love and although she was able to break Andreescu again, the 19-year-old raised her game and from 2-5 down she was able to win 5 consecutive games (three service breaks!) to reach the US Open final in her major draw debut.

Serena Williams (USA) [8] d. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [5] 6-3 6-1. Serena continued the focused, destructive play she showed in her 6-1 6-0 quarterfinal to dismiss the World #5. The pivotal point of the match was the very beginning, when Serena fought off three break points to hold serve and then a 9-minute tussle occurred on Svitolina's serve which resulted in a 2-0 lead for Serena. Fron that point on the tension from the match was removed as Svitolina's shoulders slumped and Serena's eyes glittered with menace at the inevitable victory.

WOMEN'S FINAL PREVIEW

This is the fourth major final Serena has reached in the last 6 majors played; she has lost the 2019 Wimbledon final (lost to Simona Halep), the 2018 US Open final (lost to Naomi Osaka) and the 2018 Wimbledon final (lost to Angie Kerber). Since she returned to the tour after getting married and having her daughter Olympia Ohanian she has not won a single tournament and has been so overwhelmed by emotions she has been unable to player anyway near her best tennis in these finals and has yet to win a single set! I believe that will change today, but she it may be that for the first time in one of these finals she may be considered the underdog! That seems insane when you compare the 37-year-old 23-major champion facing a 19-year-old playing in her first major final but it is true. Bibi Andreescu has played 7 Top 10 players in her career and has won all 7 of them; Serena will be her 8th, and both will be in the Top 10 when the rankings come out on Monday. A year ago, Andreescu was not yet in the top 100 and since then she has won Indian Wells and Cincinnati. The last time she lost a completed match was in March!

All that being said, I think Serena will finally be able to play her tennis unencumbered by emotional baggage and in that scenario I still give her the edge against any active player.

MadProfessah's pick: Serena.

2019 US OPEN: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships.  I will also predict the men's semifinals. This year I predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals correctly and 2 of 2 women's semifinals correctly. 

Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [23] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) [5] vs Roger Federer (SUI) [3] Grigor Dimitrov (BLR).  After bludgeoning the World #1 in the round before I (like many people) would have thought that the 3-time major champion would be able to eliminate the #5 seed in their quarterfinal, but Medvedev keeps on winning, fueled by the enmity of the New York City crowds. The other quarterfinal was even more shocking, with Dimitrov finally earning his first win over 20-time major champion Roger Federer, whose 38-year-old body let him down against his 28-year-old opponent in the last two sets. So the result is that we have two first-time US Open semifinalists competing to reach their first major final. 23-year-old Medvdev has been the hottest player on tour for the past two months, losing only two matches (in the finals of the Citi Open to Nick Kyrgios and in the Cincinnati Masters to Rafael Nadal). He has risen to World #5 in the rankings. Dimitrov and Medvedev have split their two previous meetings, both of which occurred in 2017. Dimitrov is the better athlete and has had the (much) easier route to the semifinals, including a walkover from Borna Coric in the second round. But 6-foot-6 Medvedev has a huge serve and a big game, so even though he must be tired he may have enough firepower to make his way into his first major final. Dimitrov will certainly be the crowd favorite, and the sentimental one.  Mad Professah's pick: Dimitrov.

Gael Monfils (FRA) [13] Matteo Berretini (ITA) [24] vs Rafael Nadal (ESP) [2]. Gael Monfils was up a set and a break before the wheels came off and he lost the next two sets but was able to fight off numerous match points to bring the match to a deciding fifth set tiebreak. In which he inexplicably double faulted, not once but twice! These mental errors basically were the deciding factor as he lost the tiebreak 7 points to 5 when his 23-year-old opponent was able to hit a serve on his 5th match point which Monfils could not return into the court. In some sense it won't matter, because the title is now Nadal's to lose, with Federer and Djokovic and Wawrinka being eliminated it is hard to see anyone preventing him from winning his 19th major on Sunday.  Mad Professah's pick: Nadal.

2019 US OPEN: Women's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships.  I will also predict the men's semifinals. This year I predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals correctly and 2 of 2 women's semifinals correctly. 

Belinda Bencic (SUI) [13] vs. Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15].  Bianca Andreescu is the real deal. The Canadian teenage phenom is playing in her first major draw at the US Open and is in to the semifinals without playing her very best tennis. How? She has a big game, and she is incredibly mentally tough. She outlasted Angie Kerber to win the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells in March and she won another major tournament in her hometown of Toronto when Serena retired with a back injury. Speaking of injury, Andreescu will jump from outside the Top 100 to the Top 10 on Monday despite being injured for nearly 4 months this year! Bencic has her own amazing story. She reached the quarterfinals of the US Open way back in 2014 when she was even younger than Andreescu is now and a horrible sequence of injuries generally prevented her from achieving the results that were expected. The two have never played each other before so it is hard to know what will happen. Bencic has the guile and tennis IQ of  a Latter-Day Hingis but Andreescu has a supernova-hot desire to win and a powerful game to back it up. It should be an incredible match. PREDICTION: Andreescu.

Serena Williams (USA) [8] vs. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [5].  Serena was devastating in her 6-1 6-0 demolition of Wang Qiang in her quarterfinal match, while Svitolina was just a bit better on the big points to ease past Jo Konta 6-4 6-4 in her quarterfinal. Serena and Svitolina have played 5 times and Serena has only lost once, but it was the last time they played, at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Svitolina is a much better player since then, and is playing in her second consecutive semifinal. Serena is playing in her 13 US Open semifinal and has a 9-3 record at this stage. I am hoping that she is mentally prepared for this match, because Svitolina is similar to Halep (whom Serena lost badly to in the 2019 Wimbledon final) with great movement and the ability to not make errors while retrieving a lot of attempted winners. Hopefully Svitolina will not be affected by the fact that her boyfriend Gael Monfils lost his chance to reach another major semifinal in a soul-sucking 5th set tiebreak due to not one but two double faults against Matteo Berretini. It should also be noted that Svitolina beat Venus Williams in the second round, so if she were to beat Serena she would be one of the rare people to beat both sisters in the same major tournament. Regardless, if Serena is focused and patient, which she has basically looked in every match (except for the Round of 16 against Petra Martic) she should prevail. PREDICTION: Williams.

2019 US OPEN: Dimitrov Earns First Win Over (Injured) Federer

Wow! Yesterday was a rough day for my predictions of the men's draw at the 2019 US Open. Grigor Dimitrov (currently ranked #78 in the world) defeated Roger Federer for the first time in 8 meetings. Prior to yesterday Federer had won 17 of the 18 sets they played. Dimitrov was able to win 3, after Federer went up 2 sets to 1 he got broken early in the 4th and when he broke back late in the 4th he was unable to capitalize on numerous break chances in the fourth set. Federer's back appears to be hurting him and he went down 4-0 in the 5th set very quickly and ultimately lost the decider 6-2.

2019 US OPEN: Women's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships.  I have also predicted the men's quarterfinals. Last year I predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly. 

Naomi Osaka (JPN) [1] Belinda Bencic (SUI) [13] vs. Donna Vekic (CRO) [23].  Belinda Bencic has now completed a hat trick of victories in 2019 over 2-time major champion (and current World #1) Naomi Osaka. For some reason, Bencic's clever all-court game just matches up well against Osaka's power. The implications of this win are many: We are guaranteed a new US Open champion, there will be four different winners of the last four Grand Slams this year and Ash Barty will return to World #1 despite losing to Wang Qiang in the fourth round. Vekic plays similarly to Osaka (but doesn't move as well) but has also been having good results this year. Bencic has a slight 2-1 head-to-head lead over Vekic is playing in her first major quarterfinal, Bencic in her second. PREDICTION: Bencic.

Bianca Andreescu (CAN) [15] vs. Elise Mertens (BEL) [25]. Andreescu is playing in her very first main draw of the US Open and has made it into the quarterfinals. She overpowered Taylor Townsend 6-1 4-6 6-1 in the fourth round, ruthlessly dispatching the tournament's feel-good story with power and resolve. There are only 8 players in the history of the tournament have achieved this feat and some of them have surnames like Williams, Evert and Austin. Brad Gilbert has picked the 15-seed to win the tournament and after watching that match I'm starting to become a Bibi-liever. PREDICTION: Andreescu.

Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [3]  Johanna Konta (GBR) [16] vs. Elina Svitolina (UKR) [5].  I was courtside on Louis Armstrong court on Sunday when Johanna Konta upended her 1-6 career head-to-head against World #3 Karolina Pliskova to score a tough 3-set win and reach her 3rd consecutive major quarterfinal of 2019. Svitolina is also playing in her 3rd major quarterfinal of the year and 9th of her career. Prior to Wimbledon she had previously lost every major quarterfinal she played in. This will be an even tougher ask for Konta than the Pliskova match because she has an 0-4 record against Svitolina but I think her game matches up well. This should be the best match of the four. I want to say that  I think Konta will win but somehow I think the fact that both Monfils and Svitolina are doing well simultaneously in New York will carry them both over the finish line. PREDICTION: Svitolina.

Serena Williams (USA) [8] vs. Wang Qiang (CHN) [18]. Serena won her fourth round in straight sets but roller her ankle during it. It was a rolled ankle (while holding match point) which led to a colossal collapse in Australia against Pliskova earlier this year (losing from 5-1 up in the 3rd set!) However, now she has had two days to recover and even with 75-80% physical fitness as long as she is mentally tough Serena should be able to win. She's now the only player remaining in the draw who has ever even been to a major final, making this a great opportunity to win another major title, her first as a mother. PREDICTION: Williams. 

2019 US OPEN: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the 2019 U.S. Open Championships.  I have also predicted the women's quarterfinals. Last year I predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly. 

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [23] vs Daniil Medvedev (RUS) [5].  The World #1 and defending champion had made his way through the draw rather uneventfully until he ran into a diesel truck named Stan. The 3-time champion who is on his way back up the charts after  very serious knee surgeries basically bullied Djokovic around the court for two and a half sets until the 16-time major champion retired from the match, citing a shoulder injury. Medvedev is the latest of the #NextGen players to break through, having won his first Masters series shield in Montreal during his red-hot summer.  The two have only played only once before, in 2017 on grass (Wawrinka's worst surface), with Medevedev winning. The Russian has been making it through matches by will (fueled by the vocal opposition of the New York City crowds). This scenario should repeat itself again, but this time he'll be facing someone who can take advantage of it. Mad Professah's pick: Wawrinka.

Roger Federer (SUI) [3] vs Grigor Dimitrov (BLR). Formerly known as "Baby Fed," Dimitrov has had a horrendous year and a half since he reached his career-high ranking of World #3 after winning the ATP's Year-End Championships (over Davis Goffin). His ranking had fallen out of the Top 50 before this tournament, so it is miraculous that he was able to reach his first quarterfinal in New York this year. Hopefully this will turn his season around because he is too talented to not be "in the mix" on tour although at 28 he is part of the Lost Generation that the Big 4 denied tennis' biggest prizes. Unfortunately for Grigor he faces Federer, whom he has played 7 times and only won 1 set in the 18 the two have played. Hopefully he will do better than Goffin did in Federer's previous round, who only managed to win 4 games in a best-of-five match. Mad Professah's pick: Federer.

Matteo Berretini (ITA) [24] vs Gael Monfils (FRA) [13]. This is a first-time meeting between these players. Berretini is one of the breakout players of 2019, having already won two tour titles this year. The 23-year-old is listed at 6-foot-5 and 198 pounds while 32-year-old Monfils is "only" 6-foot-4 and 187 pounds. This is an incredibly important match for both players, as every major quarterfinal is. It's Berretini's first but Monfils' 9th. Oftentimes, the older player suffers in this situation with the knowledge of how rare these opportunities are but it can also happen that the younger player is overwhelmed by the occasion. This is basically a "call-em" match and that situation I go with the better athlete. Mad Professah's pick: Monfils.

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [2] vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) [20] Alexander Zverev (GER) [6]. Diminutive Diego took out Sascha Zverev in four sets the round before, despite playing on the German's best surface and his worst. He has reached 2 other quarterfinals before, but it probably won't matter. He faces Nadal, whom he has played 7 times and only won 2 sets (not in the same match), losing every time. Nadal is playing in devastating form and unless an injury shows up, should make it to another US Open final. Will Federer be waiting for him there?  Mad Professah's pick: Nadal.

2019 US OPEN: Thiem, Tsitsipas, Khachanov, RBA, Stephens, Kerber Lose 1R

The first round of the U.S. Open is complete and there have been numerous shock exits on the men's side of the draw. 4 Top 10 seeds have lost: Dominic Thiem(4), Stefanos Tsitsipas(8), Karen Khachanov(9) and Roberto Bautista Agut(10) which is a lot! On the women's side of the draw the biggest names to go out are 2017 US Open champ Sloane Stephens, 2004 US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova and 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova and 2016 US Open champion Angelique Kerber. Additionally, 2-time major champ Garbine Muguruza(24) lost as well.

Of the first rounds to watch I mentioned in my 2019 US Open preview post, this is what happened:

• S. Williams (8) defeated M. Sharapova 6-1 6-1
• A. Sabalenka (9) defeated V. Azarenka
• S. Kenin (20) defeated C. Vandeweghe 
• D. Shapovalov defeated F. Auger-Aliassime (18)
• R. Opelka defeated F. Fognini (11)
• S. Tsitsipas (8) lost to A. Rublev
• N. Kyrgios (28) defeated S. Johnson

I'll be at the US Open all day this Sunday so I hope I see some good matches!