Programming note: Some of the more eagle-eyed hoddlers may have noticed more classic rock tunes featured in the Track of the Day recently. That’s because I’m going to do a little something different for Friday’s Track of the Day. Which of these artists will be featured? Stay tuned
———
There’s no doubt who the best hard-court players in the world are today: Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner. Both players bookended the majors this year with triumphs in the US Open (after winning the Australian Open back in January/February). Here’s how the matches unfolded:
Women’s final: Aryna Sabalenka (2) def Jessica Pegula (6) 7-5 7-5
It’s a rare occurrence when Sabalenka is out-served. I felt that was the case on Saturday. Pegula’s first serves felt more consistent, more dominant. But that first serve was all she had. Here’s a stat for you: 21% wins on second serves. You aren’t gonna win a match with that.
Because, when you play against Sabalenka, it’s really all about how she’s going to play. No one hits the ball harder than her. Few serve it harder. And no one plays the game with such intensity as her.
Such was the case on Saturday, when she won a less-than-straightforward two-set win against the American. Credit to Pegula for fighting back down in both sets, but to me that was more of a case of Sabalenka’s nerves.
The stats illustrate further how this was dictated by Sabalenka, who hit 40 winners to Pegula’s 17 (34 unforced errors to Pegula’s 22).
Sabalenka is a fitting champion, and I hope she can make a real push to regain the World No.1 rank next year.
Men’s final: Jannik Sinner (1) def Taylor Fritz (12) 6-3 6-4 7-5
A much more straightforward win here. Lots of unforced errors from Fritz on Sunday (34) but he had to go big against a player like Sinner, who is so solid and can punish you from anywhere.
There were few times in the match where I felt Sinner wasn’t in control. Maybe when he was down 4-5 in the third set, but I struggle to remember an unforced error he hit during the three-game swing to win the match.
As for Fritz, winning was going to be a tall task. I think to challenge players like Fritz in a best-of-five final is to work on his mobility a little bit more, take charge a little bit and clean up the errors. He did a remarkable job agains Alexander Zverev in the quarters, so he can beat the best.
Still, this year belongs to Sinner.
Fitzie’s track of the day: What Love?, by Charles Mingus
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold answers Q’s in his latest Q+A
BBC on what the future of the Women’s Championship could look like
London City Lionesses’ Kosovare Asllani wants to ‘rewrite the rules of women’s football’
Why Aryna Sabalenka is more than just a hard hitter
