US Open 2022. A Lot of Upsets Happened in Round 1.

Men's Draw:

Medvedev's Quarter:

Medvedev vs. Kyrgios 4th round: Medvedev in 4. Either player could win, but Medvedev is more trustworthy.

Thiem vs. Auger-Aliassime 4th round: Rooting for Thiem, but I don't trust men returning from injury. Auger-Aliassime in 3.

Medvedev vs. Auger-Aliassime QF: Auger-Aliassime has been solid enough this year. Time for possibly the biggest win of his career. Auger-Aliassime in 3.

Tsitsipas' Quarter:

I'm taking Tsitsipas to the SF.

Taylor Fritz is the next likely.

Alcaraz's Quarter:

I hope Cilic has a good run.

Alcaraz to the SF.

Nadal's Quarter:

I always pick Isner to go far, even if he doesn't, and that's not going to change.

Isner vs. Nadal QF: Nadal in 4.

Auger-Aliassime vs. Tsitsipas SF: I think Auger-Aliassime wins but rooting for Tsitsipas. Auger-Aliassime in 3 (surprising).

Alcaraz vs. Nadal SF: Nadal in 3 (surprising).

Not sure when the last time we had both SFs in 3 sets.

Auger-Aliassime vs. Nadal Finals: Nadal in 5.

Women's Draw:

Swiatek's Quarter:

Rooting for Kvitova, but I think Swiatek to the SF.

Badosa's Quarter:

This is a fun section.

Osaka to the SF.

Sakkari's Quarter:

Gauff vs. Halep 4th round: Going with the younger player. Gauff in 3.

Kontaveit's Quarter:

Serena vs. Jabeur QF: I don't know. Serena in 3.

Swiatek vs. Osaka SF: Swiatek in 2.

Gauff vs. Serena SF: Gauff in 2.

Swiatek vs. Gauff Finals:

I think Swiatek is a lot better right now. Not sure Gauff can win a set. Swiatek in 2.

It would be cool to see Venus get to the 3rd round.

You called it! Swiatek the champ, and very close with Alcaraz too as you had him in the semis. Really impressed with Alcaraz's conditioning- and of course it doesn't hurt to be 19 lol. Most impressive, however, are his positive mental attitude & maturity well beyond many older players.

BTW happy to see Tiafoe excel. He keeps working hard as he's been doing- can win a slam for sure.

I hope that wasn't Tiafoe's best chance. I felt for him when he cried after the SFs.

I like Alcaraz movement and ability to come to the net. I'm not ready to call him great yet. He played well and earned that title.

Very disappointed that Halep, Thiem, and Tsitsipas all lost in the first round.

I went to the night sessions of Days 1, 2 of the US Open.

For the pics, the first pic is of Serena on the far away practice court.

https://imgur.com/a/bptLO3S

Ashe Stadium:

This feels smaller than it looks on TV, and I mean that in a good way. It feels loud inside.

It might not have sounded so loud, if it felt bigger.

Day 1:

Serena Williams vs. Danka Kovinic:

Kovinic really struggled with her serve.

The concourses outside Ashe stadium were so packed, that it felt like the World Series or SuperBowl.

Nick Kyrgios vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis:

This was straight forward. Kyrgios was just better.

Day 2:

Rafa Nadal vs. Rinky Hijikata:

First time seeing Nadal in person.

This was a really good match. The last game was great, Hijikata saved 4 match points before losing.

Nadal won in 4 sets.

The roof is quiet. They closed it mid set, and we didn't even notice until after it was closed.

Danielle Collins vs. Naomi Osaka:

I was impressed with Collins' power. I thought this was going 3 sets, but Collins won in two.

The 2nd set went quicker than I thought it would.

The PA acoustics are really bad. I could not understand anything the umpire or PA said, either day. Which sucked, especially during the Serena video tribute, and the post match press conferences.

I think it sounded worse when the roof was open. I had to watch the interviews after I got home, to hear what was really said.

Nice pics! Looks like you got some nice seats. Thanks for sharing your experience. You saw some good matches for sure- I watched that Nadal Rinky match and parts of the Serena one on TV. Nice to see Serena moving well & knocking off the #2 player in the next round.

Overall- definitely was a good tournament!

Thanks. It was my first time at the USO.

After her first two wins, I thought Serena was going to go further. I liked her return winner to win match point in the 2nd round.

It's rare to see a match end on a return winner, so that was cool.