Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz lead the youth movement at the US Open
The US Open began on Tuesday with Fan Week, six days in which the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens is free and open to the public for a variety of events and activities. Players that will compete in the Open, well-known music artists, celebrities of various cultural genres, and prominent chefs will be among those interacting with visitors.
Fan Week is highlighted by Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day on Saturday, celebrating the life of the late tennis legend who was an athletic trailblazer, inspirational humanitarian, and unwavering advocate for racial and social justice.
Fan Week ends on Sunday and gives way to the beginning of matches on Monday as the US Open is the year’s last Grand Slam of tennis’ four major championships, following the Australian Open in January, French Open in late May to early June, and Wimbledon in late June to early July.
There is palpable excitement on both the men’s and women’s draws as young stars Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff come into Queens at the top of their games. Alcaraz, 20, is the defending men’s US Open champion and the world’s No. 1 ranked male player, having defeated No. 2 Novak Djokovic in an epic five-set Wimbledon final last month (1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4), stopping the 36-year-old Serbian’s 34-match winning streak at the tournament.
“To stay good physically and mentally for five hours against a legend, making history like I did today, it’s the happiest moment of my life. I don’t think that’s going to change for a long time,” said Spain’s Alcaraz after his enthralling victory.
The pair may have foreshadowed another inevitable finals battle at last Sunday’s Cincinnati Open, in which Djokovic outlasted Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) to capture the title. Spanning three hours and 48 minutes, the match was the longest three-setter since the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) began organizing the world’s top men’s tennis tour in 1990.
The 19-year-old Cori Dionne “Coco” Gauff, who was born in Delray Beach, Florida, and raised in Atlanta, has never won a major but was a finalist in last year’s French Open, losing 6-1, 6-3 to current world No. 1 Iga Swiatek from Poland. She looks to make the US Open her first and is favorably peaking ahead of the tournament’s start.
On Sunday, in Mason, Ohio, Gauff became the first teenager to win the Western & Southern Open since 17-year-old Linda Tuero in 1968 by defeating Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-4. Gauff is the world’s No. 6 ranked women’s player. Gauff’s doubles partner, American Jessica Pegula,
No. 3 in the world in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, is also a leading contender to win the Open.
Pegula has reached the quarterfinals of all four majors but has yet to break through to the semifinals and finals.
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