Southerners in 2021 US Open
Good things come to those who wait. For Shuai Zhang and Samantha Stosur, the yearslong wait for a US Open women’s doubles trophy is finally over, after defeating teen phenoms Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in a thrilling final.
The opening set turned quickly in Stosur and Zhang’s favor as they reeled off the last nine points in a row, breaking the McNally serve from 4-3, love-40. The American teens rallied the crowd in the second set, with strong serving from Gauff and bold net poaches from McNally putting the veterans under pressure. Gauff attacked a high-bouncing Zhang second-serve to grab the break at 5-3, sending the match into a deciding set. Gauff played much of her junior career while living in Atlanta.
For ‘McCoco’, the pair’s stellar run is a sign of bright things to come for the 19-year-old and 17-year-old duo. Gauff and McNally, who were contesting their first Grand Slam final, have also featured in back-to-back Australian Open quarterfinals and own three WTA doubles titles.
Although the Americans are focused more on their singles game throughout the year, they’ve shown great skill in doubles this fortnight, too. Gauff and McNally took down the top seeds, Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens, as they reached the final without dropping a set.
Parks ties Venus for fastest serve
Twenty-year-old Alycia Parks didn’t come away with the win on Day 1 of the US Open, but the Atlanta native, ranked No. 246 in the world, did nudge herself into the US Open record books by blistering the fastest serve recorded by a woman at the tournament in 14 years. Click here for complete story.
During her 6-3, 7-5 loss to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, Atlanta native Parks blasted a 129-mph serve to tie Venus Williams for all-time US Open serve speed record. Since 2007, American women have hit the fastest serve at the US Open in 14 of the last 16 stagings.
Vicktor Lilov continues strong summer
Raleigh, NC's Victor Lilov reached the boys' singles quarterfinals. The sixth seed fell to third-seeded Daniel Rincon of Spain 6-3, 6-1. In the boys' doubles, Lilov teamed up with Peter Benjamin Privara of Slovakia but lost to B. Kuzuhara/M. Polijcak in the quarters 6-7(5), 7-5, [10-6].
Lilov was the Wimbledon boys' finalist, falling to Samir Banerjee of New Jersey.
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