The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

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Promising American womens tennis at this year’s open

Drama, upsets and striking acts of athleticism have all been on display at one of the world’s four most prestigious tennis grand slams, the U.S. Open, which started Monday, August 25 in Flushing, N.Y.

On the women’s side, 15-year-old CiCi Bellis came out with a bang to make herself known by managing to fight out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 upset over 12 seed and Australian Open finalist, Dominika Cibulkova. She is the youngest player to win in a grand slam singles match since Anna Kournikova in 1996.

“It’s pretty amazing how much skill she has. She’s a super smart player and I can see her winning a lot of titles,” Leah Henry, Athens varsity tennis player said.

With an 8-4 professional career record, a ranking well into the thousands and only pennies worth of prize money, it is no wonder the San Francisco native has made so much buzz among the tennis world.

“I think I’m definitely going to stay an amateur right now to keep my options open for college, in case an injury or something happens, but I’d love to be a pro one day,” Bellis explained in her post-match press conference.

After a dominating first set, the second did not follow as closely to plan. She explained about how easily she becomes distracted during matches, especially because of the actions of her team.

“I’m told I cannot sigh and I cannot move or say anything that distracts her, so I just have to sit there like a Sphinx and just smile and pray,” father Gordon Bellis said to Tennis Channel. “She hears me when I sigh. So I can’t sigh.”

Also in the women’s field, top seeded Serena Williams advanced to the round of 16, one match closer to defending her U.S. Open title.

“We have such an amazing future,” Williams said about U.S. women’s tennis during a Tennis Channel exclusive interview Saturday. “We have so much to look forward to.”

If she took this year’s championship, that would make her fifth U.S. Open title and an 18-time grand slam winner, placing her name next to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

“It’s pretty crazy … I’m just a girl playing tennis. I never thought I’d ever even be mentioned in the same sentence as Martina,” Williams said.

Opposite to the women’s performance, the U.S. men’s draw has not been nearly as successful.

John Isner was the last American man to lose in the tournament in his fourth round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4). The 29-year-old from Greensboro, N.C. showed regret and defeat during his post-match press conference Saturday.

“I didn’t play the big points well today. I had decent chances, but I just couldn’t pull through, it’s very disappointing,” Isner said.

After a marathon first round match taking 47 games, Sam Querrey pulled out a five set win against Maximo Gonzalez. He proceeded to the third round where he lost to world number one and seven time grand slam winner, Novak Djokovic in straight sets; 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

“I feel like he wasn’t really going for too many shots today. Just being consistent in the wind. Making me play. Making me hit a lot of balls. Really in his mind I think he was just like, ‘I’m not going to make an error.’ … It worked really well against me,” Querrey said about his loss.

Querrey’s performance in U.S. Open Series stood out with semi-final appearances in Winston-Salem, Cincinnati and Atlanta in the face of 2011 dictated by injury and health issues.

“Sam has definitely fallen off the rankings lately … I got to see him in Winston-Salem and he’s been turning things around. It’s been great to see him having success, especially in his home country,” said Athens varsity tennis player, Andreas Combos.

Junior veteran Jack Sock lost in his first round match to Pablo Andujar 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 after retiring before the start of the fourth set due to a calf injury. The 21-year-old from Lincoln, Nebraska turned pro in 2011 and has shown promising improvement since, currently holding his highest ranking to date of 55 in the world.

The U.S. Men’s doubles game has always known the classic duo the “Bryan Brothers,” particularly now more than ever. The identical twins earned their one-hundredth ATP World Tour title at their home slam this past weekend, making them 16-time Grand Slam winners. Age is no bound for the team. At 36 years old the two continue to play in a sport where very few players remain on tour long past the age of 30.

“The two are a classic tennis duo, known around the world. I enjoy following their results and it’s even better that they’re American,” Combos said.

While it may not have been a show stopping performance from either American draw, the future of tennis in the U.S. is still highly hopeful with numerous names continually showing up on the board every year, especially on the women’s side.

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