A Grand Slam is a place where anything can happen.
Each of the four major tournaments of the year has its own story, and there are the key players that make it all that much more interesting.
Just before the 2022 US Open Championship starts, it's time to bet on who will be the surprising player of the tournament, who will be a huge disappointment, and who will lift the title in two weeks.
The surprising one: Borna Churich
The surprise of the year, and maybe also on the way to being the surprise of the tournament.
Until two weeks ago, it was not at all certain that Burna Čorić would take part in the United States Championship.
So what happened in these two weeks?
Just ask Rafael Nadal, Cameron Nori and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who saw the 25-year-old Croatian, with the help of extraordinary forays, beat them all the way to a sensational Masters 1000 win in Cincinnati.
Choric, who started the tournament from the 152nd place in the world, jumped no less than 123 (!) places in the ranking - straight to the 29th place in the world, which qualified him to be ranked 25th in the United States Championship.
"I have no words, it's just an unbelievable feeling," said the player after the incredible win in the preparatory tournament for the Grand Slam in New York, "I thought I could play well, I knew I could play well, but to play at this level? I didn't believe I would succeed and that I would win."
Re-Borna 💪
The moment @borna_coric completed an unforgettable run to his maiden Masters 1000 title.
#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/EcNDJJetdt
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 21, 2022
If the name Borna Churich sounds familiar to some of you, you are not wrong.
He experienced his first breakthrough already in 2018, when at the end of the year he reached his career-high ranking - 12th in the world.
The road there was by reaching the Shanghai Masters final, among other things after a victory over Roger Federer in the semis and a loss in the last match to Novak Djokovic.
The Croatian will begin his journey in the United States against the Frenchman Enzo Cauco, who rose from the qualifiers and is ranked 194th in the world.
If all goes well for him, he may meet Carlos Alquers in the third round.
Against the rising star of the tennis world it will already be very difficult for him, but after what he did in Cincinnati, and after Alkers disappointed in the last two Masters, the opposite momentums can play quite a role.
Churich.
At peak momentum, photo: AP
The disappointing one: Emma Radukno
At last year's US Open, the 19-year-old British - then 18 - did the unbelievable and became the first female tennis player in history to win a Grand Slam, after starting her career in the qualifiers.
Her amazing run in New York, while sweeping everyone in her path and not losing a single set in her journey to the title, made the whole world think, and quite rightly so, that there is a lot to build on.
But very quickly the great expectations were replaced by severe disappointments.
A year since that sensation, Radukno won only 15 matches (for comparison, only in the United States she won 10), and did not pass the quarter-final stage in any tournament in which she played.
They pointed an accusing finger at her for the fact that she is busy signing many sponsorship agreements, posing for campaigns and advertising companies and less in sports.
Surrounded by memories... 💙💛 @EmmaRaducanu back in Ashe.
#USOpen pic.twitter.com/gO5HRICo07
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2022
"I train 5-6 hours a day and spend 12 hours a day at the club" the Brit responded to the criticism at the time, but on the field, she continued to count losses.
And considering the lottery that invited her the veteran Eliza Korna in the first round, and a possible meeting with Naomi Osaka in the third, no one will be surprised if she doesn't qualify for the later stages.
"You think about pressure and ranking more than I do," Radukno said at a press conference last Friday, "defending a title is something the press invented. Every player can go far and, as I said last year, I will continue to do things my way."
So although she is only 19 years old and she should be batting for many more years, everyone who has been following the young Brit in the past year is asking themselves only one question - how did she do it?
Emma Radukno.
As the size of the expectation, the size of the disappointment, photo: EPA
Women's winner: Iga Schweintek
The one who should be celebrating all the way to hoisting the trophy, is the world's number one in women, Iga Sheviontek.
So it is true that, with the exception of the two wins at Roland Garros in 2020 and 2022, she is quite a failure in Grand Slams, but after a year like this, few people would dare to bet against her.
Shviontec broke the record for consecutive victories in the current millennium with 37 of these and has a record of 50 wins compared to 7 losses this year.
This historic streak was already interrupted in the third round of Wimbledon to the disappointment of the Pole, who since then did not make it past the quarterfinals in the other three tournaments she took part in, and this is still not what will make everyone believe that she will rush towards the win.
💙💛 We played for Ukraine, again!
After our charity event in Poland where we raised more than 500,000 Euro, another exhibition took place, this time in New York City.
It was a pleasure to share a court with you, @RafaelNadal, @CocoGauff & Mr McEnroe!
Tennis plays for Ukraine.
pic.twitter.com/aPSyJrzxkt
— Iga Światek (@iga_swiatek) August 26, 2022
"The last two weeks in Toronto and Cincinnati were quite hectic for me," admitted Schwiontek, "I was really nervous. When I got here, it was easier for me to relax, because now I can lower my expectations and focus on tennis. I know how hard it is to be stable, but my goal is to be consistent throughout My whole career to stay in the top 10 for a long time."
Schwiontech.
Will you justify the rating?, Photo: AP
Men's winner: Danil Medvedev
After the removal of the Russian and Belarusian tennis players from Wimbledon, and the painful defeat in the round of 16 at Roland Garros, the world number one will come to vent his nerves in the United States.
Medvedev, who continues to be one of the least popular tennis players on the tour, to put it mildly, has proven more than once that he can neutralize the negative pressure from the crowd, and we already saw this at last year's championship, with a victory over Djokovic in the final and his first Grand Slam win.
Watch and learn 📖
The art of court coverage perfected by Daniil Medvedev... pic.twitter.com/D9k2F2tpu4
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 19, 2022
"Whoever looks at Danil Medvedev the player, it's not so easy to like him," the Russian said of himself last week, "my style of play is not the flashiest, but that's only because I want to win. When I communicate with the crowd and they get to know me a little more, they They're starting to like me."
In the absence of the unvaccinated Serbian, who was undoubtedly the leading candidate for the win, and despite the never-ending magic of Rafael Nadal, and even though the statistics show that since Federer's five-match winning streak from 2004 to 2008 no player has been able to defend his title, Medvedev will go all the way and break it.
Danil Medvedev.
The journey towards defending the title begins, photo: AP
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