Grand Slam winners are becoming even harder to predict

Raise your hand if you had Angelique Kerber and Stan Wawrinka winning the US Open. Over the past few years, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been as safe a bet as they come in terms of winning a Grand Slam event. As the 2016 season progressed, Kerber emerged as that next best player after Serena. If she keeps playing at this level she could pass Serena as the favourite going into major tournaments. Kerber has now taken over the No. 1 ranking, and at six years younger than Serena, she might be there to stay. On the men’s side, it’s fair to wonder if this we’re seeing the first signs of regression for Djokovic. He’s gone two slams without a win, something he hadn’t done since the beginning of 2014. Wawrinka now has three career grand slams, adding this year’s US Open title to his 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open. It’s becoming a little more wide open on the men’s side, and the number of players who have a realistic chance to win the big tournaments has definitely increased.

 

Milos Raonic did not take a step back at the US Open

After making the Wimbledon final, many expected Raonic to repeat his performance or even do one better. That was not the case as he went out early in the second round to Ryan Harrison. Despite finishing the match, Raonic was clearly labouring with multiple injuries. Raonic was serving at speeds less than 75 miles per hour, something he likely hasn’t done since he was a teenager. The tournament was simply unlucky for the Canadian. Expect him to be ready for the ATP World Tour finals in November.

 

Karolina Pliskova finally makes a deep run at a Grand Slam

She’s been in the top 20 during the last two years, but Karolina Pliskova had never made it past the third round at a Grand Slam. Then the US Open came around, and Pliskova dismantled the competition en route to the final. She was coming off her biggest career win in Cincinnati just a week prior to the start of the tournament, but few expected her to follow that up with an appearance in the second week. Her massive serve and powerful groundstrokes gave her the firepower to hit with Serena and defeat her in straight sets. Even though she lost in the final to Kerber, Pliskova proved to everyone she deserves to be at the top of the women’s game.

 

Despite Roger Federer’s absence, tennis continues to thrive

He may be the most popular player in the world, but the US Open didn’t skip a beat without Roger Federer. There were many amazing matches, most notably Rafael Nadal versus Lucas Pouille and Andy Murray versus Kei Nishikori, throughout the tournament. This was just a taste of what tennis will feel like once one of the greatest players of all time decides to retire, and despite his massive popularity around the world, the sport remains on a solid path.

 

Felix Auger Aliassime is the real deal

At just 16, Felix Auger Aliassime became the youngest Canadian junior to win a Grand Slam. What’s scary is he could have done it a few months back after making the final at Roland Garros, but lost despite having a match point. He was defeating players two years his senior with relative ease. He disposed of World No.1 junior Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the semi-final before winning the final in less than an hour. He still has at least another year as a junior if he wants, but the debate now begins on when he should decide to go pro.