Dreams Made, Tickets Punched as 2022 US Open Qualifying Concludes
Steve Fogleman in Flushing Meadows
On a cloudy and then rainy day in Queens, players walked away with a memory of a lifetime, and in some cases, the most important wins so far in their young careers. It was last call for main draw in New York as the three match tournament reached the Friday crescendo.
Yue Yuan was your first qualifier of the 2022 US Open. She beat Maddison Inglis 6-1, 6-0, in just 53 minutes. The English was better than the audio as I attempted to interview her inside Grandstand Court as she had to flee from a flock of fans who followed behind.
Linda Noskova has done it again. She needed only 6 sets in 3 matches to make her way into her first “next week” at the US Open. This time, the opponent was Alexandra Zakharova in a 6-2, 7-5 victory for the young Czech. After the match, she shared her moment of joy with us.
Both Noskova and Zakharaova were happy to sign U.S. currency for a fan. I’m not sure if it raised the value of the money in his wallet. but the ladies were happy to oblige. You’ve got to love New York. If you don’t, you just get irritated. So love it. Trust me.
Max Marterer has been here before, having qualified three times before today’s 6-4. 6-3 win over Riccardo Bonadio of Italy in 68 minutes. He told us it doesn’t get any easier just because you know you’ve done it before.
Then came the rains that may have washed this reporter out. We’re currently in a 55 minute rain delay and depending on the time that they resume play, this may be my last post from New York. It’s been a great August for American tennis fans and I expect nothing less than major fireworks as the big dogs start their engines on Monday. Cheers!
Tennis Atlantic 