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US Open Day 6: Anna Kalinskaya and Beatriz Haddad Maia in video review ‘not up’ call

by Vaseline Posted on

Follow live coverage of day 7 of the US Open 2024

Welcome to the US Open briefing, where The Athletics will tell the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.

On day six in New York City, things calmed down after a harrowing 48 hours, with a series of expected results – until night fell and the debate over tennis video ratings emerged.

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One fixed day of US Open tennis? Never gonna happen

English Premier League followers may be familiar with the social media meme showing former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte looking shabby during an interview. The caption reads: “One normal day from Barclays (a former EPL sponsor). That’s all I ask. Never gonna happen.”

It indicates that you can always count on the competition to provide some form of drama or news.

It feels relevant to this year’s US Open, especially after two of the biggest names in the men’s tournament, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, were knocked out by lower-ranked opponents on consecutive nights. Those two nights also included the last-ever start to a match in the tournament’s history, and nearly the last-ever finish.

Saturday seemed like an ordinary day for US Open tennis for a long time would happen. Or at least a fairly routine one, playing on rankings and expectations.

The day session was chaotic, with 10 of the 12 matches ending in three sets, without any major surprises.

The night session also passed largely without major incidents, until the third leg of the second race, at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

22nd-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia saved a shot from 15th-seeded Anna Kalinskaya.

Haddad Maia retrieved the ball, and Kalinskaya missed it as she tried to return it for what could have been a simple winner in open space. She immediately requested a video review of a double bounce, using the review system that was unavailable at the Cincinnati event nearly two weeks ago during a similar incident between Jack Draper and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Referee Miriam Bley initially ruled that Haddad Maia had played a fair shot, and after a video review, her original decision stood – despite the fact that the footage appeared to show that Haddad Maia had at least hit the ball into the ground, along with the double bounce. So instead of break point for Kalinskaya, the advantage was Haddad Maia. She won the match, and Kalinskaya showed no sign of recovering from the injustice. She eventually lost the match 6-3, 6-1.

One normal day of the US Open. That’s all I ask. Never gonna happen.

go deeper

GALLING DEEPER

Why Draper and Auger-Aliassime’s match point should change tennis’s view of video replays

Charlie Eccleshare

What happened to Tommy Paul and Gabriel Diallo?

Tommy Paul is known for his fluid, flowing, all-court game. Other players win more often than the world number 14, but he plays the kind of tennis that gets compliments from those other players because it is so easy on the eye.

So it was pretty stunning to see Paul play one of the ugliest matches of the 2024 US Open so far. His four-set victory over Canada’s Gabriel Diallo at Louis Armstrong Stadium featured 14 service breaks and 13 double faults between the two. There were 127 unforced errors, including 50 by Paul against 40 winners. Diallo’s split was 77 against 32. Ouch.

Paul, who is always prone to self-mockery, was unable to properly explain a match that he described as “probably strange to a lot of people watching”. He tried to keep his head clear and slow the game down, leaning heavily on his team for direction. “Weird situation,” Paul said. “I mean, the conditions couldn’t have been much better. No wind, no sun, playing in a full Louis Armstrong Stadium.”

When it was finally over after almost three and a half hours, Paul could hardly celebrate. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he walked to the net to shake hands. “I was just happy to finish,” he said. “Those games, they’re not the most fun when you’re on the pitch, but tonight I’ll be happier than if I play perfectly.”

Yeah, weird.

Matt Futterman

The stories of the first week

As the round of 16 begins on Sunday, the US Open enters its second week. The business end of the matter.

The first week of a Grand Slam tournament is like few other sporting events, even if the basic elements are similar to the biggest in such an athletic endeavor. There are so many matches that it’s hard to know where to look; surprising results and moments sometimes come sparingly and sometimes all at once.

For this US Open, like Wimbledon seven weeks ago, the first three days were rippling but never really came to life. Then came day four, and the elimination of Carlos Alcaraz at the expense of Botic van de Zandschulp. Twenty-four hours later, Alexei Popyrin stood on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium with his arms raised, having knocked out Novak Djokovic. The tournament had come to life.

Here are some stories from the first week, beyond those stunning defeats. Tell us yours in the comments…

James Hansen

Photo of the day

US Open Men’s Draw 2024

US Open Women’s Draw 2024

(Top photo of Anna Kalinskaya: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)

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