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Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the 2016 U.S. Open - The grand finale is today!

21K views 268 replies 46 participants last post by  SERVivor 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello once again, everyone. I will be reporting to you on select matches of qualifying and most likely the 1st Round of the main draw. All pictures and match reports will be found here. If anyone has any requests for pictures of a certain player, feel free to leave me a comment and I will do my best to get it for you. First up from Day 1:

Court 10
Maryna Zanevska def. Kristyna Pliskova 7-5 7-6 (7-5)
Kris started out quite well, jumping to a 3-1 1st set lead as her serve and especially her forehand looked solid, but Maryna was able to catch up with solid defense. She also handles the low ball quite well. Not much net play from either player. Maryna got upset at a couple of line calls as I see she has a slightly fiery personality. Kris was looking around quite a lot(perhaps uncomfortable in the setting?)I was joined by Iveta Benesova and Tereza Martincova only a few feet away from me. Some aces sprinkled in by both. Kris got the early mini-break for a 2-0 lead in the breaker, but double-faulted to hand it right back to Maryna. From there, she closed things out nicely. Pretty decent-sized crowd for this one as Maryna moves on to Round 2. As for Kris, she's got the talent. It's just a shame she doesn't have her sister's qualities needed to be a top player.

Keep your eye on the ball, Kris!












Maryna getting ready to hit an overhead










Maryna not happy about a line call


Still not happy.......


But then she was pumped she won!


And was nice enough to give me a picture after the match :)
 
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#2 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

Awesome to get some qualifying Reports. I hope you're having a great time.

I'd love to see some pics and reports from Jennifer Elie. Maybe you'll see her match Today.
Thanks in advance and have fun! :worship:
 
#5 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

I love these pics and reports from TF people, they are always more fun and informative that any that a professional journalist could write on the news.
Keep them coming please :yeah:

I'd have never chosen that match particularly but I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
 
#6 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

Court 17
CiCi Bellis def. Kimiko Date-Krumm 4-6 6-1 6-3
The oldest player in the draw meets the youngest. Kimiko broke at 1-all in the opening set and served it out using a mix of guile, craftiness and smarts, but from there it was all CiCi as she seems to have added more pace and depth to her shots and used it to full advantage in powering past Kimiko. Her attitude also seems better, although she said a couple of things to herself during the break. The break was for Kimiko falling in the 3rd set and she took a couple of MTO to get her leg treated. Also, she got called for hindrance at 15-30 1-2 in the 3rd set. The crowd was not happy and started booing and yelling at the umpire. The stadium was pretty full and there were even a couple of Americans cheering for Kimiko :oh: A small child was loud from way up top and could be heard by both players, so the ump tried to quiet the kid down, but those people left, anyway. I was on the other side of the main entrance to Court 17 and you're actually sitting below court level. This was a fun match to watch.













Poor Kimiko :sad:(She was on the far end from me, so it came out blurry).




The handshake(still on the far end)
 
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#7 · (Edited)
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

Court 5
Victoria Duval def. Luksika Kumkhum 5-7 6-3 6-1
It was great to see Vicky back on court. She looks strong and put on a bit of weight. Both players were attacking when given the opportunity and Luksika got rather wild after the 1st set. Vicky did a lot of defending and made Luksika run a lot. Both took a MTO, Vicky after she won the 2nd set and Luksika to stall Vicky at 1-2 in the final set. She didn't win another game after that. There was a solitary Luksika fan there and bless her heart, she was talking to me and telling me "one more set" and "no power" for Luksika. She even chanted "Susu" and Luksika heard her and laughed. The umpire asked her to not do that during the point. The crowd was awesome, amazing and terrific. I raced to the other side to get a picture, but Vicky left right away without signing or taking pictures with/for fans. I understand, though. She has to pace herself.



















After the handshake.
 
#9 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1



Maybe we can meet up?
 
#10 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

I got this picture of Mandy after she won, but can't give you a full match report cause I was only there for parts of it. She needed 3 tries to serve it out. Those Luxembourg fans that I am friends with who go to all her and Gilles Muller's matches were not there. Her coach said they will be back on Thursday. He thanked me for the support as I kept congratulating him as I repeatedly switched ends. "Thanks for the support. Who does she play next, Rogers or Min?" I told him "Rogers".

 
#21 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

I got this picture of Mandy after she won, but can't give you a full match report cause I was only there for parts of it. She needed 3 tries to serve it out. Those Luxembourg fans that I am friends with who go to all her and Gilles Muller's matches were not there. Her coach said they will be back on Thursday. He thanked me for the support as I kept congratulating him as I repeatedly switched ends. "Thanks for the support. Who does she play next, Rogers or Min?" I told him "Rogers".

Thank you for this :)
 
#11 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

Court 7
(1)Margarita Gasparyan def. Marina Melnikova 6-1 6-1

This was one of the last matches played and there really isn't much to say. My battery on my camera was running out, so I got less pictures of this match than the others. Really, Margarita doesn't belong in qualifying, but because of the cutoff date, she's here. That one-handed backhand is a thing of beauty and it has so much pace and power on it. She really dips low when she strikes the ball. Also, her slice not only has bite, but more power than a normal slice backhand. Unfortunately , not a very well-attended match and even Margarita's mom got bored. She got up and started walking up and down the side of the stands and was peering off into the distance. She also unintentionally switched ends on the same side as me. Note that the last picture is from my phone as at that point, my camera went out completely.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

On the practice courts, I saw Shuai Zhang and Iveta talking to a seated Ula. I also passed by BFCD Duan inside the grounds and was going to attempt to get a photo of her, but just missed and don't want to mess with her as she is a big woman :lol:. I also saw Kiki Bertens and wished her good luck, but not sure if she heard me. Well, that concludes Day 1. I will back after Day 2 is complete.















 
#15 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

Did you watch Oudin/Kostova at all?
No. Got re-assigned to the Gasparyan match. Will catch her tomorrow.
 
#14 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

I just saw Patrick on the phone in French by Court 11 :oh:. Walked right past him.
 
#18 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

Before I provide Day 2 reports, here was my first photo of the day from the main practice court just off the main entrance.

 
#19 · (Edited)
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

Court 7
Tamira Paszek def. (28) Shahar Peer 6-2 6-3
If there was ever a 6-2 6-3 match that wasn't that close, it was this one. After Shahar broke in the opening game of the match, she really nothing much to offer. It was 6-2 4-0 at one point. Shahar made a nice run to make the 2nd set respectable, but Tamira was playing really well, striking her backhand beautifully, stepping in to put away short balls and moving well. The crowd was decent, but bored. There were some Israeli fans at the match and I was talking with one older gentleman and he was lamenting how Shahar couldn't hold serve. He left at 6-2 3-0 and I saw him by another court and told him what happened. I was telling people how it's rare to see 2 former Slam quarterfinalists play in a R1 qualifying match. All in all, a solid performance by Tamira.





















I stopped by Court 6 during a changeover and caught a quick snap of Marcela Zacarias and her serve motion.












The handshake.


And Tamira letting me take a picture of her after her win :)
 
#20 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

Tamira requested a towel, used it and then folded it over the fence herself. No ballkids were there to take it from her :lol: She did their work for them :oh:

 
#22 · (Edited)
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

Before my next match, I stopped by some other courts to get a quick photo.

Johanna Konta: (I saw Johanna with her coach after the match under Court 6 and he was really giving it to her. Not sure why.)


Ysaline Bonaventure:


Marcela Zacarias:


Katerina Stewart:
 
#23 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

Ysaline was kind enough to stop for a photo after her victory:

 
#24 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

I was at Vicky's match as well for some games to the end of the first, but was mostly watching Taylor Fritz. Out of everyone I watched that day, she definitely got the most support/vocal crowd. And that Cumcum fan was AMAZING :lol:

I saw Patrick as well watching Glushko's match with her team.

Hope you're having a great time. Nice reports/pics :yeah:
 
#26 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

I was at Vicky's match as well for some games to the end of the first, but was mostly watching Taylor Fritz. Out of everyone I watched that day, she definitely got the most support/vocal crowd. And that Cumcum fan was AMAZING :lol:

I saw Patrick as well watching Glushko's match with her team.

Hope you're having a great time. Nice reports/pics :yeah:
Did you see the guy talking to the Luksika fan from the front row with a small camera constantly taking pictures? That was me.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

Court 15
(4)An-Sophie Mestach def. Junri Namigata 6-1 5-7 7-5
I couldn't find a match to cover after the first one(I usually only cover matches from the beginning instead of jumping in after they start). I wanted to do Elise Mertens-Nastassja Burnett, but there was a men's match on Court 14 before that match began. I've never seen so many backhands hit in one match as this one. The entire 1st set was ALL backhands :lol: Junri hits a flatter forehand, but was way off in that 1st set. An-Sophie looks and plays like Flipper. Same hair, same height, similar game. She was up 4-0 in the 2nd set before an epic collapse. She got up 5-1 in the 3rd before Junri came back again to level the match at 5. An-Sophie held, then finally closed it out on about her 5th or 6th try. I had to go across to Court 16 for my next match(you'll see why), so I had to stand from Court 16 to see the finish of this one which is why there is a shortage on photos and a detailed report.









 
#27 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open begins with Qualifying-Day 1

Kəv.;62975793 said:
Thank you for this :)
No problem. Her fans are coming today, so i'm gonna meet up with them and watch the match with them. Last year, they brought their girlfriends.
 
#30 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

It appears we sat across from each other at Paszek/Peer :tears:
 
#31 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

As requested, here are some pictures of Jennifer Elie. I was covering another match, so I quickly grabbed a seat on Court 11 to get some shots.









Jennifer seems to have some promise. Just needs some experience and to put on some weight. Great crowd as I could hear them from Courts 15 and 16.
 
#33 ·
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

As requested, here are some pictures of Jennifer Elie. I was covering another match, so I quickly grabbed a seat on Court 11 to get some shots.









Jennifer seems to have some promise. Just needs some experience and to put on some weight. Great crowd as I could hear them from Courts 15 and 16.
Thank you so much. :hearts:
 
#32 · (Edited)
Re: Power Shot's journey to/coverage of the U.S. Open continues with Qualifying-Day 2

Court 16
Anett Kontaveit def. Stephanie Vogt 6-2 7-5
Ah yes, everyone's favorite Estonian(OK, well really just chingching :lol:). All kidding aside, Anett played an excellent match. Her backhand was on fire, she served 8 aces(including match point)and her forehand, which is OK, did the job when Vogt left the court open, which happened a lot. Anett won the first 4 games of the match, proceeded to drop the next 2 and got the insurance break on a double-fault from Vogt to give her a 5-2 lead. Anett jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the 2nd, but went into full NETTU-MUG mode for a bit. Her serve came back and she got the break at 5-all and proceeded to serve it out, hitting 2 aces in the final game. Vogt's team was to my right and Anett's supporters, including Jurgen Zopp and his coach, were to my right. They weren't really paying attention. Mostly talking to each other and using their phones. Jurgen took his shirt off and had that new Nike tennis court shirt under it and put the one he took off over his head in some sort of circle :lol:. I was gonna tell him good luck in his match, but I wasn't sure if he won his R1 match, so I made my way to Anett for a picture. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I thought of chingching when I went to get it. I asked her and she said "yeah, sure". I took it and congratulated her, wished her good luck and she thanked me.





Stephanie questioning a line call.




No, this is not the same picture as above :lol:. She was questioning another call.





















The way Anett said "yeah sure" when I asked to take this picture leads me to believe she doesn't get a lot of requests :lol: :oh:
 
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