Johanna Konta’s incredible rise up the rankings started at the US Open last year, and the 13th seed will be aiming to at least match her run to the fourth round this time around. However, she may not have the easiest opener against home favorite Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who is seemingly full of confidence after her Mixed Doubles triumph at Rio 2016. This will be the first time the two have played each other
This is the fourth and final match on Grandstand on Monday with the winner taking on Tsvetana Pironkova or wildcard Virginie Razzano in the second round.
Heading into the US Open
Konta has had a long build up into Flushing Meadows, playing in four hard court tournaments in the build-up. In Stanford, she took her first WTA title, beating Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinals before battling past Venus Williams in the final. The Brit then moved on to the Rogers Cup and the Olympic Games, making the quarterfinals of both events. After that, she went into Cincinnati, where she eased past Donna Vekic before falling to Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets.
Unlike Konta, Mattek-Sands had a very limited singles build up; the only tournament she played in was the Rogers Cup, where she beat Tara Moore before losing to Camila Giorgi in qualifying. However, she has had some hard court practice on the doubles circuit, so will not be completely unprepared.
Analysis
Whilst she clearly hasn’t had as good of a year as the Brit, Mattek-Sands should use her recent confidence as well as the home support she will receive; this has always been strong on the legendary Grandstand court. The American must look to be aggressive as possible against a powerful opponent, and she should look to try and use her double skills, such as her net play, to unsettle Konta and kill off points as quickly as possible.
Konta probably has the better game of the two, though must be extremely careful here; she cannot afford to make too many errors, or be bothered by the partisan American crowd. The Brit must look to use her power to try and dictate play as much as possible and try to avoid Mattek-Sands approaching the net. Furthermore, she must also look to keep the rallies going if she is defending; the longer the rallies go on for, there is more chance that it will be Konta who wins them.
Assessment
This should be an extremely interesting match to watch, and there should be a great atmosphere on Grandstand for this.
Konta is clearly the favorite, but there is little doubt that Mattek-Sands is capable of making life extremely difficult for her. The Brit should be able to win this, though the chances are that it won’t be easy.
Prediction: Johanna Konta in three sets