Olympians that medaled would have thought to have the upper hand on the Road to the US Open. However, the Cincy finals on both tours saw some players that went deep in Rio just run out of gas. Both Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber got upset. Not massive upsets but straight set losses that they would normally beat. So did the pursuit of the gold cost these two a shot of winning the final slam?
Road to the US Open : Kerber Losses
Out of the two, Kerber looked spent in losing to Puig in Rio. Black circles under her eyes suggested that she was running on reserves to just get there. It was a mild surprise to see her play Cincy if it was not for the chance to claim the #1 spot in the WTA. She has said that this was not a concern of hers but then why push herself to such a schedule at the risk of winning the US Open. It is not just that Pliskova won 6-3 and 6-1. Kerber missed routine shots. So she missed that chance to pass Serena and she is exhausted. Not a good prognosis for Flushing Meadows.
Andy Murray
Cilic is so off and on that if you catch him when he is ultra on that hardly anyone can beat him. This was a hefty upset however at places like Americas Bookie where he was a hefty underdog. 6-4 and 7-5 was the final margin. Andy got his 50th win of the year in this tournament. Months of high level production with finals and titles galore. He has in his corner the one man who can shape his professional career so he can handle all of this. Ivan Lendl was a fitness freak and hard as nails mentally. You can see Andy willing to battle every game now. His fitness is approaching Novak level at his best. Prognosis for Andy Murray is very good despite a minor blip against Cilic.
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