A well-known rivalry, and a not-so-well-known one

"Looking Toward the Avenue" by Jim Dines
photo by Diane Elayne Dees 

Every once in a while, there's a final that fans just know is going to be special, and a lot of people have that feeling about the upcoming match between two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka is a favorite, of sorts--she wants to get three in a row, and she wants to win a major this season. She's also playing extremely well. But so is Rybakina, though she's had some slow starts. For those who love big hitting (it's not my favorite, but I'll take it), this final represents hitting at about as big a level as it gets.

And though you won't hear about it from commentators, another significant final was played today: Yui Kamiji defeated long-time rival Diede De Groot 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to win the women's wheelchair title. This is the first time that Kamiji has ever beaten De Groot in New York. The third set became tense--De Groot went down 0-3, then 2-4, and then she got the set to 3-all.  In the end, though, Kamiji out-served her opponent and took home her fourth U.S. Open title (De Groot has won the event six times). 

The good news for De Groot is that she's very close to being back to her pre-hip surgery form.

Kamiji, with partner Zhu Zhenzhen, also won the doubles title.

And of course, yesterday top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend won the doubles championship when they defeated wild cards Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery in the final. Their victory gives the champions a Career Slam, and it gives Siniakova a double Career Slam. She had already achieved a Career Slam with partner Barbora Krejcikova. 

In juniors, top seed Sun Xinran defeated Anna Pushkareva 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 to win the title. In junior doubles, Annika Penickova and Kristina Penickova defeated Polina Berezina and Alisa Terentyeva to win the title.