The 2020 US Open is in its second week and we have seen players from around the world converge at Flushing Meadows for one of the most prestigious tennis events in the world. But this year’s tournament is a bit different due to the reality of the coronavirus and the many restrictions in place. This forced many players to pull out, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, WTA number one, Ashleigh Barty, and Nick Kyrgois. This is not something we are used to and it would definitely go down in history.

Now, we are entering the quarter-final stage and some players have qualified already. 2018 US Open winner, Naomi Osaka beat Annet Kontaveit on Sunday in a game of two sets (6-3, 6-4) to enter the quarterfinals, while former world number one and six-time US Open winner, Serena Williams defeated Greek Maria Sakkari on Monday (6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3) to earn a spot in the round of eight. On the men’s side. Denis Shapovalov became the first Canadian to reach the quarterfinal stage of the US Open after beating David Goffin 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-3. At the time of writing this report, Dominic Thiem was leading Auger Aliassime by 1 set (6-7).

A very unfortunate incident happened on Sunday as men’s number one, Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the event after playing a ball that hit the line judge on the throat. Djokovic had earlier displayed a fit of anger after playing the ball to an advertising board. He then went for a medical timeout and it was upon his return that he played the ball that hit the judge’s throat. He was subsequently disqualified and fined, after having failed to appeal his case successfully. Djokovic left the venue and posted an apology online, saying the incident had left him feeling “empty”. Djokovic’s opponent, Carreno Busta would face Shapovalov in the quarterfinals.

Before the disqualification, Djokovic was maintaining an impressive record, having won all his 26 appearances on the court this year, including winning the Australian Grand Slam, and looked set to win the event in the absence of Federer and Nadal.

This would be the first time in 16 years when none of Tennis Big Three would feature in the round of eight and also the first time since 2016 where the US Open would not be won by any of the three players, as a new player would clinch the title. This further adds to how different this year’s event would be and one of the things the year, in general, would be remembered for.

Written by: Leon Osamor