Former Florida Players Leave Mark on U.S. Open
The U.S. Open is the biggest stage in American tennis, and an impressive four former Gators made their mark in this year’s tournament. On the women’s side, Anna Danilina (2015-18) and McCartney Kessler (2017-22) competed in doubles, with Kessler playing in the singles bracket as well. For the men, Ben Shelton (2020-22) competed in singles and mixed doubles, while Diego Hidalgo (2013-16) played men’s doubles.
Danilina, ranked 10th globally in doubles, continued to show her dominance with a run to the third round of the U.S. Open. Alongside her partner Aleksandra Krunic, Danilina opened the tournament with consecutive straight set victories, with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Antonia Ruzic and Bibiane Schoofs, followed by a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Monica Niculescu and Anastasija Sevastova. This run was ended by a thrilling three-set loss to the seventh-seeded pair of Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs.
Kessler was seeded 32nd in the singles draw, opening her championship push with a straight-set victory over Magda Linette. An unexpected straight-set loss in the second round to Czechia native Marketa Vondrousova ended Kessler’s run early, as she was unable to overcome a tiebreak loss in the first set.
Kessler and her partner Peyton Stearns, unseeded in doubles, opened with a straight-set victory over Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya, before falling 4-6, 1-6 to second-seeded Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. Kessler’s second-round appearances were the furthest she had advanced in the U.S. Open for both singles and doubles, a promising sign for her young career.
On the men’s side, sixth-seeded Ben Shelton came into the tournament with great anticipation surrounding him, looking to reach his first major final of his career, having been to the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 2023. After a promising start to the tournament with straight-set victories over Ignacio Buse and Pablo Carreno Busta in the first and second rounds, Shelton’s run came to an abrupt stop in the third round, having to retire from the tournament due to an injury after splitting the first four sets against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
On the mixed doubles side, Shelton partnered with Taylor Townsend, upsetting the fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune in the first round before falling in the second round to Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison.
The experienced Diego Hidalgo’s run in this year’s U.S. Open was short, dropping his first doubles match of the tournament in three sets to the second-seeded Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.
All in all, former Gators had an eventful tournament, with the four participants competing in a total of 13 matches, and posting a combined record of 7-6 in the tournament.
Category: Former Gators, Gator Sports, Gators Tennis
