2014 U.S. Open: Top Latin American Tennis Players To Watch
The 2014 U.S. Open is underway in New York City, and several Latino stars are present among the greatest tennis players in the world facing one another for a chance to be crowned U.S. Open Champion.
Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. Played at an extremely high level in so many countries, this major tournament of tennis feel like the Olympics. The U.S. Open is the fourth and final major of the grand slam, so this will be the last opportunity to win until January, when the Australian Open is played.
Latin American born tennis players have always made their presence known at the Grand Slam. Going back to Guillermo Vilas, Gustavo Kuerten and Gastón Gaudio, Juan Martin Potro is the last Latin American-born tennis player to win a major, when he won the 2009 U.S. Open.
This year's U.S. Open features Latin American born men and women spanning across five different countries:
Argentina
After the losses of Diego Sebastián Schwartzman, Juan Monaco and Facundo Bagnis in round one, Argentina is left with four players.
Máximo González
González has never won a major before, but he's come close. The 31-year-old Argentine will be facing Sam Querrey in the first round. Neither players are ranked, so we should be in store for a great match.
Leonardo Mayer
Mayer is the highest-ranked player from Argentina this year, and he's already advanced to the second round. He defeated Albert Montanes in straight sets. Mayer will face Matthew Ebden in the second round.
Federico Delbonis
Considered a big underdog, Delbonis will take on U.S. player Noah Rubin in Round One. This lefthander has a tough road ahead in a stacked section six.
Carlos Berlocq
Berlocq has been on the tour for a long time, but he hasn't made it past the second round at the U.S. Open yet. Berlocq will face Dudi Sela of Israel in the first round.
Uruguay
Pablo Cuevas
Representing Uruguay by himself in a field of 128 players is Pablo Cuevas, who is an up-and-comer who shows promise in the future, but his first-round match against Kevin Anderson won't be easy.
Brazil
After Argentina, Brazil has had the most success of South American countries at major championships.
Thomaz Bellucci
Bellucci is off to a great start after a round one victory against Nicolas Mahut. Bellucci will take on Stan Wawrinka in Round Two.
Teliana Pereira
The women have a lot less Latin American players than the men. Teliana Pereira will face Caroline Garcia in her round one matchup.
Colombia
Santiago Giraldo
Giraldo is the highest ranked Colombian tennis player this year. He's not being picked to win it all, but he's a fan favorite back home.
Alejandro González
With Alejandro Falla eliminated, González is just the second Colombian-born tennis player remaining.
Dominican Republic
Víctor Estrella Burgos
The only male player for the Dominican Republic is Víctor Estrella Burgos. He is playing in a tough section four and will face Igor Sijsling to begin his U.S. Open Tuesday.
Monica Puig
Puig shocked a lot of people with her victory over Tereza Smitkova. This is her first time making it to the second round of the U.S. Open. At just 20 years old, she is one of the youngest in the tournament.
Over the last decade, the continent of Europe has dominated tennis. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic lead the way with a combined 38 major victories. Incredibly, the last North American tennis player to win any major was Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open.
With the United States hitting an all-time low at tennis' biggest tournaments, it might be up to a South American to dethrone Europe.
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