The Baseline Top 10: US Open first-week moments

Do you love drama? Suspense? Babies? The first week of the US Open had it—and then some.

Here’s a look at the 10 most newsworthy events over the tournament’s start.

1

FAMILY MATTERS

Perhaps the biggest news in tennis this week happened off the court: Former world No. 1 Serena Williams gave birth to a baby girl. When the news was announced, big sister Venus was just taking the court for her third-round match.

And there's more news on the baby front: Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena reportedly have had a baby daughter.

2

A FORMER CHAMP RETURNS

It hasn't been celebrated by everyone, but it's hard to deny the statement made by  Maria Sharapova’s return to Grand Slam tennis, especially after she knocked off world No. 2 Simona Halep in the first round.

She would advance to the fourth round before falling to Anastasija Sevastova on Sunday.

3

LET’S PLAY 10

Roger Federer’s third-round match against Feliciano Lopez was fairly straightforward. The first two rounds for the Swiss? Anything but. He survived five-setters against Frances Tiafoe in the first round and Mikhail Youzhny in the second.

4

HIP CHECK FOR MURRAY

After missing the summer hard-court stretch leading up to the Open, world No. 2 Andy Murray was still going to give the US Open a go. However, his balky hip forced him to pull out before the tournament started, causing a big shakeup to the men’s draw.

5

SO ABOUT THAT SECTION OF THE DRAW…

After Murray’s withdrawal, the draw underwent some last-minute rearranging. The bottom half of the draw was then wrecked by upsets, and after Diego Schwartzman topped Marin Cilic in the third round, a telling stat was revealed:

6

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

The second day of the tournament was a rainout, except for the matches on Arthur Ashe. So how do you make up for lost time? Schedule 87 singles matches for the next day, of course. The tournament pulled it off with singles play on every court. Doubles got set back a day in the attempt to get the scheduling back on track.

7

ROMPING THROUGH NORTH AMERICA

Emerging from the qualifying draw, Denis Shapovalov has carried over his electrifying run in his home country of Canada this summer south of the border to New York. He became the youngest player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open since Michael Chang in 1989.

8

NO DEFENSE FOR KERBER

The way this year has gone for defending US Open champion Angelique Kerber, it was hard to consider her a true contender for the title. But her performance in her first-round loss to Naomi Osaka was still hard to fathom. It’s official: There’s nothing good to take away from 2017 for 2016’s world No. 1.

9

FAREWELL FOGNINI

The Italian has made headlines around the globe this week—but not in a good way. He was fined $24,000 and tossed out of the US Open on Saturday after his boorish behavior toward the chair umpire in his first-round loss. He was still alive in doubles with partner Simone Bolelli, but now he’s heading home—and could face further penalties down the road.

10

SWEET 16 FOR AMERICAN WOMEN

Players from the U.S. are doing well in their home Slam: from the surprising (Jennifer Brady) to the expected (Venus Williams), with five of them reaching the round of 16.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias