Right now onto Part 2 of my posts on the US Open and theres a bit of catching so up to do as we are now nearly finished the first week of the tournament so let's carry on and have a look....
Right so start with the ladies quickly I will start with day 3 which saw Li Na finish off Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in straight sets 6-2, 6-2. Sloane Stephens also whitewashed the younger sister of Agnieszka, Ursula Radwanska in straight sets with a 6-1, 6-1 win. Venus Williams however tumbled out in the 2nd round after a tight three set battle against the chinese player, Jie Zheng in 6-3, 2-6, 7-6. Due to the rain relays however the rest of the ladies matches on day 3 were cancelled so that will take me onto day 4.
So in day 4 we had one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far as Sara Errani suffered an early defeat in an all Italian clash against Flavia Pannetta as she was dealt a heavy blow with Panetta winning in 6-3, 6-1. This was a surprising loss for Errani who later said she felt the pressure of being seeded so high in the tournament as being the 4th seed seemed to take its toll on her. But Errani also said she had been suffering in her game over the last few weeks, so it looks she is having an attack of nerves, which is a great shame, and let's hope she will pick it again soon. Caroline Wozniacki had no such problems against Chanelle Scheepers as she breezed past the South African player in 6-2, 6-2 to reach the 3rd round. Serena Williams, who's match was cancelled the night before was played against Galina Voskoboeva of Kazahkstan who she dismissed with ease and sealing her place confidently in the 3rd round with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Victoria Azarenka also managed to sweep past the Canadian player Alexandra Wozniack dropping just four games winning in 6-3, 6-1. Angelique Kerber however had to fight way her past another Canadian player, Eugenie Bouchard in a tight three setter but eventually prevailing with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win. And finally Ana Ivanovic made short work of the Romanian player Alexander Dulgheru in just 6-2, 6-1.
Moving onto day 5 starting with Li Na who faced for the 2nd consecutive time in the 3rd round of the US Open, Laura Robson, who defeated her last year in a shock upset, so this time round Li was looking for some payback. And she sure got it, but it wasn't easy as despite taking the first set with a double break, Li had to fight from a break down in the 2nd to evetnually level and she went onto break to seal the match and complete her revenge with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Sloane Stephens, the American No.2, continued her impressive form against her fellow American, Jamie Hampton as she drubbed her in 6-3, 6-1. Serena Williams in typical fashion hammered her 3rd round opponent Yaroslava Shevadova dropping just a mere four games in 6-3, 6-1. And lastly for day 5 I will mention Agnieszk Radwanska who didn't have it so easy against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia as she was pushed hard but came through in two tight sets, 6-4, 7-6.
And to bring us up to date at Day 6 starting with Ana Ivanovic who played the American, Christina McHale in what was a real battle for a place in the 4th round. And in the end it was Ivanovic who prevailed having come from a set down, she beat the young American in 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the last 16. Caroline Wozniacki wasn't so fortunate as she sustained a surprise 3rd round loss against the Italian qualifier Camilla Giorgi in a tight 3 set scrap as Giorgi won in 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. This completes Caroline's rather poor season in the grand slams and it was a surprise which shows she has a lot of work ahead of her in order to turn her game around. Victoria Azarenka was also made to work very hard against the French player Alize Cornet as the two of them engaged in a tight battle on Lois Armstrong stadium as she Vika had to come from a set down to beat Cornet in 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Roberta Vinci who has favoured way better than her doubles partner Sara Errani also progressed into the 4th round as she beat her fellow Italian Karin Knapp in 6-4, 6-3. And finally the in form Romanian player, Simon Halep continued her impressive run as she demolished Maria Kirilenko in just 6-1, 6-0.
So that brings us up to speed with ladies, now we go onto the men starting with Day 3 we had Andy Murray finally play his first match after a three day wait and some rain delays, the defending champion finally made it into on the Arthur Ashe stadium court to play the Frenchman and doubles specialist, Michael Llodra. If Andy had any nerves or jitters in his first match as a defending grand slam champion he certainly didn't show them as he effortlessly moved past Llorda with a solid performance and a straight set win to get his campaign off to a solid start in 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. James Blake also played the final match of his career as he was due to retire after the US Open, but he went out in style against the giant serving giant Ivo Karlovic, as the big Croatian battled his way to victory in five sets in 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. While it wasn't ideal for Blake to go out so early he put in a great fight and signalled the end of a fine career for a top player, so all the best to James Blake for the future.
Moving onto day 4 Roger Federer took on the loud grunting Argentine player, Carlos Berlocq who he dismissed in just 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. Rafa Nadal also did the exact same and he did it even more emphatically against the Brazillian player Rogeria Dutra Da Silva as he dropped just three games with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 gubbing. This continues to show Rafa's scarily good form and for me he still remains the top favourite to win the title and on this basis its going to be hard to see anyone else beat him. David Ferrer however had a far tougher time of it while playing his fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut as he needed four sets to get past his compatriot 6-3, 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. John Isner, the American No.1 took on the talented and flashy Gael Monfils in a very entertaining four set scrap which saw the big yank beat Monfils in a tight 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 win. And finally Milos Raonic, the big serving Canadian had little trouble in moving past Pablo Andujar of Spain in 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
So on we go to Day 5 which saw one of the big upsets of the tournament so far as Juan Martin Del Potro, the former 2009 US Open champion play against another former champion, Lleyton Hewitt. The match promised to be a cracker and it turned out to be just that as he had to fight past the big Argentine and eventually won the match after four hours with a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 victory. This is quite a significant win for Hewitt and still shows there is life in the old dog yet and that Hewitt is far from done, and he is also drawn on the same half as Novak Djokovic so it should be interesting to see how he get's on against him should they meet. Novak Djokovic next up came across his first stumbling block as he took on the German player, Benjamin Becker who proved to be quite a tricky customer in the first set as the German had some set point chances, however he was unable to close them out and as play went to a tiebreak, it was Djokovic that seized the initiative. And after the first set Djokovic put down the hammer and went right through the German as he reached the 3rd round with a 7-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. This was not Nole at his very best as he made some loose errors particularly in the first set, but he did more than enough to get himself through with a comfortable victory. Tomas Berdych however had to work much harder against the American player Denis Kudla, and after two very tight tiebreak sets with Berdych winning both, he went on to berak Kudla in the 3rd to close it out with a hard fought 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Which brings me onto Andy Murray who in his 2nd round match faced the talented and tricky Argentine, Leo Mayer, who gave plenty of trouble with his big looping forehand and net skills. After a tight first set Andy took the lead and went on to go two sets to love up, but in the 3rd set he suffered a wobble and dropped his serve to let Mayer back into the match who went on to close out the 3rd to take the match into a 4th. However any fears or concerns that a big battle would ensure were quickly put to rest as Andy sped through the 4th set, breaking Mayer twice to land his place in the 3rd round after a tough 7-5, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory. Whilst it wasn't the best performance from Andy either, he did what he had to do in order to move on and he has often said himself the Lois Armstrong court, which he played on, has always been one where he has struggled in the past. But I'm sure Andy will pick up his game as the rounds progress, but next up will be another Mayer, Florian, the flash German player who might prove to be a test as well, but I'm sure Andy will come through their match hopefully in straight sets.
So this brings me onto Day 6 of the men's, starting with Rafa who played against the dangerous Ivan Dodig, who has a reputation of being a giant killer. However Dodig never really posed a big threat to Rafa who went on to secure a confident straight set win against the Croatian, as he won in 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. So this sees Rafa's amazing form continue and what's even more remarkable is that he is yet to not only drop a set but also drop his serve in the tournament which is incredible, so we will see how Rafa get's in his 4th round match against Philippe Kohlschreiber, who beat John Isner in four sets. Roger Federer also made serene progress as he swept past the French player, Adrian Mannarino, as he conceded only five games with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 score. David Ferrer however was pushed hard though against the Kazhak player, Mikhail Kukushikin as it took four sets to overcome Kuhky with a 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 slogathon. And Janko Tipsarevic, two time quarter finalist at the US Open also had a fight on his hands against the plucky American qualifier Jack Sock, as rallied from a set down to win in 3-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2.
And last but not least we had the British surprise of the tournament, Dan Evans who had previously beaten Kie Nishikori and Bernard Tomic in the 1st and 2nd rounds respectively take on the 19th seed, Tommy Robredo for a place in the 4th round and a showdown with Roger Federer. This match up seemed to be a tall order for Dan to live up to, however he battled tremendously well against the veteran player Robredo, who at times was struggling with cramp in his leg, as did Dan. And after going two sets down, Dan fought back brilliantly as he broke to take the 3rd set and keep the match alive. And in the 4th set Dan had his chances as he broke Robredo twice, but Robredo then broke back (twice!) to level the scores and at 6-5, with some loose errors Dan finally lost to the Spaniard after a tough battle and the Spaniard taking his 4th round place with a 7-6, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 scoreline and ending Dan's fairy tale run in New York. This really was a terrific encounter and it showed once again just how good a player Dan Evans can be, and despite his loss he can take many positives from it and from his time in the US Open. And if he continues in this form then there is no reason that Dan cannot break into the top 100 in the near future, and he has said himself that he intends to keep knuckling down and if he does well the results will come and Dan could soon become a real player to be reckoned with.
Right so that's a pretty exhaustive post, but it brings us up to date, so I will have more once the 4th round matches are completed and then we will know who is going to be in the final 8 on the men's and ladies.
Until the next one, bye for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment