US Open 2011 Day 3 Open Thread

AP



Young tennis fans look on during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011.



::



Well, I guess the answer to my question about Li Na and Petra Kvitova was answered a whole lot sooner than anyone would have imagined. Two reigning champions losing in the first round of a major has to be unprecedented. I feel an essay about these two coming on, but not today.



We'll stick with today's action. I was a bit surprised that the US Open's own website's headline doesn't even mention Andy Roddick in today's action. Vera Zvonareva, Venus Williams and the other Andy, but not Roddick. I know he's fallen from grace of late, but he's still the last American man to win a major and it just so happened to be this one 8 years ago. When you consider that a Frenchman and a Brit haven't won majors in at least a generation, you have to wonder why Roddick seems to get so little love stateside. I'd love to know the true nature of Roddick's relationship with the USTA. It just has to be more than meets the eye.



But I digress.



Order of Play for Wednesday, August 31, 2011



Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Kateryna Bondarenko(UKR) vs. Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[2]

Not Before:13:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Somdev Devvarman(IND) vs. Andy Murray(GBR)[4]

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Venus Williams(USA) vs. Sabine Lisicki(GER)[22]



All three of these matches could be tight with potential upsets in the making.



Arthur Ashe Stadium 19:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Andy Roddick(USA)[21] vs. Michael Russell(USA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Anastasiya Yakimova(BLR) vs. Maria Sharapova(RUS)[3]



An All-American first-rounder under the lights. Given Roddick's form, it could be a barn burner. Russell is a tough competitor.



Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Madison Keys(USA) vs. Lucie Safarova(CZE)[27]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Juan Martin Del Potro(ARG)[18] vs. Filippo Volandri(ITA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Coco Vandeweghe(USA) vs. Samantha Stosur(AUS)[9]

Not Before:17:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marcos Baghdatis(CYP) vs. John Isner(USA)[28]



Can't wait to see if Keys can challenge to Safarova. And what is Miss Coco bringing to the table today? Isner vs. Baghdatis could be special.



Grandstand 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Robin Soderling(SWE)[6] vs. Louk Sorensen(IRL)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Marion Bartoli(FRA)[8] vs. Christina McHale(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Robby Ginepri(USA) vs. Joao Souza(BRA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Angelique Kerber(GER) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska(POL)[12]



Not a lot to see here. Oh, wait. Former semifinalist Ginepri is playing tennis again? Welcome back.



As for the rest of the schedule, unless your favorite player is among these ....



Court 17 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Julien Benneteau(FRA) vs. Nicolas Almagro(ESP)[10]

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Laura Pous-Tio(ESP) vs. Julia Goerges(GER)[19]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Bob Bryan(USA)[1]/Mike Bryan(USA)[1] vs. Ivo Karlovic(CRO)/Frank Moser(GER)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Jack Sock(USA) vs. Marc Gicquel(FRA)



Court 13 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Anabel Medina Garrigues(ESP)[30] vs. Laura Robson(GBR)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Shuai Peng(CHN)[13] vs. Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ricardo Mello(BRA) vs. Gilles Simon(FRA)[12]

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Yanina Wickmayer(BEL)[20] vs. Alla Kudryavtseva(RUS)



Court 11 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Feliciano Lopez(ESP)[25] vs. Tatsuma Ito(JPN)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Alex Bogomolov Jr.(USA) vs. Steve Johnson(USA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Dominika Cibulkova(SVK)[14] vs. Irina Falconi(USA)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Flavia Pennetta(ITA)[26] vs. Romina Oprandi(ITA)



Court 4 11:00



Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Jessica Pegula(USA)/Taylor Townsend(USA) vs. Klaudia Jans-Ignacik(POL)/Alicja Rosolska(POL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Rui Machado(POR) vs. Robin Haase(NED)

Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Nadia Petrova(RUS)[24] vs. Polona Hercog(SLO)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Raquel Kops-Jones(USA)/Abigail Spears(USA) vs. Liezel Huber(USA)[4]/Lisa Raymond(USA)[4]



Court 6 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Alexandra Dulgheru(ROU) vs. Monica Niculescu(ROU)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Diego Junqueira(ARG) vs. Karol Beck(SVK)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Monica Niculescu(ROU)/Shahar Peer(ISR) vs. Iveta Benesova(CZE)[9]/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE)[9]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Grigor Dimitrov(BUL)/Dmitry Tursunov(RUS) vs. Eric Butorac(USA)[8]/Jean-Julien Rojer(AHO)[8]



Court 7 11:00



Women's Singles - 2nd Round

Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs. Maria Kirilenko(RUS)[25]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Denis Istomin(UZB) vs. Ryan Sweeting(USA)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Sorana Cirstea(ROU)/Ayumi Morita(JPN) vs. Casey Dellacqua(AUS)/Rennae Stubbs(AUS)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Ivan Dodig(CRO)/Bernard Tomic(AUS) vs. Pablo Andujar(ESP)/Daniel Gimeno-Traver(ESP)



Court 8 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez(ESP) vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver(ESP)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Jarmila Gajdosova(AUS)[16]/Bethanie Mattek-Sands(USA)[16] vs. Jelena Dokic(AUS)/Virginie Razzano(FRA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Santiago Giraldo(COL)/Pere Riba(ESP) vs. Max Mirnyi(BLR)[2]/Daniel Nestor(CAN)[2]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Arnaud Clement(FRA)/Lukas Dlouhy(CZE) vs. David Marrero(ESP)/Andreas Seppi(ITA)



Court 9 11:00



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Olivier Rochus(BEL)/Andre Sa(BRA) vs. Julian Knowle(AUT)/Horacio Zeballos(ARG)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Eva Birnerova(CZE)/Klara Zakopalova(CZE) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu(ROU)/Simona Halep(ROU)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Petra Martic(CRO)/Ksenia Pervak(RUS) vs. Vitalia Diatchenko(RUS)/Olga Savchuk(UKR)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Bojana Jovanovski(SRB)/Varvara Lepchenko(USA) vs. Andrea Hlavackova(CZE)[8]/Lucie Hradecka(CZE)[8]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Marcel Granollers(ESP)[13]/Marc Lopez(ESP)[13] vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez(ESP)/Albert Montanes(ESP)



Court 10 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Vasek Pospisil(CAN) vs. Lukas Rosol(CZE)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Martin Damm(CZE)/Radek Stepanek(CZE) vs. Colin Fleming(GBR)/Ross Hutchins(GBR)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Sania Mirza(IND)[6]/Elena Vesnina(RUS)[6] vs. Samantha Crawford(USA)/Madison Keys(USA)



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Carlos Berlocq(ARG)/Lukas Rosol(CZE) vs. Simone Bolelli(ITA)/Fabio Fognini(ITA)

Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Nadia Petrova(RUS)/Jamie Murray(GBR) vs. Elena Vesnina(RUS)[7]/Leander Paes(IND)[7]



Court 14 11:00



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Matthias Bachinger(GER)/Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER) vs. Jamie Delgado(GBR)/Jonathan Marray(GBR)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Jurgen Melzer(AUT)[9]/Philipp Petzschner(GER)[9] vs. Santiago Gonzalez(MEX)/Jamie Murray(GBR)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Vania King(USA)[3]/Yaroslava Shvedova(KAZ)[3] vs. Petra Cetkovska(CZE)/Renata Voracova(CZE)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)/Chanelle Scheepers(RSA) vs. Nuria Llagostera Vives(ESP)[14]/Arantxa Parra Santonja(ESP)[14]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Denis Istomin(UZB)/Mikhail Kukushkin(KAZ) vs. Johan Brunstrom(SWE)/Jarkko Nieminen(FIN)



Court 15 11:00



Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Liga Dekmeijere(LAT)/Jelena Jankovic(SRB) vs. Chia-Jung Chuang(TPE)[13]/Olga Govortsova(BLR)[13]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Jonathan Erlich(ISR)/Andy Ram(ISR) vs. Lucas Arnold Ker(ARG)/Juan Monaco(ARG)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Shu-Ying Hsieh(TPE)/Galina Voskoboeva(KAZ) vs. Greta Arn(HUN)/Arantxa Rus(NED)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)/Vera Zvonareva(RUS) vs. Mirjana Lucic(CRO)/Tamira Paszek(AUT)



Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Jarmila Gajdosova(AUS)/Bruno Soares(BRA) vs. Kveta Peschke(CZE)[4]/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi(PAK)[4]



Court 16 11:00



Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Michael Kohlmann(GER)/Alexander Waske(GER) vs. Scott Lipsky(USA)[16]/Rajeev Ram(USA)[16]

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Frantisek Cermak(CZE)[11]/Filip Polasek(SVK)[11] vs. Daniele Bracciali(ITA)/Potito Starace(ITA)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)[10]/Anastasia Rodionova(AUS)[10] vs. Andreja Klepac(SLO)/Anna Tatishvili(GEO)

Women's Doubles - 1st Round

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez(ESP)[12]/Anabel Medina Garrigues(ESP)[12] vs. Mathilde Johansson(FRA)/Pauline Parmentier(FRA)

Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)/Mariusz Fyrstenberg(POL) vs. Ana Ivanovic(SRB)/Nenad Zimonjic(SRB)

US Open 2011 Day 2 Open Thread

Reuters



Tennis fans walk the grounds at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during matches at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 29, 2011.



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Yesterday, Petra Kvitova was the first Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round of the US Open in the Open Era. Or so I thought I heard one of the commentators say. If it was Chris Evert, then you might want to fact check this stat for the things that fall from her lips are often so wrong as to be flatout ludicrous. But the young Czech hasn't won but a few matches since taking the crown jewel back in July and it seems she's still on the lawns of Wimbledon dealing with such an overwhelming accomplishment. I don't expect her to rebound till the indoor season begins.



16-year-old American Madison Keys won her first Slam match, taking out veteran wild card Jill Craybas in straight sets. The youngster has weapons. Christina McHale also rallied to victory, while Bethanie Mattek-Sands continues to disappoint, barely winning games in her straight-set loss. And what on earth has happened to Melanie Oudin? I didn't expect her to become a world beater after her run to the quarterfinals two years ago, but she's now eating bagels baked by journeywomen with no weapons.



Today, I don't foresee any big upsets, but with late arrivals to New York and interrupted rituals due to Irene, who knows? Look out for Igor Andreev.



::



Order of Play for Tuesday, August 30, 2011



Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Victoria Azarenka(BLR)[4] vs. Johanna Larsson(SWE)

Not Before:13:00

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Caroline Wozniacki(DEN)[1] vs. Nuria Llagostera Vives(ESP)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Novak Djokovic(SRB)[1] vs. Conor Niland(IRL)



Arthur Ashe Stadium 19:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Andrey Golubev(KAZ) vs. Rafael Nadal(ESP)[2]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Bojana Jovanovski(SRB) vs. Serena Williams(USA)[28]



Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

David Ferrer(ESP)[5] vs. Igor Andreev(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Galina Voskoboeva(KAZ) vs. Francesca Schiavone(ITA)[7]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Simona Halep(ROU) vs. Na Li(CHN)[6]



Not Before:17:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

James Blake(USA) vs. Jesse Huta Galung(NED)



Grandstand 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA)[11] vs. Yen-Hsun Lu(TPE)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jelena Jankovic(SRB)[11] vs. Alison Riske(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Jarkko Nieminen(FIN) vs. Fernando Verdasco(ESP)[19]

This match may be moved to Ashe Stadium



Not Before:15:00

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Ksenia Pervak(RUS) vs. Ana Ivanovic(SRB)[16]



Court 17 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Alona Bondarenko(UKR) vs. Sabine Lisicki(GER)[22]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Donald Young(USA) vs. Lukas Lacko(SVK)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Shahar Peer(ISR)[23] vs. Sania Mirza(IND)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Bobby Reynolds(USA) vs. David Nalbandian(ARG)



Court 13 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Kimiko Date-Krumm(JPN) vs. Silvia Soler-Espinosa(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Andrea Petkovic(GER)[10] vs. Ekaterina Bychkova(RUS)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marinko Matosevic(AUS) vs. Juan Ignacio Chela(ARG)[24]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Iveta Benesova(CZE) vs. Jarmila Gajdosova(AUS)[29]



Court 11 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Flavia Pennetta(ITA)[26] vs. Aravane Rezai(FRA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Mikhail Youzhny(RUS)[16] vs. Ernests Gulbis(LAT)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Adrian Mannarino(FRA) vs. Florian Mayer(GER)[26]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Reka-Luca Jani(HUN) vs. Sloane Stephens(USA)



Court 4 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Lauren Davis(USA) vs. Angelique Kerber(GER)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Nikolay Davydenko(RUS) vs. Ivan Dodig(CRO)[32]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Sara Errani(ITA) vs.Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS)[15]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vania King(USA) vs. Greta Arn(HUN)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Alexandr Dolgopolov(UKR)/Albert Ramos(ESP) vs. Mahesh Bhupathi(IND)[4]/Leander Paes(IND)[4]



Court 6 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Coco Vandeweghe(USA) vs. Alberta Brianti(ITA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marsel Ilhan(TUR) vs. Frank Dancevic(CAN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Irina-Camelia Begu(ROU) vs. Roberta Vinci(ITA)[18]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Nicolas Mahut(FRA) vs. Robert Farah(COL)



Court 7 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Yanina Wickmayer(BEL)[20] vs. Sorana Cirstea(ROU)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Eric Prodon(FRA) vs. Jurgen Melzer(AUT)[17]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jamie Hampton(USA) vs. Elena Baltacha(GBR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ivan Ljubicic(CRO)[30] vs. Blaz Kavcic(SLO)



Court 8 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Kaia Kanepi(EST)[31] vs. Tamarine Tanasugarn(THA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Stanislas Wawrinka(SUI)[14] vs. Maximo Gonzalez(ARG)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Arantxa Rus(NED) vs. Elena Vesnina(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez(ESP)[32] vs. Mona Barthel(GER)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Anna Tatishvili(GEO) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)[17]



Court 9 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Mirjana Lucic(CRO) vs. Marina Erakovic(NZL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Edouard Roger-Vasselin(FRA) vs. Gilles Muller(LUX)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Mathilde Johansson(FRA) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Evgeniya Rodina(RUS) vs. Petra Cetkovska(CZE)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Petra Martic(CRO) vs. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova(CZE)



Court 10 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Andreas Haider-Maurer(AUT) vs. Sergei Bubka(UKR)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Dmitry Tursunov(RUS) vs. Steve Darcis(BEL)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Daniela Hantuchova(SVK)[21] vs. Pauline Parmentier(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Michaella Krajicek(NED) vs. Eleni Daniilidou(GRE)



Court 14 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Potito Starace(ITA) vs. Michael Berrer(GER)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jelena Dokic(AUS) vs. Olga Govortsova(BLR)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Rohan Bopanna(IND)[5]/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi(PAK)[5] vs. Robby Ginepri(USA)/Rhyne Williams(USA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Mariusz Fyrstenberg(POL)[6]/Marcin Matkowski(POL)[6] vs. Michael Shabaz(USA)/Ryan Sweeting(USA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Jack Sock(USA)/Jack Withrow(USA) vs. Mark Knowles(BAH)[15]/Xavier Malisse(BEL)[15]



Court 15 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Rebecca Marino(CAN) vs. Gisela Dulko(ARG)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Akgul Amanmuradova(UZB) vs. Tamira Paszek(AUT)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Olivier Rochus(BEL) vs. Jean-Rene Lisnard(MON)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Casey Dellacqua(AUS) vs. Alize Cornet(FRA)

Men's Doubles - 1st Round

Bradley Klahn(USA)/David Martin(USA) vs. Robert Lindstedt(SWE)[7]/Horia Tecau(ROU)[7]



Court 16 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Matthias Bachinger(GER) vs. Igor Kunitsyn(RUS)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vitalia Diatchenko(RUS) vs. Jie Zheng(CHN)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Pere Riba(ESP) vs. Carlos Berlocq(ARG)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Chanelle Scheepers(RSA) vs. Anne Keothavong(GBR)

US 2011 Day 1 Open Thread

Getty



Serena Williams of the United States poses with the Olympus US Open Series Trophy at a press conference during Day One of the 2011 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 29, 2011 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.



::



Here we go, people. Here we go.



Which first-day, first-round matches are on your radar?



Order of Play for Monday, August 29



Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Tobias Kamke(GER) vs. Mardy Fish(USA)[8]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Heather Watson(GBR) vs. Maria Sharapova(RUS)[3]



Arthur Ashe Stadium 19:00

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vesna Dolonts(RUS) vs. Venus Williams(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Roger Federer(SUI)[3] vs. Santiago Giraldo(COL)



Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ryan Harrison(USA) vs. Marin Cilic(CRO)[27]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Petra Kvitova(CZE)[5] vs. Alexandra Dulgheru(ROU)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Stephanie Foretz Gacon(FRA) vs. Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[2]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Marion Bartoli(FRA)[8] vs. Alexandra Panova(RUS)



Not Before:17:00

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Grigor Dimitrov(BUL) vs. Gael Monfils(FRA)[7]



Grandstand 12:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Tomas Berdych(CZE)[9] vs. Romain Jouan(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Jill Craybas(USA) vs. Madison Keys(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Alejandro Falla(COL) vs. Viktor Troicki(SRB)[15]

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Bethanie Mattek-Sands(USA) vs. Polona Hercog(SLO)



Court 17 13:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Sergiy Stakhovsky(UKR) vs. Richard Gasquet(FRA)[13]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Tommy Haas(GER) vs. Jonathan Dasnieres De Veigy(FRA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Christina McHale(USA) vs. Aleksandra Wozniak(CAN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Sofia Arvidsson(SWE) vs. Samantha Stosur(AUS)[9]



Court 13 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Kei Nishikori(JPN) vs. Flavio Cipolla(ITA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Laura Robson(GBR) vs. Ayumi Morita(JPN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Shuai Peng(CHN)[13] vs. Varvara Lepchenko(USA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Dudi Sela(ISR) vs. Thomaz Bellucci(BRA)



Court 11 12:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Kristina Barrois(GER) vs. Julia Goerges(GER)[19]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Michael Yani(USA) vs. Bernard Tomic(AUS)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Radek Stepanek(CZE)[23] vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Urszula Radwanska(POL) vs. Agnieszka Radwanska(POL)[12]



Court 4 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Augustin Gensse(FRA) vs. Janko Tipsarevic(SRB)[20]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Michael Llodra(FRA)[29] vs. Victor Hanescu(ROU)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Dominika Cibulkova(SVK)[14] vs. Shuai Zhang(CHN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Melanie Oudin(USA) vs. Romina Oprandi(ITA)



Court 6 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Misaki Doi(JPN) vs. Laura Pous-Tio(ESP)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Ivo Karlovic(CRO) vs. Fernando Gonzalez(CHI)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Virginie Razzano(FRA) vs. Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Nadia Petrova(RUS)[24] vs. Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)



Court 7 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Marcel Granollers(ESP)[31] vs. Xavier Malisse(BEL)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Juan Monaco(ARG) vs. Andreas Seppi(ITA)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Ekaterina Makarova(RUS) vs. Maria Kirilenko(RUS)[25]



Court 8 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Fabio Fognini(ITA) vs. Horacio Zeballos(ARG)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Kevin Anderson(RSA) vs. Go Soeda(JPN)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Klara Zakopalova(CZE) vs. Irina Falconi(USA)



Court 9 11:00



Women's Singles - 1st Round

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner(AUT) vs. Monica Niculescu(ROU)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Mikhail Kukushkin(KAZ) vs. Albert Montanes(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Lucie Hradecka(CZE) vs. Kateryna Bondarenko(UKR)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Anastasiya Yakimova(BLR) vs. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn(THA)



Court 10 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Philipp Petzschner(GER) vs. Albert Ramos(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Anabel Medina Garrigues(ESP)[30] vs. Karin Knapp(ITA)

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Pablo Andujar(ESP) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero(ESP)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Alla Kudryavtseva(RUS) vs. Anastasia Rodionova(AUS)



Court 14 11:00



Men's Singles - 1st Round

Alexandr Dolgopolov(UKR)[22] vs. Frederico Gil(POR)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Magdalena Rybarikova(SVK) vs. Lucie Safarova(CZE)[27]

Men's Singles - 1st Round

Malek Jaziri(TUN) vs. Thiemo de Bakker(NED)

Women's Singles - 1st Round

Vera Dushevina(RUS) vs. Anastasija Sevastova(LAT)

US Open 2011 Preview

Getty



Heavy rain falls on a tennis ball as Hurricane Irene heads up the east coast during previews at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27, 2011 in New York City.



::



The draws are out, the wind and rain will subside, and tomorrow, in the concrete jungle known as New York, the last Slam of the year will begin.



I tend to find men's tennis more compelling than women's, but for at least the fourth Slam in a row, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are in the same half of the draw, while Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer reside in the other half. And while I haven't checked about, I bet the fanged Scot is most pundits pick to win the title.



Yawn.



Two-time defending champion Kim Clijsters is nursing an injury, so most will probably tell you that Serena Williams is the favorite in New York. No big surprise, but I agree. Unless there's a major upset, she'll face Victoria Azarenka in the third round. I'm sure that match will be hyped to the hilt, but I sincerely doubt it will live up to it. From what little tennis I've seen this summer, Serena is on a mission. I don't see anyone in the draw stopping her from claiming her fourth US Open crown and 14th major title. I'm not suggesting it's going to be a run to winner's circle without the loss of a set, but who would be shocked if it were?



As for a few of the rest: Will Juan Martín del Potro find his best form at his favorite tournament? How recovered is Robin Söderling? Are there any Americans other than Serena ready to thrill the home crowd with an appearance on the final weekend? Will the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champions on the women's side get their groove on in Flushing Meadows, or will Li Na and Petra Kvitova have to be satisfied with a lone Slam title this season? Who's going to defeat the top-ranked player on the women's side? Which youngster on either tour has the best chance to steal the show?



I'm ready to find out. Are you?

US Open 2011 Men's Draw

Novak Djokovic SRB (1) v Unknown

Pere Riba ESP v Carlos Berlocq ARG

Potito Starace ITA v Michael Berrer GER

Nikolay Davydenko RUS v Ivan Dodig CRO (32)



Alexandr Dolgopolov UKR (22) v Frederico Gil POR

Kei Nishikori JPN v Flavio Cipolla ITA

Ivo Karlovic CRO v Fernando Gonzalez CHI

Sergiy Stakhovsky UKR v Richard Gasquet FRA (13)



Tomas Berdych CZE (9) v Unknown

Fabio Fognini ITA v Horacio Zeballos ARG

Philipp Petzschner GER v Albert Ramos ESP

Unknown v Janko Tipsarevic SRB (20)



Marcel Granollers ESP (31) v Xavier Malisse BEL

Mikhail Kukushkin KAZ v Albert Montanes ESP

Pablo Andujar ESP v Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP

Grigor Dimitrov BUL v Gael Monfils FRA (7)



::



Roger Federer SUI (3) v Santiago Giraldo COL

Dudi Sela ISR v Thomaz Bellucci BRA

Unknown v Bernard Tomic AUS

Ryan Harrison USA v Marin Cilic CRO (27)



Radek Stepanek CZE (23) v Philipp Kohlschreiber GER

Juan Monaco ARG v Andreas Seppi ITA

Tommy Haas GER v Unknown

Alejandro Falla COL v Viktor Troicki SRB (15)



Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (11) v Yen-Hsun Lu TPE

Andreas Haider-Maurer AUT v Unknown

Unknown v Unknown

Jarkko Nieminen FIN v Fernando Verdasco ESP (19)



Michael Llodra FRA (29) v Victor Hanescu ROU

Kevin Anderson RSA v Unknown

Unknown v Thiemo de Bakker NED

Tobias Kamke GER v Mardy Fish USA (8)



:: :: :: ::



Robin Soderling SWE (6) v Unknown

Alex Bogomolov Jr. USA v Steve Johnson USA

Robby Ginepri USA v Unknown

Marcos Baghdatis CYP v John Isner USA (28)



Juan Martin Del Potro ARG (18) v Filippo Volandri ITA

Diego Junqueira ARG v Karol Beck SVK

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ESP v Daniel Gimeno-Traver ESP

Ricardo Mello BRA v Gilles Simon FRA (12)



Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (14) v Maximo Gonzalez ARG

Donald Young USA v Unknown

Dmitry Tursunov RUS v Steve Darcis BEL

Marinko Matosevic AUS v Juan Ignacio Chela ARG (24)



Feliciano Lopez ESP (25) v Tatsuma Ito JPN

Unknown v Lukas Rosol CZE

Rui Machado POR v Robin Haase NED

Somdev Devvarman IND v Andy Murray GBR (4)



::



David Ferrer ESP (5) v Igor Andreev RUS

James Blake USA v Unknown

Olivier Rochus BEL v Unknown

Adrian Mannarino FRA v Florian Mayer GER (26)



Andy Roddick USA (21) v Michael Russell USA

Jack Sock USA v Marc Gicquel FRA

Denis Istomin UZB v Ryan Sweeting USA

Julien Benneteau FRA v Nicolas Almagro ESP (10)



Mikhail Youzhny RUS (16) v Ernests Gulbis LAT

Edouard Roger-Vasselin FRA v Gilles Muller LUX

Matthias Bachinger GER v Igor Kunitsyn RUS

Eric Prodon FRA v Jurgen Melzer AUT (17)



Ivan Ljubicic CRO (30) v Blaz Kavcic SLO

Bobby Reynolds USA v David Nalbandian ARG

Nicolas Mahut FRA v Unknown

Andrey Golubev KAZ v Rafael Nadal ESP (2)

US Open 2011 Women's Draw

Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1) v Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP

Arantxa Rus NED v Elena Vesnina RUS

Vania King USA v Greta Arn HUN

Iveta Benesova CZE v Jarmila Gajdosova AUS (29)



Daniela Hantuchova SVK (21) v Pauline Parmentier FRA

Akgul Amanmuradova UZB v Tamira Paszek AUT

Jamie Hampton USA v Elena Baltacha GBR

Sara Errani ITA v Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (15)



Andrea Petkovic GER (10) v Unknown

Unknown v Jie Zheng CHN

Casey Dellacqua AUS v Alize Cornet FRA

Irina-Camelia Begu ROU v Roberta Vinci ITA (18)



Kaia Kanepi EST (31) v Tamarine Tanasugarn THA

Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN v Unknown

Mathilde Johansson FRA v Carla Suarez Navarro ESP

Simona Halep ROU v Na Li CHN (6)



::



Victoria Azarenka BLR (4) v Johanna Larsson SWE

Rebecca Marino CAN v Gisela Dulko ARG

Qualifer v Eleni Daniilidou GRE

Bojana Jovanovski SRB v Serena Williams USA (28)



Shahar Peer ISR (23) v Sania Mirza IND

Qualifer v Sloane Stephens USA

Evgeniya Rodina RUS v Petra Cetkovska CZE

Ksenia Pervak RUS v Ana Ivanovic SRB (16)



Jelena Jankovic SRB (11) v Alison Riske USA

Jelena Dokic AUS v Olga Govortsova BLR

Petra Martic CRO v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE

Anna Tatishvili GEO v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS (17)



Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP (32) v Mona Barthel GER

Chanelle Scheepers RSA v Anne Keothavong GBR

Mirjana Lucic CRO v Qualifer

Qualifer v Francesca Schiavone ITA (7)



:: :: :: ::



Petra Kvitova CZE (5) v Alexandra Dulgheru ROU

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT v Monica Niculescu ROU

Jill Craybas USA v Madison Keys USA

Magdalena Rybarikova SVK v Lucie Safarova CZE (27)



Yanina Wickmayer BEL (20) v Sorana Cirstea ROU

Alla Kudryavtseva RUS v Anastasia Rodionova AUS

Lauren Davis USA v Angelique Kerber GER

Qualifer v Agnieszka Radwanska POL (12)



Shuai Peng CHN (13) v Varvara Lepchenko USA

Virginie Razzano FRA v Tsvetana Pironkova BUL

Misaki Doi JPN v Laura Pous-Tio ESP

Kristina Barrois GER v Julia Goerges GER (19)



Flavia Pennetta ITA (26) v Aravane Rezai FRA

Melanie Oudin USA v Qualifer

Anastasiya Yakimova BLR v Qualifer

Heather Watson GBR v Maria Sharapova RUS (3)



::



Marion Bartoli FRA (8) v Qualifer

Christina McHale USA v Qualifer

Vera Dushevina RUS v Anastasija Sevastova LAT

Ekaterina Makarova RUS v Maria Kirilenko RUS (25)



Nadia Petrova RUS (24) v Qualifer

Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA v Polona Hercog SLO

Coco Vandeweghe USA v Alberta Brianti ITA

Sofia Arvidsson SWE v Samantha Stosur AUS (9)



Dominika Cibulkova SVK (14) v Shuai Zhang CHN

Klara Zakopalova CZE v Irina Falconi USA

Vesna Dolonts RUS v Venus Williams USA

Alona Bondarenko UKR v Sabine Lisicki GER (22)



Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (30) v Qualifer

Qualifer v Ayumi Morita JPN

Lucie Hradecka CZE v Kateryna Bondarenko UKR

Qualifer v Vera Zvonareva RUS (2)

Serena's Return

Getty



Serena Williams celebrates match point against Samantha Stosur to win her first big title since Wimbledon 2010.



It was her return of serve that broke the match wide open. Particularly, that one forehand that flew by Samantha so fast she could barely see it late in the first set.



I've said all that can be said about the greatness of Serena Williams. But the way she's gone about her business in this particular comeback deserves nothing but respect from lovers and critics alike. Sport has never seen anything like it.



So glad I can bear witness.