Day 2 of the US Open saw men’s singles, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic, John Isner and Tommy Haas all through to the second round while in the women’s singles, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Sara Errani are through to round 2 as well.
Quick Recap of Day 2
Day 2 saw expected results. In men’s singles, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Milos Raonic, John Isner and Tommy Haas are all through to the second round while in the women’s singles, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Sara Errani are through to round 2 as well. But, Australian Samantha Stosur’s horrific run in 2013 continued as she was ousted in round one by the unseeded American Victoria Duva.
Indian Presence on Day 3
India’s sole representative in men’s singles, Somdev Devvarman will play his first round match today against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia. They have never faced each other before. Lacko is ranked 30 places above the Indian. It would be interesting to see how the Indian fares against Lacko. The other Indian that will take the court today is Rohan Bopanna in the men’s doubles. The sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin will face the American duo of Bradley Klahn and Sam Querry in round one.
Men’s Singles on Day 3
Defending champion and no. 3 seed Andy Murray will take to court today to play his first round match against Michael Llodra of France. Murray holds a 3-0 head to head lead over the Frenchman and the Scot should be able to go through to the next round. Wimbledon Semi finalist Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina will also play his first round match, he faces Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain. Both have played only once before in the 2007 Paris Masters where Potro beat Garcia-Lopez in straight sets.
Stanislas Wawrinka will face Radek Stepanek in the round one and this should be a good contest. As per the rankings, Wawrinka would be the favorite to win, but Stepanek is a good player and will make it tough for Wawrinka. In head to head, Stepanek has never lost to Wawrinka, this indeed would be an interesting match. In other first round matches, American James Blake takes on the big serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic, Blake may retire after the US Open. Former US Open Champion Lleyton Hewitt is also scheduled to play his first round match.
Women’s Singles on Day 3
It’s time for Round two matches in women’s singles; World No. 1 Serena Williams will face Galina Voskoboeva while China’s Na Li will face Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. American Sloane Stephens will face Poland’s Urszula Radwanska in the second match of the evening session. Urszula elder sister and no. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska will face Spain’s Maria-Teresa Torrox-Flor in the first match of the day at the Louis Armstrong stadium.
In what should be an interesting match, Venus Williams faces Jie Zheng of China in round two today. They last met in 2004 where Venus beat Jie. No. 8 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany, Laura Robson of Great Britain and Wimbledon runner up Sabine Lisicki are all scheduled to play in round two later today as well.
Mixed Doubles Draws out!
The mixed doubles draws were declared on Tuesday in New York. Three Indians are in the fray to win the Mixed doubles crown. The pair of Rohan Bopanna and Julia Goerges of Germany has been seeded third for the mixed doubles event. Mahesh Bhupathi will partner former World No. 1 Martina Hingis while Sania Mirza will partner Horia Tecau. Both have been unseeded for the event. Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Alexander Peya of Austria are the number one seeds for the mixed doubles event. Interestingly, Leander Paes is not participating in the mixed doubles.