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US Open Day 3 Matches to Watch
While some competitors have yet to take the court for the first time, others kick off the second round of the US Open today.
There are a number of American hopefuls in action for both the men and the women, including a pair of young male wild cards seeking to make their names at the national tournament.
Men
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) vs. Andy Roddick (USA) [9], 7 p.m. – Ranked as high as 35th earlier this year, Tipsarevic has slid to 44th, and is just a tick above .500 (18-16) for the season. Previous to a first-round defeat at Toronto, he had put together a nice North American summer, reaching the semifinals at Los Angeles (lost to Sam Querrey) and the quarterfinals at Washington (lost to Marin Cilic). He’s 1-1 all-time against Roddick, with both matches taking place at Wimbledon. Ranked and seeded ninth, Roddick breezed through his opening match and has now won eight of his last 11 matches. With Fernando Verdasco and Tomas Berdych both struggling in front of him this summer, a big push at the Open could see Roddick rise higher in the Top 10.
Sam Querrey (USA) [20] vs. Bradley Klahn (USA), 11 a.m. – It’s a shame to see two Americans face off in the first round on their home soil, but that’s the way the seeding works out some times. Twenty-year-old Bradley Klahn won the NCAA men’s singles title last spring for Stanford, and was awarded a wild card for the Open. A native of Poway, a suburb of San Diego, Klahn was the No. 1 tennis recruit in the country coming out of high school in 2008. Querrey is nearly a forgotten man. Ranked 22nd, he’s 35-18 on the year with four titles, but since winning at Los Angeles, he’s a “blah” 2-3.
Ryan Harrison (USA) vs. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) [15], 11 a.m. – The 18-year-old Harrison will have the hometown cheers on his side this morning, but will need more than that to pull off the upset. Just 3-8 in 2010 in ATP events, Harrison received a wild card to the field and is the youngest American in the Top 250. He played decent against Ljubicic in their only previous meeting, a 6-2, 7-6(2) win for the Croatian at Indian Wells this year. The 31-year-old Ljubicic has been in the top 20 for 21 straight weeks, but is largely riding his Indian Wells title. Since March, he’s just 7-10.
Women
Ana Ivanovic (SRB) vs. Jie Zheng (CHN) [21}, 11 a.m. – Ivanovic sat out the Rogers Cup after an impressive semifinal performance at Cincinnati. It was her best performance since a semifinal trip at Rome in May. She’s met Zheng twice on hard courts, losing at the 2008 Olympics after winning at Montreal in 2006. Zheng reached the quarterfinals at Montreal, but was upset in the first round at New Haven.
Melanie Oudin (USA) vs. Alona Bondarenko (UKR) [29], 3 p.m. – An outstanding second-round matchup for the fist-pumping American sweetheart, who comes into the tournament ranked 43rd, just 10 spots behind Bondarenko. If you ever doubted that tennis is a young person’s sport, realize that at 26, Bondarenko is eight years older than Oudin. Bondarenko has been a dud this summer, going 1-4 since Wimbledon. Before Monday, Oudin had lost three straight opening-round matches.
Gisela Dulko (ARG) vs. Victoria Azarenka (BEL) [10], 11 a.m. – Don’t cry for Argentina, Azarenka. The No. 10-seeded Belarus native has one of the tougher second-round draws among the top players, taking on the 25-year-old Dulko who owns a two-match win streak over her, including a straight sets demolition at the French Open in May. The series is split 2-2 all-time with all four matches being played on clay. Azarenka has had a strong summer, winning Stanford with three wins over top 15 players and reaching the semifinals at Montreal. Dulko has fallen in the first round in two of her last three events.
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