Strong showings from the big stars (not just on the court) and one major upset were the overarching themes from the US Open on day 2. We recap the top stories from Tuesday and what to look out for on a busy Wednesday in Flushing Meadows.
- Tuesday night was all about Roger. Between his fly custom Air Jordans and his Airness himself Michael Jordan in the stands cheering on Fed, his opening match felt like an exhibition. He put an exclamation point on the night with a sick tweener that whacked his opponent on the butt. Everyone had a good chuckle.
- The biggest upset came in the form of 15-year-old CiCi Bellis who knocked out Dominika Cibulkova in a grind it out three setter. Bellis obvious has the talent to be a top player in the future but how far can she actually go this week in New York? Stay tuned.
- 21 American’s took to the court yesterday with mixed results. John Isner and Sam Querrey moved onto the 2nd round but Jack Sock had to withdraw due to injury. Eight American women marched on to fight another day, highlighted by dominant performances by Serena Williams and Madison Keys.
- Other than the upset from Bellis the rest of the day went according to plan. Serena, Bouchard, Kvitova, Ferrer, Nishikori and the rest of the seeded players (except you 29 seed Lukas Rosol. Tisk, tisk) made it through relatively unscathed.
What to look for on day 3
- In one of the most intriguing matchups of the 1st round, Tomas Berdych and Lleyton Hewitt will play on Arthur Ashe today. I expect it to be a highly entertaining match of contrasting styles.
- Some other 1st round matchups on the men’s side to keep an eye on…
- American Ryan Harrison looks to avenge his 1st round defeat at Wimbledon when he takes on the 7 seed Grigor Dimitrov. Don’t be surprised if Harrison puts up a better fight this time around, but succumbs to the same fate.
- Eccentric 11 seed Ernests Gulbis takes to the court in a 1st round matchup against Frenchman Kenny De Schepper. Gulbis is primed to make a run so I’ll be interested to see how he acquits himself in his first match.
- US Open fan favorite Marcos Baghdatis also takes to the court for the first time this week against 15 seed Marin Cilic. If you’ve never seen the highlights from Agassi vs Baghdatis, in what was Agassi’s final US Open in 2006, take 10 minutes out of your day to do so.
- Also be sure to tune in to see both Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens in 2nd round matchups. Expect both of them advance against opponents who both reside outside of the top 75 in the WTA rankings.
