AP Photo/Darron Cummings
With the first week of the 2009 US Tennis Open having now reached the halfway point, we take a look at how the top players have performed during week 1 and grade each of their efforts beginning with our highest marks:
A+ : Television coverage. After 25 years on the USA Network, ESPN and Tennis Channel have taken over the reigns, and there were many skeptics as to how smooth the transition would (or wouldn’t) be. The two networks have managed to silence all doubters though with their outstanding coverage, and the addition of Jimmy Connors to the booth has been a nice bonus.
A+ : Weather. Hardly a cloud in the sky during the first week, with the forecast calling for much of the same until at least the middle part of week 2. Somewhere, Aaron Krickstein is smiling.
A : The top seeded men. For the first time in the history of the Grand Slam Open era, each and every one of the top 16 men have avoided an early round upset and advanced into the third round.
A: The American contingent. Seems like every time the cry goes up that American tennis players are being shoved aside by their international counterparts, they rise up and shove back. Case in point: Melanie Oudin, Jesse Witten, John Isner, Taylor Dent, and Sam Querrey all advancing into the third round – and that list of names doesn’t even include the usual suspects such as Andy Roddick, James Blake, and the Williams sisters who have also advanced into round three.
B: The top seeded women. Have held mostly to form during the first week, with some notable upsets. Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, and Ana Ivanovic came up well short of expectations, and Dinara Safina (more on her later) looks like she won’t be much longer for the tournament if she continues to battle the yips on her serve.
B- : Venus Williams. Barely survived her first round match against unheralded Russian Vera Dushevina – during which she called for a trainer in the third set and received what appeared to be a 30 minute spa treatment on her knee, raising the issue once again about how and when players should be allowed to receive on court treatment (and for how long). She has managed however to push through to a round 4 matchup with Kim Clijsters, who is looking fit and fiercely determined to return to her former top 5 status.
View Recap: www.examiner.com/x-8182-Tampa-Tennis-Examiner~y2009m9d1-2009-Tennis-US-Open-results-Day-1
C: Marat Safin and Fabrice Santoro bid farewell: Both have been highly entertaining over the course of their careers, albeit for entirely different reasons. Safin managed a set in his first round loss to Jurgen Melzer, however Santoro went down in straight sets to “The Mosquito” Juan Carlos Ferrero, signaling the end of the line most definitely for Santoro and likely for Safin as well.
D: Dinara Safina. All that prevents Safina from scoring an F is the fact that she still remains alive in the tournament. Has looked positively awful at times in back to back three set matches against opponents ranked considerably below her, and is fueling her critics argument that defending champion Serena Williams is the rightful #1 in women’s tennis. Regardless of how she finishes the tournament she will leave as the world #1, but hopefully during week 2 she will find her serve, regain her confidence, and show some evidence that she is deserving of her ranking.
F: Ana Ivanovic. Her free fall continues. Seems hard to believe that it was only a little over a year ago that she was on top of the world having claimed the French Open title and the world #1 ranking. Came in this year as the 11th seed with few points to defend after last years second round loss to French qualifier Julie Coin, yet failed to reach even that low bar this time around with a first round loss to Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine. Will suffer a major hit in the rankings as a result.
View Recap: www.examiner.com/x-8182-Tampa-Tennis-Examiner~y2009m9d2-US-Tennis-Open-2009--Shocker-in-the-Night-Session
There you have it folks. It’s been a wildly entertaining first week with some highly intriguing matchups lined up for week 2 on both the men’s and women’s side. Stay tuned to the Tennis Channel and ESPN2 for televised coverage with live webcast coverage available at: www.usopen.org
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