Legg Mason Day 3: Favorites Forward

WASHINGTON--Day 3 of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC, was without many surprises.  The day's play consisted of ten singles matches, and in every one the higher-ranked player prevailed.

Here are some quick thoughts on the matches I saw a good chunk of:

Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. Robert Kendrick (USA) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 -- It was a pretty scratchy match for the most part, but once Youzhny got the break in the third Kendrick started looking completely out of it, and Youzhny took advantage.  Not a pretty match by any stretch, but a good showing by Youzhny to get the win, which have been fewer and further between for him lately.

[Q] Somdev Devvarman (IND) def. [Q] Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 6-0, 7-6(6) -- Devvarman raced out to a 6-0, 3-0 lead before Sugita figured out how to make any dents in the NCAA champion's incredible defense.  Sugita began picking his spots a lot better, and won four straight games for 4-3 with some flashy offense.  He even held two set points in the tiebreak, but Devvarman saved both to take the breaker and the match.

John Isner (USA) def. Andrey Golubev (KAZ) 7-6(8), 6-3 -- Like most Isner matches, this one was all about serve and return.  But Golubev did a much better than average job of getting a racquet on the 6'9'' American's serve, holding Isner to only four aces.  Isner got the only break of the match early in the second, and Golubev got more and more frustrated throughout the rest of the match.

Frank Dancevic (CAN) def. [Q] Santiago Giraldo (COL) 6-4, 6-3 -- Dancevic, who got stranded in Newark for a day en route to Washington, looked extremely sharp with both his serve and off the ground.  He was able to end points quickly both with his serve and his one-handed backhand, and never looked in trouble.  I got the chance to sit down with Dancevic one-on-one after his win, I'll have our conversation up in a little bit.

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) def. [WC] Donald Young 7-5, 6-2 -- Donald Young is perhaps the player with the largest all time ratio of wild cards to direct entries in the history of the ATP.  But he was not able to take advantage of this opportunity either, with Hewitt stronger on the big points throughout the night.  The match began with six holds, but devolved into a breakfest by the end of the first, with Hewitt breaking Young's serve four times in a row at one point.   By the end of the match, Hewitt had broken Young on six of his ten service games, which was enough for the straight set win.