The Daily Forehand's US Open Coverage

The odd days of US Open action are much stronger than the evens in terms of star power.  With Federer, Roddick, Venus and Serena all playing today, the fans had a lot of big names to see on the big stages.  There were a fair number of interesting matches on the outer courts as well, as is the case on any day in the first week of a grand slam.

Here's a run-through of some of the more intriguing/important results, starting with the men:

Roger Federer SUI (1) def. Devin Britton USA 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 -- Federer didn't look particularly sharp against the 2009 NCAA champion from Ole Miss who only turned pro in July, but it was enough.  Britton managed to break Federer's serve twice, but each time he gave the break back immediately and with little resistance.  Federer is flying high and perhaps more confident now than ever judging from his interviews, but he will need to play better to beat a Roddick or Murray he may encounter late in this tournament.  But with his draw, he should be able to coast for at least another week.

Andy Roddick USA (5) def. Bjorn Phau 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 -- Playing his first grand slam match since losing the Wimbledon final, Roddick looked sharp against Phau, who is never an easy opponent because of his nearly incomparable raw speed.  Roddick was down a break 3-1 in the second, but battled back nicely to end the match with a fairly routine looking scoreline.

Mikhail Youzhny RUS def. Paul-Henri Mathieu FRA (26) 2-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 --This match, for most purposes, should announce Youzhny's return to relevance.  Plagued by injuries and mediocrity for a couple years now, the 2006 US Open semifinalist looks ready to reestablish himself near the top of the tennis world.  He and Mathieu played some really braindead, cajones-less tennis for the first set and a half before Youzhny found his form and started dominating Mathieu the way he has so many times before.  Youzhny is in the very workable Davydenko/Soderling part of the draw, and could well make the quarterfinals if he continues to improve over this week.

John Isner USA def. Victor Hanescu ROU (28) 6-1, 7-6(14), 7-6(5) -- John Isner won his first grand slam match since 2007 by beating Victor Hanescu, the most anonymous of the seeds, in a match that was defined by an epic second set tiebreak.  The 16-14 tiebreak eventually won by Isner was the longest of the year on the ATP, and included Hanescu blowing an unconscionable 10 set points.  Isner has a very easy draw in the second round against Turkish qualifier Marsel Ilhan before he would run into Andy Roddick in the third round.  But in his post-match interview, Isner seemed to be more excited about his Georgia Bulldogs playing Oklahoma State on Saturday.

And now the women, who had more matches today (and more intriguing ones, for my money):

Venus Williams USA (3) def. Vera Dushevina RUS 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3 -- This is most certainly not how Venus Williams wanted to start the tournament.  It was the most desperate and emotional looking I have seen Venus in years.  She battled through as Dushevina became overwhelmed by the occasion late in the second, but the wear on her knee from this match could spell her demise.  She has a fairly easy draw next round in Bethanie Mattek-Sands, but she could be in trouble once she reaches Clijsters or even Bartoli.  While only Venus knows how her knee is feeling, there's one thing I do know: that was one absolutely hideous dress.  EleVen and Ed Hardy should not mix.

Serena Williams USA (2) def. Alexa Glatch USA 6-4, 6-1-- Serena started this match absolutely terribly, but Glatch was even worse, as the two played absolutely atrocious tennis through the first set.  Serena got herself together by the second set, and finished off the match in some style.  Glatch has been talked about as a player with potential to be the Next Big American for some time now, and she was huge in Fed Cup vs. the Czech Republic this year, but she was awful today.

Kim Clijsters BEL def. Viktoriya Kutuzova UKR 6-1, 6-1 -- Clijsters was ruthless in her first match at Flushing Meadows since 2005, the year in which she won the US Open for her only slam title to date.  She and Serena Williams now have matching eight match win streaks at the tournament, streaks which could collide in the semifinals if they both continue playing this well.

Agnieszka Radwanska POL (12) def. Patricia Mayr 6-1, 6-2 -- This result wasn't particularly noteworthy or surprising, but it was a really impressive display of how lethal and downright mean Radwanska can be against a lesser opponent on an occasion like this.  This match-up  of two players known for driving their opponents crazy was highlighted by Radwanska hitting a drop shot winner off a Mayr second serve, a shot selection which commentator Jeff Tarango noted "would get you kicked out of a lot of country clubs."

Marion Bartoli FRA (14) def. Rosanna de los Rios PAR 6-1, 6-0 -- After splitting the first two games of the match, Bartoli quickly served notice to Kim Clijsters that she's playing well by winning the next eleven straight games to blitz de los Rios in thirteen games. Wednesday's match between Bartoli and Clijsters should be great stuff if Bartoli can play anywhere near as well as she did today.

I should probably note here that Mayr and de los Rios, the two interviewees in an article I did last week, combined to win only four games at the US Open.  I guess once they made it to the big time by being on The Daily Forehand, they thought they could just rest on those laurels for the rest of their careers.

Samantha Stosur AUS (15) def. Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 -- If you wanted a women's match that was both high quality and close, this was the one on Monday.  Stosur has been one of the most consistent players over the last four months or so, and Sugiyama is always an incredibly tough out.  It was a real nice contrast of big, topspin filled serve-based tennis from Stosur and a fast counter-puncher flitting around the court by Sugiyama.  In the end Sugiyama just wasn't able to win enough points on her own terms (only 12 winners to Stosur's 44).

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP def. Sybille Bammer AUT (29) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5) -- A quarterfinalist last year, Bammer goes out in a tough third set tiebreak to MJMS, who I predicted back in July would be a forced to reckoned with here.  Her game should play well on these fast courts.  It's also a huge break for Serena Williams, as Bammer was seeded to meet the defending champion in the third round,  and would have come into that match up with a 2-0 career record vs. the younger Williams.