Day 2 at the 2009 US Open, like most every early round at a grand slam, pitted some big favorites against some big underdogs.  And while most Goliaths won as expected, there were a few Davids who managed to deliver fatal blows with their slingshots.

Wins for Goliaths:

Andy Murray GBR (2) def. Ernests Gulbis LAT 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 -- It was clear from his laughter in the pre-match warm-up that Gulbis never for a second believed he would win this match, though he certainly had plenty of openings.  He's as sad a case of wasted talent and potential as there is on the ATP tour right now.  Murray, for his part, looked decent, not great.

 

Novak Djokovic SRB (4) def. Ivan Ljubicic CRO 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 -- Fourth seeds Novak Djokovic and Elena Dementieva were the most business-like in their opening rounds today.  Djokovic was more ruthless than usual even though he was playing against his friend Ljubicic, who will probably consider retirement more seriously after that thrashing.  Ljubicic was simply too immobile to hang in many of the points, and doesn't look like he has many good playing days left.

Dinara Safina RUS (1) def. Olivia Rogowska AUS 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 -- TDF interviewee Olivia Rogowska played some incredibly poised tennis for two and a half sets to get herself within nine points of bageling #1 seed Dinara Safina in the third set, but eventually cracked under the pressure of the occasion.  Safina played some absolutely atrocious tennis, making a mockery of just about anyone who has defended her ranking of recent by nearly crashing out to the #167 player in the world.  In the end it was Rogowska's unforced errors and double faults that were her undoing, stats that she had been troubled with throughout the match. One of the many scary things about this match for Safina is that Rogowska didn't even play especially well, even for the world #167.  Safina was lucky to have seeds Virginie Razzano and Alisa Kleybanova crash out of her section today to make her road easier, but I wouldn't even put it past Safina to lose to Kristina Barrois in the second round.  Rogowska, for her part, should take away a lot of positives from the match.  With the right draw, she could make some headlines come Australian Open time.

Maria Sharapova RUS (29) def. Tszvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-0 -- Against an opponent who was supposed to scare her a lot more than she did, Maria Sharapova looked to be in prime form.  Her serve was a lot less erratic, she was hitting well off both wings, and moved fairly decently.  While the dominance was a flashback to days gone by, it was bizarre not seeing Yuri in her box at a slam, though.

Elena Dementieva RUS (4) def. Camille Pin FRA 6-1, 6-2 -- Elena Dementieva looked incredibly solid against a deceptively tricky opponent in Camille Pin, a player who generates no pace of her own and sends a ton of balls back.  Of the top four seeds, Dementieva definitely got out of the blocks the best.  It's a shame she and Sharapova have to meet in the third round, because they both look like threats to go deep.

Wins for Davids:

Jesse Witten USA def. Igor Andreev RUS (29) 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 -- This is easily the most bizarre scoreline of the tournament to date.  Jesse Witten is no spring chicken, yet he managed to get his first win in a main draw at the ATP level in a grand slam against a seed who pushed Roger Federer to five sets last year.  Not only that, Witten lost only six games in three games against said seed.  While this match wasn't televised, seems clear to me that Andreev grossly underestimated Witten and was never able to recover.  But still, wow.

Taylor Dent USA def. Feliciano Lopez ESP 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3, 7-5 -- A great win for Taylor Dent, the first real big break for him on what has been a long and arduous comeback trail.  Dent's back injury prevented him from serving-and-volleying as much as he had earlier in his career, which for my money is a smart move anyhow given how racquet technology has undermined serving and volleying.  This is Dent's first win at a Grand Slam since 2005, and it comes over a fairly quality opponent.  Dent faces Ivan Navarro in the next round, so there is a great chance for him to make it to the third round.

Ivan Navarro ESP def. Ivo Karlovic CRO (27) 6-4, 7-6(8), 7-6(5) -- A pretty bizarre upset for Karlovic against a clay court specialist in Ivan Navarro (formerly called Ivan Navarro Pastor).  Karlovic is usually untouchable in tiebreaks and has become a much better returner, so for him to lose this match in straight sets is a pretty big shocker.

Kateryna Bondarenko UKR def. Ana Ivanovic SRB (11) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) -- Kateryna Bondarenko dealt Ana Ivanovic her first career first round loss at a grand slam, a round of action in which Ivanovic had previously sported a stellar 19-0 record.  While an upset on paper, this was not a big surprise for me.  Though I must say that while I have never been an admirer of Ivanovic's game (or her laughable fistpumps that look like Elaine Benes dancing), her desire and fight in this match was evident and impressive throughout.  For a player who is often justifiably criticized for a lot of contrived positive emotion, it was clear that she was living and dying with every point out there.  She led 3-1 in the second set before losing eight of the next nine games, but it was as much Bondarenko playing well as anything else.  I predicted Bondarenko would be the one to make it out of this section, so I can't say it's a bad loss for Ivanovic.  It is worth pointing out, though,  that since winning the 2008 French Open she is yet to make the quarterfinals of another slam.