It was a very solid day for Americans in action in their home slam on Wednesday, with the Yanks going an impressive 3-1 against non-Americans.  Serena Williams, Vania King, and Robby Ginepri stacked up wins for the home team, with only veteran Jill Craybas losing. Venus Williams beat fellow American Bethanie Mattek Sands in the only battle of natives.

While the red, white, and blue flew high, the bleu-blanc-et-rouge of the French players was thoroughly guillotined.  Excluding the all-French match between Gael Monfils and Jeremy Chardy, the French went a sacre bleu inducing 1-5 on Wednesday, including losses for the top two remaining French women (Marion Baroli and Amelie Mauresmo), as well as Richard Gasquet, Michael Llodra, and Fabrice Santoro.

Keep reading for a wrap-up of Wednesday's most notable results, match by match.

The Men:

Jurgen Melzer AUT def. Marat Safin RUS 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 -- In what is to be his last grand slam match, Marat Safin showed the tennis community why his departure should cause little sadness.  2000 US Open champion Safin showed flashes of brilliance early on, but followed it up with three sets of tennis that lacked much brains or much heart.  Melzer played competently, but didn't need to do anything exceptional to euthanize Safin's career.

Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP (24) def. Fabrice Santoro FRA 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 -- In sharp contrast to 29-year old Safin's swan song was the final grand slam match of 35-year old Fabrice Santoro.  Known as "The Magician" for his incredible variety of shots and tricks, Santoro continued to fight and work his magic against a clearly superior opponent, putting on a good show for both.  Unlike 29-year old Safin who probably should have given up playing a while ago, 36-year old Santoro still had a lot to show the game he had already given so much.

Rafael Nadal ESP (3) def. Richard Gasquet FRA 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 -- Rafael Nadal and his knees looked fairly sharp against a relatively listless Richard Gasquet.  It was Gasquet's first main draw match since coming off his suspension for that successfully appealed cocaine test, and it's no

Roger Federer SUI (1) def. Simon Greul DEU 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 -- Federer didn't look to be at his best, but he didn't need to be.  Greul, on the other hand, played some extremely competitive tennis throughout, even racing out to a 4-1 lead in the third set before Federer restored normalcy.  It was an extremely admirable effort, especially in the wake of the efforts put out by players like Safin and Gasquet earlier in the day.

Gael Monfils FRA (13) def. Jeremy Chardy FRA 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 -- A surprisingly easy match for Monfils, who always comes into each tournament as an unknown quantity.  The courts at the US Open don't suit his game at all, but the excitable New York crowds certainly do.  If he can make it to the second week, the electricity just might carry him further than he should go.

The Women:

Kim Clijsters BEL def. Marion Bartoli FRA (14) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 -- A good match up on paper was an extremely ugly match in reality.  Neither player played anywhere near her best tennis, with errors being sprayed off both racquets constantly.  Clijsters did an admirable job of not folding after dropping the first set, while Bartoli did a terrible job of folding as soon as it was clear that Clijsters had no plans to fold.  Bartoli whipped out her increasingly tired routine of playing the injured victim once the match had turned in Clijsters' favor, which only made the match all the less enjoyable.  Clijsters faces countrywoman Kirsten Flipkens next for the chance to be the first Belgian in the second week of a slam since the 2008 Australian Open.  Through that tournament, there had been a Belgian (Clijsters, Justine Henin or both) in the fourth round or better at every slam but three since 2002.

Serena Williams USA (2) def. Melinda Czink HUN 6-1, 6-1 -- In the wake of #1 seed Dinara Safina's disastrous outing yesterday vs. Olivia Rogowska, Serena Williams' utter domination of Czink made the ranking system look even more ridiculous.  Czink played much better than Rogowska did, and yet only managed two games.  Serena looks focused and even pissed off.  The only player who I think can challenge a Serena playing this well is Elena Dementieva, which could be one awesome final should it happen.

Venus Williams USA (3) def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA 6-4, 6-2 -- Venus' knee looked to be holding several rolls worth of tape, but she didn't look too adversely affected during this fairly routine win over a potentially dangerous opponent in Mattek-Sands.  And in case you're wondering, Mattek-Sands did indeed bring back her trademark knee socks.

Maria Kirilenko RUS def. Agnieszka Radwanska POL (12) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 -- Seeing how incredibly Radwanska played in her first round match, this loss to Kirilenko is a pretty big stunner.  Kirilenko is pretty solid in the smallest WTA events, but she's been useless in slams previously, making the fourth round only once, which is about as low a total of second week appearances as a former top twenty player with five WTA titles has ever had.  When Kirilenko plays well she's a very solid counter-puncher, and she has a shot against challenging most everyone.  Good for her if she's finally figuring out how to do that at a grand slam.

Aleksandra Wozniak CAN def. Amelie Mauresmo FRA (17) 6-4, 6-0  -- A surprising and pretty bad loss for Mauresmo, who had looked pretty sharp both in her first round against Tatjana Malek as well as last week in New Haven, where she made the semifinals.  Mauresmo has been pretty ambiguous about her plans as far as retirement, but if this was indeed her last match at a slam, a bagel is a sad way to go out.

Vera Zvonareva RUS (7) def. Anna Chakvetadze RUS 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 -- Chakvetadze was off to a great start against Zvonareva, but fell apart completely in very quick fashion.  It's hard to believe it was only two years ago that she made the semifinals of this tournament.  Zvonareva, meanwhile, continues to be the least threatening of the players seeded to make the quarterfinals.

Vania King USA def. Samantha Stosur AUS (15) 7-5, 6-4 -- It's pretty safe to say that nobody saw this result coming.  Powered entirely by the good karma from agreeing to do an interview with The Daily Forehand (other players take note), Vania played the match of her life to take out Stosur, thereby reaching the third round of a grand slam for the first time in her career.  Stosur had not been looking vulnerable to being upset at all coming into this week, having notched wins this summer over Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Ana Ivanovic.  It's a big win for King, and a huge opportunity for her to do even more damage, as she certainly has a shot of beating Daniela Hantuchova if she plays as well as she did against Stosur.

Li Na CHN (18) def. Michelle Larcher de Brito POR 6-1, 6-3 -- A victory for eardrums everywhere, Li takes out the Portuguese banshee in Li's health is always suspect, but she looks pretty impressive and healthy out there today, taking none of de Brito's noisy nonsense. Li faces Kirilenko in the next round, so she's a good bet to make the second week of the US Open for the second straight year.