US Open Day 5: Dent Hammers It Out

A men's draw that had been pretty quiet through the first week was set on fire by a battle between unseeded players on the Grandstand.  High-quality, late matches on the men's side are just what this tournament needed to really get running, and did they ever get them yesterday.

Men's Bottom Half Second Round:

Taylor Dent USA def. Ivan Navarro ESP 6-4, 5-7, 6-7(1), 7-5, 7-6(9) -- The match of the tournament, easily, saw Taylor Dent hit the hardest serves of the tournament so far to save match points and beat fellow serve-and-volleyer Ivan Navarro in five tumultuous sets.  With both players serve and volleying, this was a throwback match to be sure, as was the crowd's support for Dent, which was just as boisterous for anything they have shown any player in recent memory.  This is Dent's first time at the US Open since 2005, and it's absolutely amazing to see how much being able to play tennis again means to him.  When he grabbed the chair umpire's microphone after the match to thank the crowd and then running more than one high-fiving victory lap, no viewer with a heart could have possibly held back a smile. His run at this tournament will almost certainly dead end vs. Andy Murray, but a third round appearance is more than he could have ever hoped for, I'm sure.

Andy Murray GBR (2) def. Paul Capdeville CHI 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 -- The first men's top ten seed to drop a set in this tournament was surprisingly Murray, who played extremely passive tennis in the second set to let Capdeville level the match. Murray got back on track fairly quickly ago to take the next set 6-0 and put the match out of reach, but the moment of indifferent sleepwalking in the second should be something to concern Murray backers.

Rafael Nadal ESP (3) def. Nicolas Kiefer DEU 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 -- What started out as a beatdown turned into the best night match of the tournament so far (not saying much). After he got bageled in the first set, the Friday night crowd swung behind Kiefer hard, which seemed to light a fire under the cantankerous German while simultaneously annoying Nadal to a ridiculous degree.  Kiefer began dictating play more and more, and was able to make a nice match out of it.  But Nadal responded to the testing well, with his knees looking fine as he toughed out the four-set win over the dangerous opponent.  I like his chances to go deep at this tournament a lot better after having seen him able to win a match like this, which frankly I wasn't sure his body was ready for.

Nicolas Almagro ESP (32) def. Robby Ginepri USA 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 -- A heartbreaking loss for another American prone to five setters, as Robby Ginepri fell to Nicolas Almagro in what was actually a fairly low quality match between two players who both largely refused to take control of the points, just waiting out an error from the other.  Ginepri had won the US Open Series event in Indianapolis, so he is probably disappointed by the early exit.  The silver lining is his ranking is getting high enough to enter some of the European indoor tournaments this fall that he always excels at.

Jose Acasuso ARG def. David Ferrer ESP (18) -- 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 -- David Ferrer, who beat Nadal to make the semifinals of the US Open in 2007, is decidedly trending down.  Acasuso had never before made the third round of a hard court slam in fifteen previous tries, so he shouldn't have been a huge force to be reckoned with out there.  Will be interesting to see what if anything this does to Ferrer's chances of playing for Spain in the Davis Cup semifinals.

Marin Cilic CRO (16) def. Jesse Levine USA 4-6, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 -- This was a tough match to watch.  Levine played well in the first two sets, though Cilic was decidedly off his game.  Once Cilic found some game in the third set, Levine completely folded, seemingly lost and demoralized.  Cilic lost only three more games on the way to knocking the dangerous and usually far more feisty American out of the draw.  Chalk this one up to a learning experience, I guess.

Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP (24) def.  Philipp Petzschner DEU 1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 -- Petzschner had this match in his hands over and over, but just couldn't play the crucial points anywhere near as well as Ferrero could.  Petzschner led two sets to none and then 4-1 in the fifth set, but Ferrero's experience and lack of visible nerves was a sharp contrast to Petzschner's implosion.  It wasn't nearly as sad a collapse as Levine's, but it still does not bode well for Petzschner's guts.

Julien Benneteau FRA def. Viktor Troicki SRB (30) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 -- Pretty bizarre for a seed to win a combined two games in the three sets he lost, but that's just what Troicki did against Benneteau.  Benneteau is as streaky as they come and can beat almost anyone when hot, but that is a pretty terrible scoreline for Troicki.  Judging from what I've seen of his form lately,

Daniel Koellerer AUT def. Pablo Cuevas URU 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 -- Koellerer, the player so objectionable that his peers moved to have him banned from the ATP Tour for general awfulness, is coming to a third round near you.  If you get a chance to see Crazy Danny in his third round match against Juan Martin del Potro, do so.  And bring popcorn.

Women's Bottom Half Third Round:

 

Serena Williams USA (2) def. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP 6-3, 7-5 -- This was an incredibly impressive win for Serena against a very dangerous opponent.  MJMS is an aggressive, serve-and-volleying lefty who doesn't make a lot of errors, and for Serena to beat her in straight sets is a very nice result.  If the two hadn't had their run in at the French Open this year I'm not sure Serena would have been ready for this match, but that she was made for some great play.  Seeing her play this well only solidifies her already firm grip on front-runner status to win this tournament.

Venus Williams USA (3) def. Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-2, 7-5 -- As has been the story for Venus all three matches in this tournament, it wasn't pretty.  But a win is a win, and.  Her current form won't be anywhere close to good enough, though, against her next opponent, Kim Clijsters.  That Sunday match should be the one to watch this weekend.

Kim Clijsters BEL def. Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-0, 6-2 -- Clijsters has been ruthless in this tournament, a trait she's always had in early round matches.  She picked apart her friend and countrywoman Flipkens with considerable ease, possibly sending a message to Venus (and the rest of the draw).  I definitely give her a shot against the elder Williams, who she beat in her last US Open back in 2005, a tournament she eventually won.

Francesca Schiavone ITA (26) def. Victoria Azarenka BLR (8) -- Fan favorite Francesca Schiavone had the full backing of the grandstand crowd as she stunned fan un-favorite Victoria Azarenka in the third round.  In the previous four sets Azarenka and Schiavone had played, Schiavone had never so much as won three games in a set.  By banishing the Belarussian Banshee, Schiavone opens up her draw nicely, and has a good chance to make back-to-back slam quarterfinals, something I don't think anybody could have seen coming.

Vera Zvonareva RUS (7) def. Elena Vesnina RUS (31) 6-2, 6-4 -- I had pretty high hopes for this match for some reason, but it wound up being pretty hideous.  It was pretty mindless ball bashing, chock full o' errors and general mental frailty.  There's a reason Zvonareva is the high seed no one is talking about (she's just not that good), and even though she won this match it was less than impressive.

Daniela Hantuchova SVK (22)  def. Vania King USA 6-2, 6-2 -- Vania King's nice run in this tournament ended with a thud, as Hantuchova proved to be a much steadier opponent than Stosur was.  The third round was still further than King had ever been in a slam, so she should take a lot of positives away from this tournament.