September 1, 2015
U.S. Open 2015
By: Jillian Wright
On Day 2 at the US Open, there were nine Aussies in action. Three made it through to the second round: Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic and Samantha Stosur. Losing in day 2 of the first round were Nick Kyrgios, Thanasi Kokkinakis, James Duckworth, John-Patrick Smith, Jarmila Gajdosova and Ajla Tomljanovic.
Lleyton Hewitt vs. Alex Nedovyesov
Hewitt advanced to the second round at the US Open beating the 100th ranked Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan: 6-0, 7-6, 1-0 (retired). Nedovyesov was one of ten men to retire in the first round. He had received a medical time out in between the first and second sets to work on his right shoulder.
Hewitt had recently bested Nedovyesov in the fifth rubber in Australia’s dramatic Davis Cup win last July. The Aussie was quite business-like in the first set moving and hitting well and losing only seven points. The second set was much closer with Hewitt facing eight breakpoints, but saving seven of them. Hewitt broke Nedovyesov in the third game but gave back the break in a sloppy fourth game. In the eighth game, Hewitt saved three breakpoints and each player held their serves after that resulting in a tiebreak. Nedovyesov seemed frustrated in the tiebreak and Hewitt won it 7-2. Just into the second game of the third set, Nedovyesov decided to retire.
Hewitt will face his good friend and fellow Aussie, Bernard Tomic, in the second round. This will be their first tournament level match but they should know each other’s game from practicing together.
Bernard Tomic vs. Damir Dzumhur
The 22-year-old Aussie defeated Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in four sets (5-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3) in a match that was closer than it needed to be. Tomic’s current ranking is 24, Dzumhur is ranked 98. This is the first time the two have faced each other. Tomic fired off 16 aces and played more tightly in the third and fourth sets.
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Richard Gasquet
Kokkinakis went down to 12th seed Gasquet: 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, 3-6, 0-2. The talented young Aussie was forced to retire in the fifth set due to severe cramping. He started coming apart towards the end of the fourth set, barely moving on the court. At one point, the chair umpire asked Kokkinakis if he wanted to continue playing telling him that his health was more important than this match. Kokkinakis tried to play on, even resorting to an underhand serve. He realized he couldn’t continue and retired from the match. He was obviously disappointed and banged his racquet in frustration.
Nick Kyrgios vs. Andy Murray
The 3rd seed Murray got the best of Kyrgios in their much anticipated first round match: 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
James Duckworth vs. Hyeon Chung
The 95th ranked Aussie lost to Chung (who is ranked 69) in straight sets: 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. The 19-year-old Chung became the first South Korean to win a grand slam match in seven years.
Sam Stosur: Fit, Focused and In Fine Form
Brisbane native Sam Stosur (22nd seed) used equal parts skill, strength, consistency and mental toughness to dismiss 22-year-old Timea Babos (Hungary) in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). Stosur forced two service breaks against none lost to secure the win in just over one hour. In the process, she gained a bit of revenge for a close loss to Babos at the Western & Southern tournament in Cincinnati last month.
Playing before a respectable first round crowd on Court 17, Stosur showed no signs of the foot injury that hampered her movement earlier in the year. She moved fluidly all over the court and ran down one shot after another from the pesky Babos.
A healthy Stosur represents a threat to Serena Williams’ 2015 grand slam pursuit. Sam is one of only three women to have beaten Serena in a grand slam final (her sister Venus twice and Maria Sharapova once). Stosur handily beat Serena in the 2011 U.S. Open finals for her only grand slam crown and would love an opportunity to add another.
Stosur got off to a very good start against Babos firing on all cylinders with all of her strokes. She was particularly effective with her slicing second serve which bounced high off of the resilient Flushing Meadows court and gave Babos considerable trouble.
Babos served well landing 61% of her first serves and winning 71% of her first serve points. However, she could only manage 8 winners. Stosur served equally well and used an array of driving topspin forehands, slice backhands and an occasional overhead to earn 25 winners against 17 unforced errors for 63 points won.
Early on neither player could force a break point opportunity. But that changed quickly with Stosur leading 4-3 and Babos serving. Stosur jumped out to a love-30 lead off of two beautiful forehand winners. Babos fought back but double faulted at deuce and Sam closed out the break point to lead 5-3. Stosur held serve and finished out the set 6-3.
With Babos serving Sam grabbed a 0-15 advantage with a terrific topspin forehand passing shot. Although Babos took the first game Sam pushed her to two break point chances before conceding. Critically, Stosur showed no signs of the second set jitters that sometimes haunt her after a strong first set.
At 3-3 in the second set Babos’ serve went pear-shaped and Stosur capitalized with her second service break. Stosur consolidated the break for 5-3 but then for a brief moment it looked as if the jitters may creep in yet again. With Babos serving, Sam hit two easy forehands plunk into the net and went on to hand Babos the game. But Sam was able to regain her composure and put Babos away with a flurry of precision serves and ground strokes.
Stosur will face the Russian Evgeniya Rodina (ranked 94) in the next round. This will be their first tour meeting. If Sam maintains this good form and composure she will be a formidable opponent for anyone in the draw. Last year, Stosur went out in the second round losing to Kaia Kanepi in three sets.
Jarmila Gajdosova vs. Flavia Pennetta
The 26th seed Pennetta proved too much for Gajdosova in this match: 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Pennetta was the better server and had fewer unforced errors.
Ajla Tomljanovic vs. Karin Knapp
In another first round Australian / Italian match up, the Italian won again: 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. Tomljanovic and Knapp played each other at the Hobart International in January with Knapp winning that match as well. Prior to the US Open, Knapp had exited the other three grand slams this year in the first round.
Day 3 Preview
The only Aussie singles match on Day 3 is Sam Groth (ranked 55) playing Tommy Robredo of Spain (the 26 seed). Robredo won their only previous encounter in Shenzhen in 2014.
