The Open So Far

The US Open is now deep into its second week. Many have gone; only a few remain as the quarterfinals commence. It's a mixed bag of old faces and new faces for the men's draw.

In the men's draw, Roger Federer made the quarterfinals despite still playing spotty tennis against Nicholas Kiefer. Andre Agassi pulled out a five-setter against Xavier Malisse, Lleyton Hewitt rolled over Dominik Hrbaty (he of the pink shirt with peek-a-boo holes), Guillermo Coria defeated Nicolas Massu in an ill-tempered match, and just a few minutes ago David Nalbandian dropped the first set before defeating Davide Sanguinetti. These men have been to this stage of the US Open before (Coria and Nalbandian once in 2003), but James Blake, Robby Ginepri, and Jarkko Nieminen are first-time US Open quarterfinalists. Blake and Ginepri have never even been to a Slam quarterfinal before this one. After years of American men's tennis being represented solely by Roddick and Agassi, you could say, "Surprise!"

There are few surprises in the women's draw, however. Tonight's quarterfinal matches featured Maria Sharapova versus Nadia Petrova, and Venus Williams versus Kim Clijsters. The Sharapova-Petrova match concluded with Sharapova finally eking out a win in three sets over her countrywoman, with Yuri Sharapov in the stands yelling and screaming (so what's new?).

Venus Williams is enjoying a resurgence in her career, defeating sister Serena in the fourth round and leveling their career head-to-head to 7-all. Kim Clijsters has come off a hot summer hardcourt run, winning the US Open Series.

In tomorrow's women's quarterfinals, Elena Dementieva faces Lindsay Davenport while two French citizens, Mary Pierce and Amelie Mauresmo, will do battle. Dementieva worked with Richard Krajicek on her serve while she was at Wimbledon, which may have helped her reach this stage of the tournament for the second time; she was a finalist last year. Davenport continues her quest to make her third Slam final this year. Mary Pierce defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne in a rematch of their French Open final, and Amelie Mauresmo will be seeking to reprise her role as perennial Slam semifinalist.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 9:07 AM