1. Bye Bye, Vika
Another top 10 seed bid an early farewell to the US Open singles draw on Friday. Resurgent Italian Francesca Schiavone ousted Victoria Azarenka, the eighth seed, in three sets. Schiavone, like her compatriot Flavia Pennetta who beat Aleksandra Wozniak in straight sets 6-1, 6-1, can no longer be considered just a clay court specialist.
2. Broken Record
The US Open has set a new single session attendance record. On Friday afternoon, 37,388 spectators streamed through the gates of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
3. Daniela Makes a Switch
Daniela Hantuchova has signed with a new clothing sponsor. The two-time Indian Wells champion is now represented by adidas, and not only will she be wearing new outfits, but Hantuchova will also have access to adidas’ high-performance coaching team, which includes Sven Groeneveld, Gil Reyes and Darren Cahill.
4. Little Miss Nasty?
Serena Williams made headlines off the court on Friday, thanks to a new Nike t-shirt. The second seed arrived for her afternoon press conference with a shirt boldly proclaiming that you “Can’t spell dynasty without nasty” emblazoned on it.
5. Check out the US Open Shop
Even if you cannot make it to Flushing Meadows, you can still get your official gear. The US Open store offers a wide variety of tennis apparel and accessories for sale. Moreover, if you spend $75 or more in the shop, you will receive a free 2009 US Open game-used tennis ball.
6. Classic US Open Matches
The US Open website is replaying classic matches for those who enjoy taking a stroll down memory lane. One of the ones featured is the 2006 epic meeting between Lindsay Davenport and Katarina Srebotnik. I had the pleasure of watching courtside during this match three years ago, which finally ended in Davenport’s favor after three tight sets.
7. Doubles Stars Continue to Roll
Unlike the singles draw, the doubles draw has continued to progress predictably. The first (and only) mini-upset of the tournament occurred on Friday when seventh seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai were beaten by American wildcards Alexa Glatch and Carly Gullickson in straight sets 7-5, 6-3.
8. Behind the Scenes Player Blogs
American players Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Christina McHale have been playing solid tennis over the past few days in Flushing Meadows, and they have been recounting their experiences for the US Open website. Check out Bethanie and Christina’s first-hand US Open recaps here.
9. Silver Lining for Stosur
Samantha Stosur crashed out of the US Open early, but the Australian has since learned from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour that there will be a silver lining. Once the new rankings are updated, Stosur is projected to reach a new career-high ranking of No. 13 or 14, plus she still has a chance to qualify for the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships in Doha, Qatar.
10. Saturday’s Matches of the Day
Kick off your Labor Day weekend with a couple of blockbuster third round matches. Melanie Oudin, who beat Elena Dementieva on Thursday, is set to face another Russian star, three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova. Dinara Safina will headline the night session with her match against Petra Kvitova, and given Safina’s other two matches, anything can happen. Other matches to follow include Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[9] vs. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)[24] and Jie Zheng (CHN)[21] vs. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[13].
On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2009 US Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours.
