Month of September , 2007

No. 3 seed Jelena Jankovic underwent a trying test in her third-round match against first-time US Open contender Alize Cornet. But after two hours and 11 minutes of hotly contested rallies, Jankovic survived a scare and escaped with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory to secure a spot in the Round of 16.

It wasn't pretty, but it will work for Rafael Nadal.

Serbian sensation Ana Ivanovic continued her assault on this year’s Grand Slams by defeating Vera Dushevina 6-1, 6-3 at Louis Armstrong Stadium. The win marks the sixteenth time Ivanovic has won at a Slam this year, and although she hasn’t lifted the winner’s hardware yet, she’s becoming a favorite to do so at Flushing Meadows.

Did Venus Williams have dinner plans in the city after her match tonight? Did she have tickets to an off-Broadway show? Whatever the case, Williams played fast, focused and most importantly, extremely well. The No. 12 seed followed her sister Serena on Arthur Ashe Stadium and dismantled a very respectable player in Alona Bondarenko, the No. 21-seed, 6-1, 6-2 in a mere 58 minutes.

A shattered and shellshocked Lleyton Hewitt didn't know what to think after making his earliest ever exit from the US Open today.
 

In a stunning upset, free-swinging Argentine Agustin Calleri smacked winners from all parts of the court to send Australia's 2001 champion crashing to a gut-wrenching 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 second-round defeat.
 

Tim Henman is ready to move on.
 
"I feel clear in my mind. Tennis has served me well,'' he said Friday night after his Grand Slam career ended in the second round of the U.S. Open. "Time is time.''
 
Henman is retiring, and his final tournament came to a close with a 7-6 (2), 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
 

Serena Williams is frustrated after being told that she had to put away her notes and take to the court during her third round clash with Vera Zvonareva: "He told me I couldn"t use my notes. I was like, well, it's not like I'm Harry Potter, and my dad can magically give me notes to read. It's something that I write myself.
 

Defending champion Maria Sharapova had been so dominant at the Open going into her third-round encounter with Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland that the talk surrounding her matches had been focused as much on her glittering outfits as it was on her game.

With a powerful forehand and excellent court mobility, Agnes Szavay of Hungary, ranked No. 31 in the world, knocked off No.

Saturday’s third-round match up looked to be a hard-fought battle between two Grand Slam champions, one a tour veteran and the other a power player at the top of his game. But it was the younger Andy Roddick, home-crowd favorite and 2003 US Open titlist, who definitely had the bigger game, eliminating 2002 Australian Open champ Thomas Johansson 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.

James Blake put in another long night's work at the US Open, and his play only got better as the match went on.

The No. 6-seeded Blake reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows by beating Stefan Koubek, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1, in a match that began Saturday night and finished a little after 1 a.m. Sunday.

Sometimes great defense beats a great offense. Just ask Shahar Peer, temporarily on leave from mandatory military service in the Israeli army.
 

Donald Young’s great summer adventure, which saw him win at a Grand Slam for the first time and advance to the third round at the US Open, came to an abrupt end at the hands of another lefty, Feliciano Lopez. The veteran Spaniard dashed the young American’s hopes of reaching a Round of 16 encounter with Roger Federer, winning in four hard-fought sets, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 7-5.

The match between 2004 US Open women’s champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anabel Medina Garrigues was slow and methodical from beginning to end, with Kuznetsova, this year’s No. 4 seed winning, 6-3, 6-1, in just 57 minutes.

The crowd was subdued but attentive, as the two women battled mostly from the baseline -- in fact, No. 31 Medina Garrigues approached the net only twice.

Surprise winner Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea is making an impressive run at this year’s US Open, taking out his second straight top-20 seed in No. 19 Andy Murray during Saturday’s third round.

It wasn't her earliest exit, but it was close. Last year, the 1997 US Open champion Martina Hingis was eliminated in the second round. This year, Hingis lost to Belarus-born teenager Victoria Azarenka in the third round, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, after a shadow fell over Louis Armstrong Stadium on Saturday.

Was there ever any doubt?

Well, actually there was quite a bit about world No. 1 Roger Federer’s ability to handle 6-foot-9 John Isner after Isner hit 9 aces, 21 winners and won the first set of their third-round match in a tiebreaker, bringing the crowd to a frenzy.

The sun was shining brightly for the first match of the day in Arthur Ashe Stadium between No. 8 seed Serena Williams of the United States and No. 10 seed Marion Bartoli of France.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not make the first set easy for world No. 2 Rafael Nadal. The Frenchman, ranked No. 74 in the world and playing for the first time in the men's draw, matched Nadal seemingly shot for shot as the set stayed on serve and moved to a tiebreak.

In the much-anticipated clash between two players who respect each other and have said nothing but nice things about each other before the match, Venus Williams delivered to Ana Ivanovic what was basically a knock-out punch. Venus played nearly flawless tennis -- as she has all tournament -- dominating the No. 5 seed with her superior athletic ability and court coverage, winning 6-4, 6-2 in one hour, 20 minutes.