2013 U.S. Open Preview: Day Three

August 28, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Round one concludes and round two begins on Day Three of the 2013 U.S. Open, as the men’s and women’s defending champions lead a stellar slate of talent into action on the courts of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Andy Murray and Serena Williams headline a day that’s packed with dramatic matches, as the two titleholders are joined by former U.S. Open men’s champs Juan Martin del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt, former women’s titlist Venus Williams, women’s number three seed Agnieszka Radwanska and number five seed Li Na, as well as young Americans Sloane Stephens and Jamie Hampton. Add to that marvelous mix James Blake, the long-time Flushing fan favorite who has announced that this U.S. Open will be the last tournament of his career, and you’ve got a blockbuster bill that begs for a bigger marquee.

World number three and reigning U.S. Open champ Murray and the number six seeded and 2009 Open winner Juan Martin del Potro are both on Arthur Ashe Stadium, as Murray faces Michael Llodra tonight under the lights, and del Potro takes on Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Garcia-Lopez is 1-4 lifetime versus top 10 opponents in Grand Slam play (9-30 overall in career), while Llodra is looking for his second career win in a Grand Slam tournament (1-11).

Kicking things off at Louis Armstrong Stadium is American Brian Baker taking on former world number one and 2001 U.S. Open champ Lleyton Hewitt, followed by former world number four James Blake taking on Croatian Ivo Karlovic. Could this be Blake’s last stand as a professional? Blake is facing Karlovic for the ninth time, a head-to-head that Karlovic leads 5-3. The 33-year-old Blake reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows in 2005-06. 

On the women’s side, fifth-seeded Na Li will face Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson to kick things off at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Top-ranked and top-seed Serena Williams will also play on Ashe as she begins second round play against Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan.

The 15 seed, American Sloane Stephens, survived a first round scare and came back strong in her win and prepares for Day Three round two action against Poland’s Urszula Radwanska under the lights at Ashe. 

Kicking things off for the women at Louis Armstrong this morning is the number three seed, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, as she continues her 2013 U.S. Open run against Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain. Immediately following, American Venus Williams continues her quest for a deep run after her first round upset over 12th-ranked Kirsten Flipkens as she begins second round action against China’s Jie Zheng.

Also in action Wednesday are Americans Jamie Hampton, the number 23 seed, as she faces France’s Kristina Mladenovic at Grandstand, and fellow American Coco Vandeweghe, who will face a stiff test against the number 18 seed, Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, on Court 17. 

Of local note, Merrick, N.Y.’s Scott Lipsky will team up with Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez as men’s doubles action gets underway on Court 15 as they face the Israeli duo of Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram. The team of Lipsky & Gonzalez come into the Open as the number 11 seeds, and look to make a deep run and unseat defending champs Bob & Mike Bryan, the top doubles seeds.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Bethpage
Pointset

March/April 2024 Digital Edition