US Open Day Five Preview: Former Champs in Action

August 29, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

The second round of the 2014 US Open wraps up for the men on Friday, while the third-round begins for the women. On each side of the draw, a number of the tournament’s former champions take to the court in hopes of advancing at Flushing Meadows.   

Roger Federer, who won this tournament five straight times from 2004-2008, headlines the action from the men’s side, while 2006 champion Maria Sharapova and two-time champion Venus Williams are the featured players on the women’s side.

The second-seeded Swiss will meet Sam Groth of Australia on Arthur Ashe Stadium Friday marking the first meeting between the two. The players enter the match with far different resumes, as the five-time champion Federer owns a 57-5 record at Flushing Meadows since the first round of his 2004 title run. As for Groth, the 26-year old Australian made his US Open debut with a first-round triumph over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Tuesday.

Federer is the all-time leader in Grand Slam singles title with 17, and has won at least one major tournament a year for the past eight seasons. The Swiss also owns a 17-1 record under the lights on Ashe, stacking the deck against his Australian opponent.

Also on Ashe today will be fourth-seeded David Ferrer taking on Wild Card Bernard Tomic of Australia. The Spaniard has won the only two previous meetings with Tomic both in straight sets, but the two have not played since the Miami tournament in 2012. Ferrer defeated Damir Dzumhur in the first-round, improving to 9-2 in the US Open’s first round. He is seeking a third-straight quarterfinal appearance or better at Flushing Meadows, as his best result was a semifinal loss to Novak Djokovic in 2007. The 21-year old Tomic was the 2009 US Open junior champion, but only has two pro tour titles to his name since. He knocked off Germany’s Dustin Brown in straight sets in the opening round Tuesday.

Two more members of the top 10 world tour rankings will seek entry into the third-round when they play Friday.

Czech Tomas Berdych, the seventh-ranked player in the world, takes on Slovakian Martin Klizan on the Grandstand. Klizan does have two career victories against the top 10 under his belt, with the most recent coming over 10th ranked Kei Nishikori in the French Open’s first round. The 28-year old Berdych looked sharp in his opening contest though, rolling past former champion Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. The win marked his 100th career victory in a Grand Slam, a feat that only nine active players can say they accomplished.  His best result at Flushing Meadows was a semifinal appearance and loss to eventual champion Andy Murray.

Over on Armstrong, eighth-ranked Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov will look to build on his first career win at the US Open, which came over American Ryan Harrison on Tuesday. He meets Israel’s Dudi Sela, who carries a 5-6 career record at the US Open, never making it out of the second-round. He reached the Atlanta final last month before falling to John Isner.

The only American in action on the men’s side Friday will be Tim Smyczek. The 26-year old from Milwaukee takes on Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut in hopes of matching his best showing at the US Open, a third-round appearance last year.

Fresh off her comeback win over Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru on Wednesday night, 2006 champion Maria Sharapova takes on 26th seeded Sibine Lisicki of Germany. Sharapova, who missed the 2013 US Open, is seeking a fourth-round spot in a Grand Slam for the fourth time this year, having done so in the previous three majors this year. She takes on Lisicki, who earlier this year set the WTA record for fastest serve, and is looking to match a fourth-round US Open appearance she had back in 2011. The sixth-ranked player in the world Sharapova holds a 5-1 all-time record versus the German Lisicki.

Second-seeded Simona Halep will take on 32-year old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia for the first time in their careers. Lucic-Baroni is in the third-round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 1998, and only gained entry into this year’s tournament by winning three qualifying matches. Halep will look to match her best performance at the US Open which came last year, a fourth-round appearance.

Two-time champion Venus Williams will take on Italian Sara Errani for a spot in the fourth-round. Venus is 3-0 all-time versus the 13th-seeded Errani, who knocked off Anastasia Rodionova in her second-round bout Wednesday. Venus is in the third-round at the US Open for the first time since a semifinal run back in 2010 and has been playing some of her best tennis this summer.

In another match between two top 20 players, Germany’s Angelique Kerber will face off with Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane has much more experience at Flushing Meadows as she carries a 24-7 career mark at the US Open, including a 2009 title match appearance. Kerber’s best showing was a quarterfinal run back in 2011.

Click Here for full schedule of day five at the 2014 U.S. Open.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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