2013 U.S. Open Preview: Day Two

There are 24 singles matches scheduled on the men’s side of the draw on Day Two of the 2013 U.S. Open, with seven Americans set to play, including the top two Americans, John Isner and Sam Querrey. Today’s forecast calls for overcast skies throughout the day into the evening sessions, with a slight chance of a rain shower, and temperatures in the upper 70s to mid-80s. The remaining 10 matches in the bottom half of the draw and 14 matches in the top half will be played. World number one Novak Djokovic, who has reached the U.S. Open final the past three years, winning in 2011, begins the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Isner is scheduled to play the third match on Ashe against Italian Filippo Volandri, who is playing his first hard court tournament since the Australian Open in January. Isner has compiled impressive results this summer with a 16-4 match record, highlighted by his seventh career ATP World Tour title in Atlanta and runner-up showings in Washington and ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati. He was a U.S. Open quarter-finalist two years ago, his best Grand Slam result. The 31-year-old Volandri comes into the match with a 1-7 lifetime record at the U.S. Open, advancing to the second round back in 2004.

The top-seeded Djokovic, who began the season with his third straight Australian Open title and sixth overall Grand Slam crown, will face Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis for the first time in his career. Djokovic is looking for his 40th career match win (39-7) at the U.S. Open. He has advanced to the semifinals or better here the past six years. Berankis was the top-ranked junior in the world in 2007. The 23-year-old Berankis is looking for his first ever win over a top-10 player.

A 2012 U.S. Open semifinalist, Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, plays Italian Paolo Lorenzi on Grandstand. This is the first time Berdych is ranked in the top five going into a Grand Slam tournament, and currently has a 40-16 year-to-date record in 2013.

Tenth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada takes on Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano in the opening match on Armstrong. Raonic became the first player born in the 1990s to break the top 10 two weeks ago, and he is ranked 11th in the ATP Men’s Singles Rankings coming into the U.S. Open.

American Sam Querrey plays Argentine Guido Pella in the second match at Ashe. Querrey, who is ranked  31st, reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open in 2008 and again in 2010. Querrey has a 27-26 lifetime career Grand Slam record, as Pella qualified for the U.S. Open last year for the first time, not losing a set in three matches before falling to Nikolay Davydenko in four sets in the first round.

The American men went 1-3 on Opening Day. Four of the seven Americans in action are 23-years-of-age and under, led by U.S. Boys’ National Champion in Kalamazoo, 17-year-old wild card Collin Altamirano, who is the youngest player in the draw. The others are: Denis Kudla (21), Jack Sock (20) and Steve Johnson (23). Qualifier Donald Young, who reached the fourth round two years ago, is 24.

In action for the women on Day Two, number 11 seed Samantha Stosur, a winner in 2011, will face American Victoria Duval. Stosur won the title in Carlsbad earlier this month and was in great form, beating Victoria Azarenka. Also in action is 2004 U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuzentsova, who faces another American, 22-year-old Mallory Burdette.

World number two Victoria Azarenka will face Dinah Pfizenmaier. Azarenka comes into this year’s Open in an entirely different position than even in 2012, when she already held a Grand Slam title and exuding confidence, having beaten world number one Serena Williams in 2013 in both Doha and Cincinnati.

Also in action on the women’s side is the number 14 seed Maria Kirilenko against Yanina Wickmayer, sixth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki facing China’s Ying-Ying Duan, the 10th-seeded Roberta Vinci against Timea Babos, the fourth-seeded Sara Errani of Italy against Australian Olivia Rogowska, seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova against Misaki Doi of Japan on Ashe Stadium, and on Grandstand 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic against Anna Tatishvili.