U.S. Open Recap: Mixed Results for Americans on Day Two as Isner Moves On
It was a day of mixed results for Americans in the men’s side of the draw at the 2014 U.S. Open. The highest seeded American, John Isner, seeded 13th, was victorious on the big stage at Arthur Ashe Stadium over fellow American, and NCAA champ, Marcos Giron. The match marked the first ever meeting between two former collegiate number one players and all-Americans, Isner at University of Georgia (2004-2007) and Giron at UCLA (2012-2014). The 21-year-old Giron was appearing in his first Grand Slam, after receiving a wild card entry. Isner, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist in 2011, claimed his 32nd win of the season. Up next for Isner in round two is Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
“I return my best when I'm most confident and not really thinking out there and just going for my shots,” said Isner, “When I get a little mental and start massaging the ball around, not wanting to miss—I can't win like that. But that's certainly a factor with me. That's happened a lot with me before. But I certainly feel like I’m returning in the right direction.”
Also victorious for the Americans Tuesday was the unseeded Sam Querrey, with a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Maximo Gonzalez at Louis Armstrong Stadium. The 26-year-old Querrey came into the U.S. Open on the back of his third semifinal of the year in Winston-Salem, and will next face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who defeated Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, in round two. Just last week, Querrey upset Garcia-Lopez en route to the semifinals at the Winston-Salem Open.
“It’s always tough in the first round here,” Querrey said. “Máximo played great. I’m just happy to get through.”
Jack Sock was forced to retire Tuesday afternoon in his opening round match against Pablo Andujar of Spain with a leg injury. Andujar was leading 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 when Sock walked to the net to stop the match. Sock had reached the third round in Flushing Meadows the past two years.
With the win, Andujar moves on to meet Kei Nishikori, who took care of American Wayne Odesnik on Tuesday, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. It was Nishikori’s first match since reaching the Citi Open quarterfinals in Washington where he lost to Richard Gasquet.
Also bowing out Tuesday was local Noah Rubin of Rockville Centre, N.Y. who made his Grand Slam debut in a 4-6, 3-6, 0-6 loss to Argentina’s Federico Delbonis. Rubin will be attending Wake Forest University in the fall on a scholarship, and received a wild card entry into main Open draw by winning the USTA Boys 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Click here for full results of Day Two of the 2014 U.S. Open.
