Upset Update
Fourth seed Aga Radwanska crashed out to former top-20 player Peng Shuai in straight sets yesterday, leaving her quarter of the draw wide even more wide open for the likes of Jelena Jankovic and Angelique Kerber. The same quarter saw two other upsets as well: young Swiss Belinda Bencic took out 31st seeded Kurumi Nara while Johanna Larsson of Sweden knocked out the 21st seeded Sloane Stephens. On the men's side, Teymuraz Gabashvili beat the 21st seed, Santiago Giraldo while Blaz Kavcic knocked out 30th seeded Jeremy Chardy.
Speaking of Sloane Stephens…
According to multiple sources, if Madison Keys wins her second round match today, she will leapfrog Sloane Stephens to become the new American #3 behind Serena and Venus. It will be the first time that Keys has ever been ahead of Stephens in the rankings.
Drama at Flushing Meadows
Ernests Gulbis and Fabio Fognini, have been remarkably well-behaved during their opening matches. Ernie looked downright professional and focused in a straight sets win over Kenny De Schepper yesterday while Fog knocked off Andrey Golubev in straights on Tuesday. Instead, the slight drama of the day came from Stan Wawrinka during his match against Thomaz Bellucci. Extended to a fourth set, Stan's frustration surfaced and he turned around and snapped at a fan to "Shut up, man! Seriously, shut up!" Some boos followed, but Stan was able to refocus on his tennis, winning the match in a fourth set 'breaker. He later laughed the incident off during his press conference.
In the Bagh
The Cilic/Baghdatis matchup seemed like one of the most compelling first round matches on the schedule. Unfortunately, Baghdatis was forced to retire trailing 3-6, 1-3. Baghdatis has talent and he's brought us some good matches in the past, so hopefully he can come back healthy in 2015 and give us at least one more year of good tennis.
Not Done Yet
I thought Lleyton Hewitt had a chance to topple a slumping Tomas Berdych, but he was sent packing in routine straight sets. At age 33 with several surgeries already in the books, every Slam seems like it could be the last for the fiery Aussie. Hewitt wouldn't reveal his future plans either way during his press conference, but his manager confirmed after the match that Hewitt would be back on tour at least for next year's Australian Open and Australia's first round Davis Cup match.
Round 1 by the Numbers
The last few first round singles matches wrapped up yesterday, so here's a look at the tournament stats so far. Of the 128 singles matches, 49 of them required extra sets. Eight players were forced to retire mid-match. In total, there were 382 sets played, comprised of 3,550 games and 22,594 points. Forty-nine sets were decided by tiebreaks.
Cramped Conditions
On Monday, Andy Murray nearly succumbed to cramps in his opening round match and yesterday cramps did take down the 3rd ranked American, Steve Johnson. Up two sets to one, Johnson began to cramp, eventually falling to the court, writhing in pain. Since cramps are considered a fitness deficiency, not an injury, play couldn't stop be stopped for medical treatment. The chair umpire was forced to give Johnson point and game penalties until the score reached 1-2, prompting a changeover. Johnson received treatment during the changeover and then tried to return to the court. He was barely able to serve as the cramps spread to his hand. Finally, trailing 1-4, Johnson conceded the match, allowing Tatsuma Ito to move on to the next round. A wheelchair was brought out for Johnson, but he was able to leave under his own power, later stating "That's the first time I've ever retired in a match—I'm not going to leave in a wheelchair."
Tangled
On the lighter side, Caroline Wozniacki had an… incident during her match yesterday. After hitting a forehand her hair became tangled around the grip of her racquet. Woz tried to play through it and return the next shot, to no avail.
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