Week 1 of the U.S. Open ended with a bang, thanks to entertaining matches and brilliant performances on Louis Armstrong, the Grandstand, and on the outer courts. It started with Tomas Berdych completely dismantling Julien Benneteau on the Grandstand. Berdych had been impressive in Cincinnati, rolling over Andy Murray in the quarterfinals before giving Rafael Nadal a decent test in the semis. The Czech was in utterly ruthless form against Benneteau, blasting 36 winners to a mere 14 unforced errors.
More competitive matches were taking place on Armstrong, starting with Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Marcos Baghdatis. A considerable underdog on paper given his mostly disappointing 2013 campaign, Baghdatis did well to force a fourth set by winning the third in a tiebreaker. He almost extended Wawrinka to a fifth, but the Swiss pulled out a fourth-set tiebreaker nine points to seven. As can be expected in a match between these two, this one produced some brilliant shot-making.
Tommy Haas had been up-and-down against Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round and he was the same against Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday, This time he faced an opponent who would not let him get away with anything less than consistently stellar play. Seemingly less than 100 percent physically, Haas had to win a third set just to prolong his stay in the tournament. Youzhny quickly regained control in set four and sent the 35-year-old German packing.
A thriller of a women’s match on Armstrong saw Carla Suarez Navarro outlast Angelique Kerber in a third-set tiebreaker. It was not atypical for a WTA marathon, with both players breaking serve a whopping seven times (14 combined). CSN served for the match late in the third only to get broken at love, but she steadied herself and dominated the ensuing ‘breaker.
Another match went the distance out on Court 17. Amazingly enough, Denis Istomin and Andreas Seppi had already played three five-setters against each other in the last five Grand Slams: Wimbledon 2012, Australian Open 2013, and Wimbledon 2013. Istomin survived their 2012 encounter while Seppi got revenge both in Melbourne and in the second go-around at the All-England Club. This time it was Istomin’s turn to sway the pendulum back on his side. The Uzbek lost the third and fourth sets, but he broke early in the fifth to regain momentum. Istomin battled through a wild service game at 3-1 to consolidate the break, saving six break points in the process. That proved to be Seppi’s last gasp, as Istomin ran away with the set 6-1. Seppi still leads the head-to-head series 5-2, but every one of their last four meetings has gone to five sets.
Back on the Grandstand, Lleyton Hewitt was trying to build on his huge five-set win over Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round. The relatively unknown Evgeny Donskoy proved to be a tough test for the veteran Aussie. Donskoy, who upset Winston-Salem champion Jurgen Melzer in the first round, has an extremely live arm and can pummel his forehand in unsuspecting fashion. For the most part though, the Russian is a defensive player without a massive serve–so it was not a great matchup for him since players generally struggle against Hewitt when they can’t blow him off the court. Donskoy put up a commendable effort and won the third to keep his hopes alive, but Hewitt ultimately prevailed in four.
Thus the stage was set for one of the most dramatic matches of this year’s U.S. Open. Marcel Granollers and Tim Smyczek were next up on the Grandstand, battling in a surprising all-unseeded affair. Memorable matches often come where you least expect them, and that was certainly the case with Granollers vs. Smyczek. Suddenly the last American man in the draw, Smyczek gave back a break in the opening set and lost it. But he was far from deterred. The world No. 109 took the second 6-4 then dominated the third without the loss of a single game, firing 12 winners to his opponent’s one. Granollers rebounded nicely in the fourth, striking 12 winners to just one unforced error and saving all three of the break points he faced.
Both the tennis and the atmosphere during the decisive were off the charts. An aggressive Smyczek blasted a ridiculous 26 winners, which propelled him to a 4-1 lead. Playing the match of his life and also standing in as America’s last hope for one of its own to reach round four of a men’s singles Grand Slam in 2013, the crowd was something that Smyczek had never seen before. Not even close. Chants of “USA, USA,” and waves going around and around the Grandstand were the norm during changeovers.
Smyczek’s tweets one day later:
[tweet https://twitter.com/timsmyczek/statuses/374610411985043456]
[tweet https://twitter.com/timsmyczek/statuses/374611003235115008]
But neither Smyczek’s own play nor the fans could push him over the finish line. Granollers, who repeatedly showcased world-class defense to withstand a barrage of forehands, made only seven unforced errors in the last 12 games. The Spaniard broke back for 3-4 and persevered out of a 0-30 hole at 4-5 before the penultimate game all but decided the match. After multiple deuces and multiple game points for Smyczek, Granollers finally broke for what was the final turning point. A routine hold at 6-5 brought the crowd’s hopes to an abrupt end and left their post-match chants of “Smyczek, Smyczek” just a little less enthused than they seemed destined to be midway through the final set.
wave during the fifth set of Granoller vs. Smyczek:
[wpvideo 6FXSpYgS]
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