The U.S. Open kicks off Monday morning in New York. Melanie Oudin, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters and Roger Federer will all be in action today at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Live matches will be shown on the Tennis Channel from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., on ESPN2 from 1-11 p.m. and streaming starting at 1 on ESPN3 (all times East Coast). According to the official TV schedule, from 2-7 p.m. Tennis Channel coverage will only focus on courts 11 and/or 13. So if you’re interested in the big guns, ESPN2 is your best bet.
Here are a few matches worth checking out on a steamy Day 1:
11 a.m.
Arthur Ashe, Melanie Oudin (USA) vs. Olga Savchuk (UKR)
I bet Tennis Channel fought like hell for this one. Georgia’s own Oudin, who last year made an improbable run to the quarterfinals, will open the tourney on the show court. Expect tremendous crowd support for America’s 18-year-old sweetheart, who has struggled since her breakthrough in Queens.
Not before 1 p.m.
Arthur Ashe, Greta Arn (HUN) vs. No. 2 Kim Clijsters (BEL)
With Serena Williams out, Clijsters has a good shot at making it through a match without controversy (and defending her 2009 title).
Arthur Ashe, Stephane Robert (FRA) vs. No. 9 Andy Roddick (USA)
Can Roddick finally win his second major? Robert ain’t gonna stop him.
Not before 5 p.m.
Louis Armstrong, No. 32 Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
Hewitt is a bit obnoxious, what with his backwards hat and all that yelling, but it’s always fun watching a guy who isn’t blessed with any big weapons try and survive.
7 p.m.
Arhur Ashe, Roberta Vinci (ITA) vs. No. 3 Venus Williams (USA)
Unlike her sister, Venus isn't interested in getting into it with any linespeople.
Arthur Ashe, Brian Dabul (ARG) vs. No. 2 Roger Federer (SUI)
Federer’s the favorite, even after a less than stellar summer (by his standards).
Click here to view the full schedule. For more tennis coverage, visit The Daily Forehand.
2010 U.S. Open First Round Result: Roger Federer Pulls Out His Bag Of Tricks
Against a player like Argentina’s Brian Dabul, Roger Federer frankly doesn’t need any help to advance, but it does make for fantastic television when he decides to get fancy. One hour into a sleepy match, up 6-1, 5-3 over Dabul, Federer pulled another between-the-legs shot out of his hat:
Bonus points awarded for not leaving a Roger Rabbit-shaped hole in that back wall. Dabul sort of shrugs, because, really, what are you gonna do? Play resumed its relaxed pace shortly thereafter; Federer’s winning ace was almost languid. Final score: 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
Read Article >2010 U.S. Open First Round Result: Venus Williams Swats Away Roberta Vinci
Venus Williams didn’t look like she had much rust to shake off in Monday’s opening-day action at the U.S. Open. Despite being absent from action since Wimbledon due to a knee injury, Williams defeated Roberta Vinci of Italy in short order, 6-4, 6-1. She did make sort of a funny landing at one point where her knee appeared to go a little sideways, but she brushed it off in postgame interviews.
And because it’s Venus, let’s get a fashion update: This year’s first-round outfit consisted of a short black dress with spaghetti straps and pleather-y looking pleats; classy, but somewhat at odds with her white shoes.
Read Article >2010 U.S. Open First Round: Andy Roddick Wins First Set
Andy Roddick is already comfortably in control of his first round match at the 2010 U.S. Open. The ninth-seeded American took the first set from Stephane Robert, 6-3.
Read Article >2010 U.S. Open First Round Result: Defending Champ Kim Clijsters Struggles But Moves On
Defending champion Kim Clijsters struggled at times, but still managed to defeat Greta Arn, 6-0, 7-5, in the first round of the 2010 U.S. Open. Clijsters fell behind 4-0 in the second set before winning seven of the final eight games of the match.
The second-seeded Clijsters piled up 21 winners (Arn only had 11) and broke Arn’s serve six times.
Read Article >2010 U.S. Open First Round Result: Nikolay Davydenko Beats Michael Russell
Nikolay Davydenko defeated American Michael Russell in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3, in the first round of the 2010 U.S. Open. It’s a good start for the Russian, who made two straight trips to the Open semis in 2006 and 2007.
Still, it wasn’t easy for Davydenko. Russell, despite making 46 unforced errors, hung around for 140 minutes.
Read Article >2010 U.S. Open, First Round Result: French Open Champ Francesca Schiavone Rolls 6-1, 6-0
Fresh off her stunning French Open title, Italian Francesca Schiavone cruised through her first round match at the 2010 U.S. Open, beating Japan’s Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-0. She’s the first player to officially advance in the tournament.
The match took under an hour, and featured 28 winners from Schiavone to just six from her opponent.
Read Article >2010 U.S. Open, First Round: Melanie Oudin Breaks First, Takes Opening Set Against Olga Savchuk
Melanie Oudin hasn’t let the pressure of expectations bother her so far in her first match of the 2010 U.S. Open.
After making the quarterfinals last year, she is looking for another big run in this year’s tournament. She got off to a good start, taking the opening set from Olga Savchuk in her first round match.
Read Article >
