U.S. Open 2011, Day 3: Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, John Isner Advance

Andy Roddick turned in an adequate but uninspiring performance in his first match at the 2011 U.S. Open, scraping past 33-year-old journeyman Michael Russell 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, needed nearly three hours to beat Russell, who dropped to an all-time worst career U.S. Open record of 0-7 with the loss.

Roddick entered the U.S. Open ranked outside the top 20 for the first time in nearly a decade, falling to the No. 21 seed. Having lost his spot as top-ranked American to Mardy Fish and without a quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam since January of 2010, Roddick is now an easier target than ever for commentators looking to fill air time.

But unlike larger sports in which commentators and athletes rarely interact and sometimes never meet, elite American men’s tennis is a small, incestuous community. And because of the individual aspect of life as a tennis player, the people at the top of the sport often spend huge percentages of their lives together.

Are you a tennis analyst on TV? Andy Roddick wants you to know he’s aware of you and he’s not impressed.

Roddick survived his first round match over Michael Russell on Wednesday, winning 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to advance to the second round of the 2011 U.S. Open. Afterward, he voiced his concerns about the state of tennis analysis to ESPN’s Chris Fowler (via Sports Grid):

Great Britain’s Andy Murray advanced to the second round of the 2011 U.S. Open, disposing of India’s Somdev Devvarman in a straight set win on Wednesday afternoon.

Murray, the fourth-ranked player in the world, struggled with the former NCAA champion Devvarman in first set, winning the tiebreaker 7-5, before settling down and taking the next two sets 6-2 and 6-3.

No. 6 seed Robin Soderling withdrew from the 2011 U.S. Open with a virus. The 27-year-old Swede has been fighting a wrist injury and pulled out of the Master’s tournament in Cincinnati with throat problems. His agent, Nina Weterstrom issued this statement:

Brazilian Rogério Dutra da Silva took Soderling’s place in the tournament. Ironically, he too had to retire in the fourth set in his match against Louk Sorensen. Da Silva was up two sets to one when he retired.

Venus Williams has withdrawn from the 2011 U.S. Open, citing an unspecified illness. She has been fighting a viral infection that has kept her from playing in hard-court tournaments all summer. The two-time U.S. Open champ won her first-round match relatively easily, beating Vesna Dolonts in straight sets, but apparently was not able to continue. She was supposed to play No. 22 seed Sabine Lisicki.

Williams was ranked as high as No. 2 last year, but has since been fighting injuries. The U.S. Open was just her fourth tournament in the past 12 months and she came into this ranked No. 36 in the world.

The 2011 U.S. Open has claimed another first-round upset. The latest highly seeded player to fall is No. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain, who lost 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to No. 81 ranked Julien Benneteau on Wednesday. The 29-year-old Frenchman entered the match with a career record of 145-167, but is coming off a runner-up performance in the Winston-Salem Open where he lost to John Isner.

Almagro struggled mightily, registering 41 unforced errors and converting just 1 of 13 break-point opportunities. Benneteau was not exactly dominant, needing just 24 winners and five aces. He was opportunistic, though, converting 6 of 10 break-point chances.

In the only U.S. Grand Slam of the season, 12 American singles players take the court Wednesday, with Andy Roddick and John Isner both scheduled to play their opening round matches in the evening. Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova play their first and second round matches, respectively, at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The all American match takes place in the evening at Arthur Ashe Stadium with Andy Roddick and Michael Russel. Here’s a schedule of some of the biggest matches of the day.

Men’s matches: