U.S. Open 2011, Day 5: Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal Advance Easily

Andy Roddick made it look easy on Friday night, cruising to a straight-set win over Jack Sock to advance to the third round of the 2011 US Open. Roddick was never threatened, taking all three sets by a handy margin, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. After surviving a bit of a test in the first round of the tournament, Roddick was back on form in Friday night’s win.

Sock was far from the top of his game, ending the match with 38 unforced errors as Roddick sat back and allowed his opponent to make mistakes. On the night, Roddick finished with 11 aces to just one double-fault while converting all five of his break-point chances. Sock finished with nine aces and two double-faults while converting just one of seven break points.

Rafael Nadal had his second-round match well in-hand on Friday when Nicolas Mahut retired following the second set. At the time, Nadal held a two sets to none advantage, taking each by a score of 6-2. Mahut complained of an abdominal strain and waived the white flag after dropping the second, allowing Nadal a bit of extra rest ahead of his third-round matchup.

The break should be a welcome on for Nadal after a tougher than expected first round. To advance to the second round, Nadal needed some three hours to dispatch Andrey Golubev. Though it was a straight-set victory for Nadal, it came with a second-set tiebreaker and a 7-5 win in the third set.

Andy Murray fell behind early, dropping the first two sets of his second-round matchup with Robin Haase during US Open action on Friday. After losing the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5), Murray put up nary a fight in the second as Haase won the set, 6-2. It looked bleak for the American.

But Murray bounced back, coming alive in the third to capture a 6-2 set of his own. Finally hitting his stride, Murray pitched a shutout in the fourth, sending the match to a decisive set with a 6-0 win. It was as if he woke up from a slumber, realized he was in the US Open, and starting playing like it.

Maria Sharapova lost to Flavia Pennetta in the third round of the 2011 U.S. Open. Pennetta, the No. 26 seed in the tournament, won 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Tuesday and has now equaled her best ever performance at one of tennis’s four grand slams.

In the deciding game, Pennetta was able to break Sharapova at love, firing a back-handed winner down the line on match point. Sharapova struggled all day with her serve, double-faulting 12 times, including once in the final game. She did not have a single ace and was broken seven times. She won just 50 percent of her service points and only 38 percent of the points on her second serve. Sharapova also had 60 unforced errors to 30 winners.

American John Isner made easy work of fellow American Robby Ginepri, winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the third round of the 2011 U.S. Open. Isner, the tournament’s No. 28-seeded player, pounded out 45 winners and needed a little more than 100 minutes to win.

Isner was just as deadly with his serve. He was never broken and only lost 19 points on his serve, needing to fight off just two break points all afternoon. Isner blasted 20 aces and never double-faulted.

Second-ranked Vera Zvonareva of Russia moved on to the fourth round of the 2011U.S. Open, defeating Anabel Medina Garriques in straight sets. Zvonareva was effective with her serve, with six aces to Garriques’ two, helping to overcome 35 unforced errors. She will face the winner in the later match between Irina Falconi and Sabine Liscki.

Monica Niculescu of Romania pulled off a shocker earlier in the day, dispatching 27th-ranked Lucie Safarova in convincing fashion, 6-0, 6-1, to move on to the fourth round of the 2011 U.S. Open. Niculescu was downright dominant in the match, breaking Safarova’s serve five times in eight chances. Safarova had 43 unforced errors to just four for Niculescu.