U.S. Open 2012: Andy Roddick Will Retire; Americans Mardy Fish, Jack Sock Advance

On Thursday, Andy Roddick announced he will retire from tennis after the U.S. Open. On Friday, he plays to keep his career going a couple of days longer. The No. 20-ranked Roddick can advance to the third round with a win over Bernard Tomic of Australia Friday night. Roddick and Tomic are scheduled to start at 7:00 ET on Arthur Ashe Court with television coverage on ESPN2.

In other important matches, No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic faces unranked Rogerio Dutra Silva at approximately 1:00 ET Friday. No. 4-ranked David Ferrer will play Igor Sijsling of The Netherlands at 11:00 ET. No. 7-ranked Juan Martin del Potro draws American Ryan Harrison at approximately 1:00 ET. Ninth-ranked American John Isner follows del Potro, taking on Jarkko Nieminen on Louis Armstrong Court in the early afternoon.

Venus Williams lost her second-round match at the U.S. Open tonight, falling to No. 6 Angelique Kerber 6-2, 5-7, 7-5. Williams held a 4-2 lead in the third set, but was broken in the eleventh game and failed to force a tiebreak in the twelfth. It was Williams’ second loss to Kerber in a month; the German also defeated Venus in the third round of the Olympics.

Williams struggled with her serve throughout the match, successfully playing only 54% of her first serves and recording a staggering 16 double faults. Williams recorded more winners -- 43 to Kerber’s 20 -- but played 35 more unforced errors than her opponent. Williams was successful when she could get to the net, but Kerber’s baseline effectively game kept her from advancing frequently.

Roger Federer is handling his business just fine, dominating his second round match with Bjorn Phau of Germany, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Federer needed only an hour and a half to cruise past Phau, breaking Phau’s serve five times to ensure this match didn’t last any longer than that.

All the match stats revealed total tennis dominance. Federer served up 15 aces to Phau’s two to really take control. He won 79 percent of his first serves and 63 percent of his second serves (compared to Phau winning 65 percent of his first serves and 41 percent of his second serves). Federer wasn’t too sharp at the net, but he did have 32 points won there, compared to Phau’s eight, ending up with 44 winners to Phau’s 16.

Sam Querrey bested Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in straight sets in the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday afternoon.

Querrey, ranked No. 27 in the tournament, smashed 19 aces past Hidalgo, who only served one ace in the contest, en route to the straight set victory, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, in a match that only lasted around 99 minutes. Additionally, he nailed 43 winners past Hidalgo, who notched 18 of his own. Querrey also won 88 percent of his points on the first serve, a key to his ability in keeping Hidalgo from capturing a set.

James Blake defeated Spaniard No. 24 Marcel Granollers in the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday evening.

Blake won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, in Louis Armstrong Stadium, making quick work of Granollers while only serving two aces throughout the match.

Serena Williams had nothing but praise for fellow tennis pro Andy Roddick on Thursday, according to reports. The No. 22 player in the world announced on Thursday that, win or lose, he will retire following the 2012 U.S. Open.

Noting that she has known Roddick since she was 10 years old, Williams praised Roddick and said she had hoped he would change his mind.

Women’s No. 4 seed Serena Williams faced off with Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the second round of U.S. Open play on Thursday afternoon. Williams struggled with her control early in the match and received a tough battle from Sanchez throughout, but the three-time U.S. Open champion eventually pulled away to win in two sets, 6-2, 6-4. Her combination of speed and power is just too much for opponents to overcome right now.

Coming off a dominating performance at the Summer Games, some wondered how much Williams would have left in the tank when she got to Flushing Meadows, N.Y. While she has yet to display the form she showed in winning gold in London or taking her fifth Wimbledon title last month, her results thus far have been undeniable.

Andy Roddick entered the week ranked No. 22 in the world and the 20th-seeded player at the 2012 U.S. Open, hoping to recapture his former form and once again play deep into the draw in Flushing Meadows. On Thursday, Roddick revealed that this will be his last chance for Grand Slam glory, as the American announced that he will retiring at the conclusion of the tournament.

Roddick made the announcement on his 30th birthday.

American Mardy Fish came back from two sets down to defeat Russian Nikolay Davydenko on Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fish, No. 23 on the men’s side, looked close to elimination after losing the second set in a tiebreak. He was able to recover and take the final three sets in relatively easy fashion.

Fish’s strong serve allowed him to make the stunning recovery. He topped out at 130 mph and smashed 16 aces. He also started playing better defense, eventually breaking Davydenko’s serve eight times overall for the match.

American Jack Sock advanced to the third round of the 2012 U.S. Open by winning a match against Italy’s Flavio Cipolla on Thursday. The upset of Cipolla, who is ranked No. 87 in the world by ATP, came in dominating sets of 6-2, 6-2 and 6-4.

Power was in favor of the American. His fastest serve turned in was at 135 mph while the 28-year-old Cipolla could only muster a fastest serve of 106. Sock also recorded 15 aces to none by Cipolla.

No. 12 Ana Ivanovic has advanced into the third-round of the 2012 U.S. Open by defeating Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden in straight-set fashion. The former No. 1 had little trouble in cruising to an easy 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Ivanovic tallied the vast majority of her winners with her forehand, as she was dominant with that shot. She also won over 60 percent of her receiving chances, allowing her to break Arvidsson’s serve five times.

Second-round action begins at the U.S. Open in Flushing, N.Y., on Thursday. Headlining the action on the women’s side of the tournament is No. 4 Serena Williams, who will face Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain in Arthur Ashe Stadium. No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland will face Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain at the Grandstand Court.

On the men’s side of the tournament, No. 1 Roger Federer will face Bjorn Phau at Arthur Ashe Stadium, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Americans Mardy Fish and James Blake will be in action on Thursday as well. For a complete schedule of matchups at the U.S. Open, check out the U.S. Open’s official website.

The story on Wednesday at the U.S. Open was the final match for Kim Clijsters, who lost what could be her final professional match in the second round. Clijsters fell in straight sets to Great Britain’s Laura Robson, and has indicated she will probably retire after this tournament.

Elsewhere, the two marquee primetime matchups ended quickly. Maria Sharpova was finished in under an hour, beating Lourdes Dominguez Lino of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in 54 minutes. Andy Murray was up next in Arthur Ashe Stadium, and won in similarly dominant fashion over Croatia’s Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-1, 6-3.