All the top seeds looked convincing on Day Three of the 2009 U.S. Open. Rafael Nadal was particularly impressive in his 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 domination of France’s Richard Gasquet. Nadal sported 7 aces, no double faults and committed just 10 unforced errors. Spectators saw no evidence of the knee injury that sidelined the Spanish star from Wimbledon. Rafa looked his dominant self and will face German Nicolas Kiefer in Round Two. Nadal has never won the US Open.

Roger Federer was tested by another German, Simon Gruel, in a tight three set match at prime time. As usual, Federer did what he had to do to pull out a 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 win. The top seed will next face a challenge from long-time rival and 2001 U.S. Open Champion, Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt was impressive on Wednesday in defeating Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets. A battle–tested veteran, Hewitt will give Federer everything he has in Round Three.

Fourth seeded Novak Djokovic showed no mercy in his 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic. Djokovic looked every bit as impressive as Nadal with 9 aces, no double faults and just 7 unforced errors. As in other Grand Slam early rounds, Djokovic’s play was nearly flawless. His consistent play will be a challenge to all comers.

Sixth seeded Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Argentine countryman Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in a less impressive manner. Del Potro uncharacteristically committed 25 unforced errors but appeared to be treating the match as a tune-up. Del Potro has the reputation of playing down to his opponent’s level of play. That dangerous mindset was in evidence on Wednesday.

American Jesse Levine, who was impressive at Wimbledon, continued his strong play with a dominant 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 win over Russia’s Teimuraz Gabashvili. The 21 year old left-hander shows no signs of nerves and will next face 16th seeded Croatian veteran Marin Cilic. The New York fans were extremely enthusiastic about Levine’s performance and just might distract the hard serving Cilic.

Of the 64 players left, Djokovic, Roddick and Nadal have looked especially impressive and have shown the eye of the tiger. Top-seeded Federer is rounding into form and 2nd seed Murray will be in action on Thursday. At Flushing Meadows, it is game on!

On Tuesday night, professional tennis performed its version of a beauty pageant. Some of the game’s most luminous stars took center stage. Blonde prom queen, Maria Sharapova, showed she could play tennis while 11th seeded brunette eye-candy queen Ana Ivanovic simply ran out of gas.

It has been a disappointing year for the Serbian former number one and Tuesday’s loss to 23-year old Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko will do little to cheer the svelte former tour star. Bondarenko has never played past the third round in any Grand Slam event and has never survived the second round at the Open.

No matter how the pie is sliced, this was a bad loss for the struggling Serb. At Wimbledon, Ana appeared to have made progress with her wandering serve, but as the match wore on and the nerves tightened, so did her serve. Ana double faulted five times but only landed 59% of her defensive first serves, many of which sat up for the stocky Bondarenko. In a performance unworthy of her seeding, Ivanovic was broken five times.

To her credit, Kateryna knew a lame duck when she saw one. After a 2-6 first set horror show, she took control in set two winning 6-3 before taking charge of the third set tiebreaker 7-6 (7) third set. A raucous crowd celebrated her every move and seemed to distract the former fitness magazine cover girl.

Kateryna’s sister, 30th seeded Alona, eekd out a three set win over Russian Alla Kudraytseva and will play Gisela Dulko in Round Two. Day Two at the Open was a good one for the Bondarenkos as they are favorably placed in a weak draw.

Fifth seed professional crybaby Jalena Jankovic has re-tuned her ailing form and was all smiles for the New York crowds. She triumphed over Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-3 in an uninteresting match.

New York crowd favorite, Sharapova, was sharp and looked every bit a serious contender. She looked well, moved well and showed signs that her ailing shoulder was recovering nicely. A strong candidate for best-dressed, the crowd responded favorably to her 6-3, 6-0 win over Tsvetana Pironkova.

Placed in a remarkably tough draw, Maria’s next match will be against New Jersey native Christina McHale, a popular 6-3, 6-1 winner over Slovakian Polona Hercog. The McHale-Sharapova winner will face the winner of Thursday’s featured match between Melanie Oudin and Elena Dementieva, in the tournament’s toughest bracket.

The number one seed is vulnerable. That may not surprise too many fans. Russian top gun Dinara Safina hung on against lightly regarded 18-year old Australian string bean Olivia Rogowska and squeezed out a tense 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 war of attrition. The 2.5-hour slop-fest did not resemble what Flushing Meadows fans have come to expect from their top seeds or Center Court play.

In fact, it is safe to say that neither Dinara or Venus will win the top prize at this year’s Open. There are simply better players out there who are hungry and chomping at the bit for a shot at either of the over-seeds. One of those trophy chasers is 17-year old Melanie Oudin of Marietta, Georgia, who looked every bit the aggressive challenger she is in her opening straight set victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.

Unlike Safina, Oudin burst onto the court and with considerable energy made quick work off her opponent. No theatrics, no sulking, no temper tantrums, just plain old hard-nosed tennis characterized Oudin’s play in her 6-1, 6-2 triumph.

The bad news for Oudin is that she will next face the best player in the field, Elena Dementieva, who will most likely take a business as usual approach to Center Court. Well, that is the rub of the draw. The pretty Georgian seemed relaxed and poised in post-match interviews. She intends to play her game and will not back off against the heavily favored Elena. Unfortunately, her 88 mph second serve will work against her.

Safina would have liked to possess that 88 mph serve on Tuesday. Instead, the top seed sulked her way through 11 double faults and displayed an unfocused array of ground strokes that resulted in a stunning 48 unforced errors; hardly the kind of numbers one would expect against the 128th seeded player in the draw.

To make matters worse, Safina trailed at 0-3 in the third set before the war of nerves got the better of Olivia. For the record, Safina’s second serve averaged just 78 mph. Despite her favored draw, that will not get the job done. Safina lost her serve six times in the match.

Safina will try to right the ship against either Urszula Radwanska or Kristina Barrois on Thursday. If she does not pull herself together, that could well be her last match of this year’s Open.

America’s Devin Britton may be the best collegiate player in the land, but he received a rare lesson yesterday from the best tennis player to ever grace the courts. Roger Federer did his thing in an 88-minute 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 taming of the NCAA Champion.

Federer shook off the cobwebs and let his supporters see just enough before exiting in anticipation of his second round match with Juan Ignacio Chela. Once Britton got his feet underneath him, he played to his potential and will doubtless be back a more experienced and less nervous opponent.

In the last match of the day, fifth seeded Andy Roddick stormed past German Bjorn Phau 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. Roddick showed the fitness and form that have led to his revitalization. Roddick looks to be a tough out in this event and with his huge fan base pushing hard, watch out for the upsets.

German Tommy Haas thrives on early match drama. He racked up another tense four set first round win with a stirring 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 win over Alejandro Falla. Haas looked tentative and will need steadier play to overcome his second round opponent Robert Kendrick of the U.S.

Kendrick played well in London but was more impressive on Monday. The hard serving youngster was never threatened en route to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Arguello Martin Vassallo. Look for Kendrick to surprise the 20th seeded Haas.

Lleyton Hewitt played hard in a 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Thiago Alves. Hewitt seems poised for a third round battle with Federer and looks forward to a better showing than in London.

Meanwhile, American James Blake seemed tentative at times but held on to win a 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 match with Hidalgo Ruben Ramirez. Seeded 21st, Blake has not had his best year. New York fans are hoping some hometown cooking will settle his woeful serve.

Eight seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia worked his way past Dieter Kindlmann of Germany with a hard earned 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 triumph. Davydenko looks to have a relatively easy path to the quarters.

Many of the game’s biggest names take the court on Tuesday. So far, no upsets at the U.S. Open.

US Open 2009 – Day 1 – Women’s Matches – Venus Escapes, Clijsters, Azarenka Tough

A packed house and huge television audience watched one of America’s biggest stars wind up day one at the 2009 US Open.  Third seeded Venus Williams was lucky to escape her first round match as day one proceeded without incident before huge throngs of fans.

At primetime, Venus took the Center Court against lightly regarded Vera Dushevina of Russia. The 22 year old gave Venus everything she could handle and raised questions about Venus’ fitness.  Williams emerged with a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 win but it was not pretty.

In fact, at times it seemed downright lackluster and not very Venusesque at all.  Williams was only successful on 54% of her first serves and was broken six times.  Her service issues pose a serious problem for the Wimbledon finalist who has not played well since falling to her sister in London.  Of all the seeds on the court Monday, Venus seemed the most vulnerable.

As usual, sister Serena was impressive.  The second seed cruised past the overmatched Alexa Glatch of the U.S. 6-4, 6-1.  Serena seemed to improve as the match elapsed.

Improving Aussie, Samantha Stosur had her hands full with Japan’s tour veteran Ai Sugiyama.  Sugiyama pushed Stosur to the limit before falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.  In the seesaw match Stosur garnered seven breaks while Sugiyama scooped up six.  In a rarity, each player won 103 points.  The difference may well have been in Sugiyama’s six double faults.

India’s Sania Mirza showed her true grit with a hard fought three set win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.  Mirza a newlywed and tour heartthrob eeked out a 6-2-,3-6, 6-3 victory.  Mirza appears to have added some velocity to her first serve, long her downfall.

Seventh seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva continued her strong play with a straight set, 6-0, 6-4 triumph over Spain’s Vives Llagostera.  Zvonareva looks to have a clear path to her quarterfinal matchup against Serena.

In the upper bracket, former number one Kim Clijsters of Belgium was very impressive.  Her 6-1, 6-1 win over the Ukraine’s Viktoriya Kutusoza  was never in doubt.  Clijsters looked powerful and in shape for a run at Venus.  With more than $14 million in career earnings, Clijsters is well positioned for a run at the quarters and a likely pairing with Victoria Azarenka.

The 8th seeded Azarenka drew gasps from her followers with her dazzling play.  Her dominating 6-1, 6-1 win over Alexandra Dulgheru was typical of her powerful play of late.  Azarenka will be a force in this event and may well surprise Serena in the semis.

Poland’s Agnes Rawanska was also dominant in her 6-1, 6-2 tuneup with Patrica Mayr.  Agnes will next face Maria Kirilenko in an interesting second round match.  All in all, there were no startling surprises on day one.  But, for Vera Dushevina it was a day of missed opportunities.  Venus escaped but had better re-gain her focus or be prepared for an early exit.