The first weekend of the US Open is beginning today and that means two things. Firstly the crowd are going to be more involved as it's the weekend and secondly the matches are getting more competitive as the seeds start meeting each other. The big news from yesterday was of course the announcement of Andy Roddick's retirement and that's going to make the coming days very interesting.
So on to today's games and starting with the meeting of Varvara Lepchenko and Sam Stosur. This is an interesting match with both players seeded and as good as Lepchenko is I don't see how she can overcome Stosur. The Aussie is defending champion and despite not having a great year she's looked really good in her opening two matches. She looks at home here and it seems that since returning to these courts her confidence has come back and it's hard to see her losing here to Lepchenko, Stosur in two. Maria Sharapova is another who looks very confident here and today she takes on Mallory Burdette who has surprised many in winning her opening two matches with ease and she's certainly one for the future. Whether or not her time is now is another thing and I don't see her beating Sharapova but she could possibly test the Russian and force two very close sets. Novak Djokovic is in action on Ashe in between those two games and he faces Rogerio Dutra Silva in his second round. Djokovic was very impressive in his opener against Paolo Lorenzi and I think his performance was the best of any of the men so far. I think he's going to be the man to beat here and I expect him to get through this one in three very very quick sets. Young American Ryan Harrison takes to the big stage today to take on Juan Martin Del Potro on Louis Armstrong court. Del Potro laboured through his opener but that sort of performance won't do against Harrison who has troubled some big players already this year and I expect to see him give Delpo a good game here. In the end Del Potro should get through this one and reach the third round but Harrison will be dangerous and if he's on form and Del Potro isn't at his best he won't be far off causing an upset.
An interesting match on court 17 sees Aleksandr Dolgopolov and Marcos Baghdatis square off in what could potentially be a very good match. Dolgopolov is a player who could go far here and with his game he causes problem for everyone but in the last three or four weeks he has been simply awful. He just about found a way to get through Jesse Levine in five sets but it will take a big performance from him to get over Baghdatis. The Cypriot is a very talented player and has been playing well this year. From what I've seen in the last few weeks I think Baghdatis has got to win this one. He's more consistent and hits a heavy ball and I think he'll get through. Having said that if Dolgopolov finds his game he could easily sweep through this one. It's well worth watching. Lleyton Hewitt and Gilles Muller are sure to entertain the crowds with their match but I think Hewitt will get through that in four sets. Janko Tipsarevic should have too much for Brian Baker but time and time again Baker has raised his game and it would be a fantastic story if he could get the win. I don't see it happening though and I think Tipsarevic will get through to round three.
Victoria Azarenka has been sensational so far and I think she looks as good as she did in her Australian Open win at the start of this year. She's back on the hard courts and rather like Djokovic has found confidence in being on her favourite surface again and I think she's going to excel in the moment. She should face a tricky game against Jie Zheng but if she's playing as well as I think she is she should be able to come through in straight sets. Zheng has got some powerful strokes and that's something Azarenka will have to try and negate. Big serving John Isner wasn't at his best against Xavier Malisse but he done enough to get through and I think we could see a similar performance today against Jarkko Nieminen. Niemined is a strong player but I don't think he has the game to beat Isner. I still think Isner can win this out and it's important he doesn't keep dropping sets so I'd expect him to keep serve throughout the match and win in three sets. There should be wins for Ferrer, Gasquet, Gulbis, Wawrinka, Kohlschreiber and Benneteau as well as the resurgent Tommy Robredo. In the women's game we should see progression from Kvitova and Petrova.
The match no doubt everyone will want to see is that Andy Roddick and Bernard Tomic match. Roddick could possibly be playing his last ever match at the US Open and so I would expect a very involved crowd in this one. Roddick broke the news in his press conference yesterday and talked of how he knew in his first round match that it was time. The reason he announced it before playing his next match was because he couldn't imagine losing tonight and walking into an empty locker room, he needed his chance to say goodbye. So will it be an emotional goodbye for A-Rod? I'm not so sure. He played nicely in his opening match and despite not having the best of years he will be playing with absolutely no fear and that could make him dangerous in the coming days. Tomic does love a big stage and he certainly has that now but I wonder how he will cope with a very biased crowd. Roger Federer said yesterday that he hopes the crowd make it difficult for Tomic and he hopes it isn't Andy's last match. The other thing is how will Roddick cope with all the pressure. He said himself he was surprised he got through the first half of his interview without tears so will he succumb to the emotions tonight? I think we will see a very entertaining match but I do see Andy winning it in three or four sets. The crowd will pull him through the tough moments and I don't think the tennis world is ready to see him leave just yet.
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