Day one of the US Open provided us with some very exciting matches and day two is sure to be just as exciting. We saw Andy Murray and Roger Federer comfortably get through their first round matches while players such as Marin Cilic, Paul Henri Mathieu and Gilles Simon went into fifth sets to secure their second round places. The USA can celebrate having four men into round two already with Tim Smyczek, James Blake, Mardy Fish and Jack Sock all getting wins. In the women's game there was an impressive win for Victoria Azarenka who looked to be hitting the ball exceptionally well as was defending champion Sam Stosur who crushed talented Petra Martic. There were upsets for 16th seed Sabine Lisicki and 18th seed Julia Goerges who were both surprising losers. Kim Clijsters and Na Li remain on course to meet in round three after comfortable wins yesterday while Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova also made it through.
So on to today's games and we have a number of big names beginning their campaigns with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Thomas Berdych starting their tournaments. In the women's game the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, are both in action along with former world number one Caroline Wozniacki. Djokovic opens up against Italian Paolo Lorenzi in what should be a very comfortable match for him. I don't think Lorenzi has any weapons that can hurt Djokovic and with early indications showing the courts to be very slow it should prove to be an easy day at the office for Djokovic. Tsonga starts against Karol Beck and he should have just as easy a match. Tsonga will be expected to go to at least the fourth round here and anything less will be considered a poor tournament. He's been consistent in the majors and if he gets into a nice rhythm he could go very far, starting with a straight sets win today. Thomas Berdych has a potentially tricky match with young Belgian David Goffin who has been a revelation this year at Grand Slams. Berdych was out of sorts for the past few months but seems to be getting it all together at the right time and I would expect him to come through in four. Venus Williams has got a tough match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Arthur Ashe but I would expect to see a very strong performance from her after some good results in the past few weeks. On her day she has the game to beat anyone but it's whether she has the fitness is the key for her now. Sister Serena should have no problems against Coco Vandeweghe and I think she could win that one with the loss of just a few games. She is in terrific form and won't be in any mood to hang around on court so expect a quick win. Caroline Wozniacki is coming in under the radar having failed to contest any of the last few majors and that could make her dangerous. She needs a few comfortable wins under her belt to gather confidence and I would expect her to win in two sets against Irini-Camelia Begu. Her movement around the court is sure to be the difference as she can defend and attack the Romanian which I think will be enough to overwhelm her opponent.
American Sam Querrey has a tricky opponent in Yen Hsun Lu but with he form he has shown in the last few weeks I think Querrey can come through that one. He has a great serve and knows how to utilise it and it's hard to see how Lu can get into the Querrey service games. I expect Sam to win in four sets. Following on that match on Armstrong stadium another American takes to the court in the shape of Sloane Stephens. She takes on Francesca Schiavone in a match she won't be expected to win. She may only be 19 but I think she is going to cause a big upset and eliminate the 22nd seed. She's got a very bright future in front of her and I think with the backing of a strong American crowd she can get the win. Another young American girl Christina McHale is also in action and she should also get a good win under her belt against Kiki Bertens. Men's 10th seed Juan Monaco starts his campaign hopeful of continuing the great season he's had by having a good run here. He starts off against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in what will be a match full of long rallies from the back of the court. I expect Monaco to outlast his opponent and grind him down in three sets. Aleksandr Dolgopolov could be beaten today if he doesn't improve on the woeful performance he gave against Nikolay Davydenko in Cincinnati. He takes on Jesse Levine today and I'm finding it tough to call simply because it's hard to know what Dolgopolov will turn up. I will give him the nod to get through but it's a hesitant one. Angelique Kerber could be a dark horse in the women's event. She is expected to go into week two but very few would give her a chance of winning. She has the game and has been getting great results all year and it wouldn't surprise me to see her in the semi finals or final. She should beat Anne Keothavong in a hurry today. The game between Stanislas Wawrinka and Sergiy Stakhovsky will be one of the spectacles of the day with two nice one handed backhands on show. It will be a good match to watch but I think Wawrinka will have too much for the Ukranian.
There is plenty of action to enjoy today and I hope you enjoy this preview of today's games and come back tomorrow for a look ahead to Wednesday's action.
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