The first Saturday of the 2012 US Open is upon us and we have some very exciting matches in store. Before we look ahead to those matches let's reflect on yesterday's drama. Laura Robson continued her run by beating the 8th seed Li Na in three sets and now gets a shot at defending champion Sam Stosur. It was an abject performance from Li who struggled to find the right length on her shots but credit to Robson who took the ball early and never allowed Li have the time to find her ryhthm. Aleksandr Dolgopolov had a great win over Marcos Baghdatis and that makes him a threat going forward as he seems to have put his nightmare three weeks behind him. Story of the day was of course the Andy Roddick-Bernard Tomic match, would it be Roddicks last match? Far from it. He was sensational. It was a joy to watch and if he continues that form then he might just get a good run going.
So on to today and it's a great line up to enjoy on all the main courts. For the first time we have got a competitive night session and that's sure to make it more enjoyable for the fans who pay money for the night games. Very few of the matches in the evening so far have had sets that even went past 6-1 and that's simply got to be fixed and arranged better. The obvious solution is to put the big name American players on the night session like they did with Roddick last night and watch the crowd respond. The crowd for Andy last night were brilliant and played their part. Tonight we've got two Americans in the night session and their two exciting games. First though let's look at the afternoon games.
Jelena Jankovic continues her run against 2nd seed Agnieszka Radwanska and she will see that as a match where she has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Radwanska has been very consistent this year and made her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon but had a virus and wasn't able to give her best performance. Jankovic has fallen way down in the list of contenders in similar fashion to how Wozniacki is now. She tried to inject more pace onto her stroke and as a result lost the consistency and still didn't have the power to beat the very best. She seems to be finding herself again and I think she could give Radwanska a good game here. I do still see Radwanska getting through but it should be a very competitive match.
Ekaterina Makarova has the daunting task of facing Serena Williams on Arthur Ashe today and although she beat Williams at the Aussie Open this year it's tough to see how she can really get close to winning this one. Williams is in great form and is striking the ball really well. She seems to have recovered from the ankle injury she sustained in doubles the other day and is moving well. That said she isn't unbeatable but it takes a courageous player who fights Serena for the baseline. Both players can't play from the baseline and someone will be forced to back down and that's why it's tough to beat Serena because it's so tough to outhit her from the baseline. Makarova has got nice shots and good power and if she has the confidence she could upset the American's rhythm. However, I don't see her sustaining any positive play long enough against Williams. I think Serena will get through to round four in two tight sets.
Roger Federer continues his quest for yet another Grand Slam when he takes on Fernando Verdasco on Ashe. Federer has been convincing in his opening two games but in reality he wasn't put under any pressure. Verdasco should be able to give Roger a stern test but it's whether he can sustain a high level that will determine whether he can get a win or not. Federer will look to dictate from the baseline and Verdasco will have to try to negate the Swiss' game by imposing himself with some heavy ground strokes and being aggressive. I don't think he'll have the execution to get a win off Fed though and that's why Roger will progress in three tight sets with one break determining each of them.
Louis Armstrong holds two big men's games today with Feliciano Lopez attempting to end Andy Murray's run. Murray wasn't tested in his first two matches and Lopez will hope he can produce some good tennis to give the Scot a run for his money. Lopez will need to execute his serve and volley play very well if he's to get success and he really needs to have a good day with the back hand. I remember watching him play Roger Federer last year and play scintillating tennis but just come up short in a final set tie break but the reason he was competitive was because his back hand was sensational. If he plays his best and plays aggressive then he might have a chance but I'm going to pick Murray to win simply because we know how he will play and Lopez can be hit and miss.
Sam Querrey will hope the American crowd are noisy when he takes to the Armstong court to face Thomas Berdych. Querrey has rediscovered his form this season and especially in the last few weeks and he will hope he can cause an upset to reach the third round. If he plays some good tennis then I'd give him a chance but it's a tough ask to beat Berdych in this sort of form. He may have played poorly in the last two or three months but he has certainly put that behind him after reaching the final at Winston Salem last week and having dispatched his opponents in style this week so far. I think Berdych is back to his best and that means he's going to be a contender and I don't see Querrey beating him. Berdych will have too much fire power from the back of the court with a fierce backhand and lethal forehand. Berdych should win in four sets.
Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori will produce a thrilling match on court 17. Both players will fancy winning this and going forward to win a few more matches. Cilic had a great run here a few years ago and will have those memories with him all week and I think he can draw upon that when he gets into tough situations. With Tsonga gone it leaves these players with a chance to reach the quarter final so expect two inspired players. Nishikori is due a good run here and I think he's going to get it. His shot making is better than Cilic's and that's going to be the difference. Nishikori to win in five. Jeremy Chardy and Martin Klizan should be an interesting match. Klizan got a huge win over Tsonga in the last round but is it just another Rosol against Nadal? We all remember how brilliant Rosol was against Nadal but we tend to forget he was crushed in his next match. Klizan however, is a player on the rise and might just be ready to step up to the top thirty, maybe even top twenty. Chardy is equally as inconsistent but he is playing some great tennis lately and also beat Tsonga a few weeks ago as well as beating Murray the week after. He's looked impressive so far this week too and I think he'll beat Klizan in four sets.
Maria Kirilenko should have few problems in beating Andrea Hlavackova out on the Grandstand court after impressing in her first week. She's consistently making the last 16 of Grand Slams and will cause problems for the bigger players too. I like her chances of winning this in two and she then goes on to more than likely face Serena Williams and she might just be able to cause a shock there. She must take care of business today first and I expect her to. Tsvetana Pironkova is a player I really like but it's normally on the grass court she has her success but she's played nicely this week and I think she'll get a win today over Silvia Soler-Espinosa. I also expect Olga Puchkova to be destroyed by Sara Errani. She looks very good and is proving she's not just a clay court player, she should win this in two quick sets.
Young Jack Sock is a promising player and looks to be a certain top twenty player at least. He's had some good results this week but he comes up against a strong opponent in Nicolas Almagro today. Sock has got a very nice game and it will be interesting to see how he approaches Almagro. The Spaniard will want to rally his opponent down from the baseline so Sock will need to stop the rallies going too long. If he manages to shorten the points and mix up his style then he might get success. I'll go Almagro in four but don't be surprised if Sock causes another shock. James Blake's win over Marcel Granollers was a shock in itself but the result was incredible. He destroyed a top player. He is really loving the whole atmosphere of his home Grand Slam and is playing some great tennis. Today I think his run comes to an end. He faces big serving Canadian Milos Raonic and I think Raonic will have too much for Blake. I like the way Raonic played in his last round and it was a huge improvement on his match against Giraldo. This is the type of match Raonic often loses though. He lost to Hewitt in Australia and Querrey at Wimbledon and he should be beating both of those players. I don't see him losing today though, I think he's going to win it in straight sets and go on to meet Andy Murray in the next round.
Now on to the night session and starting with the women's game. There is no doubt Sloane Stephens is going to be a top ten player but the question at the moment is whether she can cause a huge stir at a Grand Slam now. I think she can and I think she's going to beat Ana Ivanovic tonight. She has a fierce forehand and I think she can really move Ivanovic around. For Ana she is on the rise again and I think next year she will be contending Grand Slams again but this year I think she's going to be beaten by Stephens who could go very far. Mardy Fish is going to face a tricky match against Gilles Simon in the second night match. Simon is a very accomplished player but beating Fish at night, in America with that crowd is going to be difficult. Fish is going to be using his serve and volley to try and dictate the pace of the game and I think that's a very effective tactic against Simon. He doesn't want to get drawn into long forehand exchanges because that's where Simon will expose Fish's forehand. I see Fish coming through this one in four tough sets.
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