Date:27/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/27/stories/2008082756391900.htm

Sport - Tennis

Blake survives stiff first-round challenge

Nadal and Dementieva shake off the Olympic hangover

— PHOTO: AP

DIGGING DEEP: James Blake, who has had a tough time with five-setters in the past, managed to pull this one out, and later said he thought his tour experience paid off.

NEW YORK: Ninth-seeded American James Blake was pushed to five sets by compatriot Donald Young before completing a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory to bring the curtain down on the opening day at the U.S. Open on Monday.

Olympic champions Rafael Nadal and Elena Dementieva too overcome early challenges to go through safely.

Blake looked poised to make quick work of Young, a first-round loser at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, leading two sets to one and up 2-0 in the fourth before the slender left-hander caught fire.

Young battled Blake fiercely to level the set 2-2 in a marathon fourth game, breaking the 28-year-old’s serve on his seventh break point and breaking again in the 10th game to force a fifth set. Blake, twice an Open quarterfinalist, claimed the only service break of the final set in the ninth game, taking a 5-4 lead when the 102-ranked Young sailed a forehand long.

He ended the two-hour, 48-minute slugfest on his second match point, when Young, playing his first career five-setter, netted a backhand.

“Donald really picked up his game and really played great toward end of the match,” said Blake, who committed 50 unforced errors in the match trying to find angles out of reach of the fast-footed teenager.

Young, the third youngest player in the men’s draw, took positives from the first-round duel against his fellow African American. “It was great,” said Young, who was playing on Arthur Ashe Stadium court for the first time. “I really enjoyed it.

“Obviously you’re a little disappointed you lost, but look who you’re playing.”

“It came down to a couple of points here and there. I think maybe my experience helped a little bit,” added Blake.

Tired Nadal

Playing for the first time as the top-ranked player on the ATP tour, Nadal swatted his very first shot wide against No. 136 Bjorn Phau. The Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion was two points from dropping the first set when he surged and, despite needing to bandage a nasty blister, won 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(4).

“I didn’t play with normal intensity,” Nadal said. “Probably I’m a little bit tired.”

Asked whether he was more fatigued mentally, physically or emotionally from Beijing, he said: “I think it is a little bit of everything.”

Nadal got a stiffer test from the German qualifier than many anticipated, and shook his head near the end of a match that lasted nearly 3 hours.

Spirited resistance

Nadal seems like the natural favourite, yet has never gone beyond the quarterfinals in five previous tries at Flushing Meadows. The 22-year-old Spaniard took a while to find his rhythm against Phau, whose spirited play made him a crowd favourite.

Fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, often quiet during early daytime sessions, cheered when Phau dived for a shot, rolled over on his back and chased a return.

No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over American CoCo Vandeweghe.

Li Na, who beat Venus Williams in Beijing, beat No. 24 Shahar Peer of Israel 2-6, 6-0, 6-1. The No. 23-seeded Davenport defeated Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada, 6-4, 6-2 and No. 3 Kuznetsova beat Zhang Shuai of China 6-4, 6-2. — AP

THE RESULTS

(Prefix denotes seeding)

First round: Men: 32-Gael Monfils (Fra) bt Pablo Cuevas (Uru) 6-4, 6-4, 6-1; Michael Berrer (Ger) bt Jose Acasuso (Arg) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2; 4-David Ferrer (Esp) bt Martin Vassallo Arguello (Arg) 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-2; Evgeny Korolev (Rus) bt Robin Soderling (Swe) 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(9); Roko Karanusic (Cro) bt Ryan Sweeting (USA) 7-5, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2; 16-Gilles Simon (Fra) bt Marcel Granollers (Esp) 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2; 7-David Nalbandian (Arg) bt Marcos Daniel (Bra) 6-1, 6-2, 6-4; Kei Nishikori (Jpn) bt 29-Juan Monaco (Arg) 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; 10-Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui) bt Simone Bolelli (Ita) 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-3; Wayne Odesnik (USA) bt Fabio Fognini (Ita) 2-6, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; 6-Andy Murray (Gbr) bt Sergio Roitman (Arg) 6-3, 6-4, 6-0; Andrey Golubev (Kaz) bt Brendan Evans (USA) 6-4, 6-3, 6-2; Andreas Beck (Ger) bt John Isner (USA) 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(3); Jiri Vanek (Cze) bt Stephane Bohli (Sui) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5; 1-Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt Bjorn Phau (Ger) 7-6(4), 6-3, 7-6(4); Viktor Troicki (Srb) bt Carsten Ball (Aus) 7-6(3), 6-0, 6-1; 25-Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger) bt Luis Horna (Per) 6-2, 6-3, 6-2; Ryler De Heart (USA) bt Olivier Rochus (Bel) 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; Jurgen Melzer (Aut) bt 27-Feliciano Lopez (Esp) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4; 17-Juan Martin Del Potro (Arg) bt Guillermo Canas (Arg) 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-4, 6-1; 9-James Blake (USA) bt Donald Young (USA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Women: 5-Elena Dementieva (Rus) bt Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzb) 6-4, 7-5; Pauline Parmentier (Fra) bt Marina Erakovic (Nzl) 6-3, 7-6(2); 15-Patty Schnyder (Sui) bt Anastasia Pivovarova (Rus) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) bt Vania King (USA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; Aravane Rezai (Fra) bt Asia Muhammad (USA) 6-2, 6-4; Yvonne Meusburger (Aut) bt Lourdes Dominguez Lino (Esp) 6-1, 6-2; 12-Marion Bartoli (Fra) bt Galina Voskoboeva (Rus) 6-2, 6-3; 23-Lindsay Davenport (USA) bt Aleksandra Wozniak (Can) 6-4, 6-2; 3-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt Shuai Zhang (Chn) 6-4, 6-2; Li Na (Chn) bt 24-Shahar Peer (Isr) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1; 25-Francesca Schiavone (Ita) bt Nuria Llagostera Vives (Esp) 7-5, 7-5; 28-Katarina Srebotnik (Slo) bt Yanina Wickmayer (Bel) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3; 14-Victoria Azarenka (Blr) bt Klara Zakopalova (Cze) 6-2, 6-1; 29-Sybille Bammer (Aut) bt Aiko Nakamura (Jpn) 6-4, 6-2; Ekaterina Bychkova (Rus) bt Anastasia Rodionova (Rus) 6-1, 6-3; Sofia Arvidsson (Swe) bt Zi Yan (Chn) 6-2, 6-4; Virginia Ruano Pascal (Esp) bt Petra Kvitova (Cze) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2; Maria Elena Camerin (Ita) bt Emilie Loit (Fra) 6-0, 6-2; 21-Caroline Wozniacki (Den) bt Ahsha Rolle (USA) 6-2, 6-1; Ekaterina Makarova (Rus) bt 10-Anna Chakvetadze (Rus) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3; Magdalena Rybarikova (Svk) bt Gisela Dulko (Arg) 6-4, 6-0.

Tamira Paszek (Aut) bt 22-Maria Kirilenko (Rus) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; 8-Vera Zvonareva (Rus) bt Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Cze) 6-4, 6-3; Tatiana Perebiynis (Ukr) bt Mariya Koryttseva (Ukr) 6-1, 6-4; 26-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Esp) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (Bul) 6-4, 7-5; Jie Zheng (Chn) bt Shenay Perry (USA) 6-2, 6-3; 2-Jelena Jankovic (Srb) bt Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 6-3, 6-1.