U.S. Open Daily: Day Two Preview

August 30, 2011 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Anthony Pastecchi

In 2009, the U.S. Open broke with previous form, inviting the men to lead off the Night Session and the women to close out the day’s play. That tradition continues tonight, Tuesday, Aug. 30, when defending champion Rafael Nadal from Spain takes on Khazikstan’s Andrey Golubev. Nadal will warm up the crowd for the return of Serena Williams. The three-time U.S. Open champion who missed the 2010 Open with a foot injury and sat out the first half of this year with a pulmonary embolism, will take on Serbian Bojana Jovanovski. Serena returned this summer to win the Olympus U.S. Open Series title and break back into the top 30 of the WTA rankings, entering the 2011 U.S. Open seeded 28th, potentially setting herself up to be one of the lowest-seeded champions in U.S. Open history.

Williams is flanked in the women’s draw today by 2010 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion Vania King who will be taking on Greta Arn of Hungary, and five American upstarts, all 21 years of age or younger, including USTA Girls’ 18s champion Lauren Davis taking on German Angelique Kerber, and fast-rising American Sloane Stephens, the three-time junior Grand Slam doubles champion who would break into the WTA top 100 for the first time with a victory today over Hungarian Reka-Luca Jani.

Among the American men, a resurgent James Blake returns to action in his hometown Grand Slam taking on Jesse Huta Galung from The Netherlands, and three of the top collegiate players in the country from last season—Bradley Klahn, Michael Shabaz and Rhyne Williams—take to the court in doubles action.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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