US Open day two – Nadal and Wozniacki to hold court
With defending women’s singles champion Kim Clijsters and 2009 men’s singles runner-up Roger Federer winning safely through to the second round on day one, it’s time for the US Open’s two top seeds to take centre stage on day two.
Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki – both chasing their maiden US Open titles – form the double bill on Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight. Here, we check out their matches.
Rafael Nadal vs Teymuraz Gabashvili
There’s only one Grand Slam centre court that Rafael Nadal hasn’t stepped onto on the final day of the tournament, and that’s the one at Flushing Meadows, where a semi-final finish is his best result so far.
This match against the world No. 93 will be the world No. 1’s first step towards rectifying that in 2010, and it’s hard to see it being anything other than a lopsided contest to open his account for the tournament.
Gabashvili does arrive at Flushing Meadows with some form behind him, reaching the quarter-finals in New Haven last week after winning his way through qualifying with victory over former top-10 player Radek Stepanek in the final round.
The Russian can also boast a degree of Grand Slam form in 2010 too, with a third-round victory over world No. 9 Andy Roddick at the French Open chief among his achievements.
At the US Open, the 25-year-old is yet to make it past the second round, but he’s also no stranger to an early upset, having knocked then world No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez out of the tournament in the first round in 2007.
Still, it’s hardly a results sheet that stacks up against Nadal’s. The top seed has this year helped himself to five titles, including at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and was unbeaten on clay during the spring as he wrestled the No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer’s grasp once again.
Sure, the hard courts in New York bring Nadal back to the field a bit but that’s enough to allow the likes of Andy Murray (2008 semi-finals) and last year’s champion Juan Martin del Potro (2009 semi-finals) to take the opportunity to claim victory.
Gabashvili will be out of his depth here, as has proved to be the case in their two previous matches, and Nadal should progress to the round of 64 in straight sets.
Caroline Wozniacki vs Chelsey Gullickson
If the local crowd can get over their disappointment at what shapes up as a quick exit from Flushing Meadows for America’s Gullickson, they should be treated to a fine display of baseline tennis from women’s tennis’ most in-form player.
Runner-up at the US Open last year, Wozniacki enters the year’s final Grand Slam having claimed the title in three of the last four tournaments she’s played.
While the Copenhagen crown was won without needing to face a single top-40 player, Montreal saw Wozniacki sweep four top-20 players aside on her way to the title, including Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva in the final, before she downed world No. 16 Nadia Petrova in the final to hang onto the New Haven crown over the weekend.
Whether or not that packed schedule means the 20-year-old will run out of legs later in this tournament, it’s almost unthinkable to think she’ll hit the wall against this unranked American wildcard playing in her maiden US Open.
Blink and you’ll miss this one as Wozniacki breezes into the second round.
Tags: