Latest report says that top seed Novak Djokovic survived a first-set wobble to crash into the US Open 3rd round on Friday. On the other hand, Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki stumbled down again when dismissed from her London grasscourt.
Actually, World number 1 Djokovic won 12 of the last 14 games to hammer Benjamin Becker of Germany by 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-2 following saving two set points during the 10th game of the opening set. The 2011 champion, who is struggling to reach the New York final for a 4th successive year, sent down 13 aces and 40 winners with 18 of his 26 total unforced errors which came in that uncomfortable first set against the world no. 87, who is part of US Open.
Djokovic, who next plays either Finland's Jarkko Nieminen or Portugal's Joao Sousa commented that Becker is a quality player who should have won the first set. He was fortunate to emerge out of it, but after that he felt more comfortable on the court.
On the other side, Russian 24th seed Makarova clinched a 6-4, 7-5 victory over German 16th seed Lisicki. Lisicki had received applauses during Wimbledon last month when she squashed Serena Williams on the way to her final loss against Marion Bartoli. This carried her record to 19-5 on the grass of the All England Club, but currently she is positioned at a 18-16 at the three other Slams, where she never reached beyond the 4th round.
The 25-year-old left-hander Makarova, who was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open this year, hauled eight career wins over a top-16 seed at a Slam.
Remarkably, defending champions Andy Murray and Serena Williams is supposed to take centre stage on Friday.
Murray, who was waiting until Wednesday night to haul his title defense underway, handles Leonardo Mayer, who is the Argentine world no. 81, to secure a place in the last 32. In fact, the third-seeded Scot has played in the finals of the last four Grand Slam tournaments in which he has contended, a feat which involved a first Wimbledon title last month.
Four-time champion as well as top seed Williams has dropped four games in her opening two matches and will encounter the world number 78 aggressive Russian-born Kazkhastan player Yaroslava Shvedova, for a last-16 spot. Williams, who has chased a 17th Grand Slam title, has won both their earlier meetings at Toronto in 2009 and Wimbledon last year. Moreover, Shvedova has twice been a women's doubles champion at the US Open, along with Vania King to victory in 2010 and 2011.
Two former men's champions will clash for a place in the 3rd round on Friday when Australia's 2001 winner Lleyton Hewitt encounters with the sixth seed Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro, who claimed the 2009 title.
In another early men's action, 12th seeded Tommy Haas, who is the oldest man in the draw at 35 and a three-time quarter-finalist, trounced Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan by 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) on Friday. The 35-year-old German will lock horns with Russian 21st seed Mikhail Youzhny, who is the two-time semifinalist and sent off Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine by 7-5, 6-1, 6-3, to reach a fourth-round place.
