Two matches will dominate the story of the fourth day of the US Open, as well they should. Both Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt played five-setters, with the Aussie’s instant classic becoming his final match at the US Open.
Who Looked Good:
Roger Federer (defeated Darcis 61 62 61)- It’s time for everyone to finally recognize that Federer might be playing the best tennis in the World right now. Maybe some of the other top players will be able to cool him down when they meet, but his level has been unreal this tournament and we have to recognize that.
John Isner (defeated Youzhny 63 64 64)- This was a great showing from the big American, taking revenge against a player who he has struggled against in the past. His return and baseline games were shockingly competent, something that should bother opponents. If Isner can consistently win points on return, he will be almost impossible to beat. Jiri Vesely is up next.
Donald Young (defeated Bedene 36 64 64 62)- What was so special about Young in this match? For the first time in his career, he seems really invested in winning matches. This is not to say that he didn’t care before; he obviously did. But he is approaching matches at this year’s US Open with an intensity and maturity that we haven’t seen from him before. And with Viktor Troicki up next, his first Slam second week is not out of the question.
Who Looked Bad:
Andy Murray (defeated Mannarino 57 46 61 63 61)- Sure, Mannarino is a solid player with surprising power. For some reason, this matchup seems to bother Murray more than most others. Still, this is a match that Murray shouldn’t need to come back from 2 sets down. This is a match that Murray struggles through and maybe drops one set along the way. He wore the Frenchman down, but it never should have come to that in the first place.
Ivo Karlovic (lost to Vesely 67(3) 63 63 26 67(4))- Karlovic played his normal match and even did well to earn three breaks of the big Vesely serve. Karlovic lost his attention and nerve in both tiebreaks, though, leading to this loss. There’s nothing wrong with losing this match. It’s a problem, though, when you are a huge server whose serve goes away at crucial moments in tiebreaks.
The New York heat- Seriously. We have seen a record 12 retirements in the men’s tournament so far. We have also seen lots of dehydration and cramping. It is hot and humid in New York this week. Some of these hydration problems are probably coming from improper preparation. And some are coming from the fact that the conditions just aren’t healthy for playing tennis.
Match of the Day:
I could write a three-page analysis about this Hewitt/Tomic match and it wouldn’t do it justice. The match and the crowd were incredible. Hewitt came out of the gate slowly and lost the first two sets. When he went down a break early in the third, everyone thought his US Open career had only minutes left.
Hewitt is the ultimate fighter, though, and when his back was against the wall he pushed back with everything he had. It was a fitting end to Hewitt’s US Open career, where he fought back and took both the third and fourth sets. He served for the match in the fifth but had just expended too much energy getting to that point. It was a fitting farewell for a former champion. The ultimate five-set warrior deserved to end his career in a fifth set, which he did in superb fashion.
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