US Open 2010: Day 7 Results

As the tennis action at Flushing Meadows moved into the first weekend, there was a change of scenery at the USTA courts in New York. The weather, which was unbearably hot in the opening days of the US Open 2010, turned windy. With the first few days seeing temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the weekend saw winds of over 25kmph. Playing tennis in either of the conditions was going to be a tough affair, and indeed, the conditions affected and cut short some of the players' US Open dreams. The action now moves to the second week, and let's take a look at who all have managed to make it to the second week of the US Open.

Men's Results

Rafael Nadal, the world number one, had an easy game against Gilles Simon, who failed to make any impact on the 2010 French Open and Wimbledon Champion. 3 sets was all it took for Nadal to send the Frenchman home and progress to the 4th round of the US Open 2010. Nadal will be pleased with his performance, and is looking all set for his first title at the US Open. His way to the final too has been cleared relatively with key players losing out in early rounds. Most likely he will reach the finals, and will face either Federer or Soderling for the title. But let's not give up on the other players too, as they are playing amazing tennis so far in the tournament.

The major upset of the day, and indeed the biggest upset of the US Open 2010 so far, was the shocking loss of the number 4 seed, Andy Murray, to the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. Seeded 25th in the men's draw, Wawrinka needed just 4 sets to send the in-form Murray crashing out of the US Open 2010. Both players were plagued by injuries throughout the match, with Wawrinka needing medical attention twice to Murray's once. Knee and back injuries kept Murray from attacking and he played a more defensive game, that Wawrinka took advantage of. Murray's attempts to win his first title is remaining just a dream, as he keeps floundering at key moments in grand slams. Wawrinka, though he suffered injuries to the leg, and was even off court for a while, came back strongly and took control of the match. Down one set, and 3-5 in the second, Wawrinka fought back solidly to take the second set to a tie break, winning it eventually. He then made short work of Murray in the third and fourth sets, and took the match 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3. Murray woes continue, and he will need to look at many things, fitness one of them, if he eventually wants to be a Grand Slam champion.

Murray's loss means that Rafael Nadal has a clearer path to the finals, though it is kinda premature to say that. Rafa is not as good on this surface, and the rest of the people in his draw are playing some amazing tennis. However, with Berdych out of the way, Llodra, the man who defeated Berdych, out of the way, and now Murray out of the way, the going is surely looking easier that it was when the tournament started.

Other seeds did as expected and moved into the second week of the final Grand Slam of the year with ease.

Women's Results

In the women's event, there were no surprises on day 7, and the expected players made it to the quarterfinals of the US Open 2010. Venus Williams faced a tough fight from Shahar Peer but came through in straight sets, though the match could have gone anyone's way. A tough first set, which went to a tie break, was the deciding factor in the match, and Williams winning the tie break made all the difference. Peer gave Williams a tough fight, and made her work hard for the victory, but was just not able to take key points in both the first and second sets. Williams, after a tough match, will no doubt be relieved, and will move on to the quarterfinals of the US Open. She is trying to win a title here almost 10 years after her last US Open title.

The second seed Kim Clijsters, the defending champion and also the favorite to win the US Open 2010, played another almost flawless match to get rid of former world number 1 Ina Ivanovic in straight sets. Her stellar performance in the third round, where she won 12 games on trot, seemed to continue in the 4th round, and she let Ivanovic win only a measly 3 games in the entire match. This does not go to say that Ivanovic played badly, but only that Clijsters was simply too good. She moves into the quarterfinal looking all set to retain her 2009 title.

The Stosur-Dementieva match still in progress at the time of writing this, with the match evenly split between them, one set all, and 5-5 on serve in the final set. UPDATE: Stosur defeated Dementieva in a last set tie break to seal her place in the last 16 of the US Open 2010

Schedule on Day 8

There are 8 matches for the day in the Men's and Women's singles, as the 4th round reaches the end stages. Just 4 men's singles and 4 women's singles are scheduled for day 8 of the US Open 2010, however, all are high octane matches. Here is who is playing who on the second Monday of the 2010 US Open

Women's Singles

11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova	vs	unseeded Dominika Cibulkova
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki	vs	14th seed Maria Sharapova
7th seed Vera Zvonareva	vs	unseeded Andrea Petkovic
15th seed Yanina Wickmayer	vs	31st seed Kaia Kanepi

Men's Singles

3rd seed Novak Djokovic	vs	19th seed Mardy Fish
2nd seed Roger Federer	vs	13th seed Jurgen Melzer
17th seed Gael Monfils	vs	unseeded Richard Gasquet
5th seed Robin Soderling	vs	21st seed Albert Montanes

Top quality matches coming to you from day 8 of the US Open 2010, don't miss it. The Wozniacki-Sharapova encounter should be the most entertaining in the women's event, while in the men's the Federer-Melzer, and the Djokovic-Fish match should be the ones to watch out for.

That's it for the first week of the US Open 2010. Action now moves to the second week, and will only get better. Stay tuned!