US Open Week 1: Big Names Fall, Robson Shines

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Flushing Meadows, NY (September 1, 2012)-The first week of the US Open for the ladies was filled with some unexpected upsets and an end to the career of one of the greatest players of the last decade. Kim Clijsters had already declared months ago that this would be her last tournament though for most fans the end of her career came much too soon thanks to a second round loss.

Clijsters had a fairly easy first round match against the precocious youngster Victoria Duval who earned her US Open wild-card entry by way of winning the USTA Girls 18's national singles championship. Clijsters won that match fairly handily 6-3, 6-1, but keep this kid in your rearview mirror. Only 16 years old but Duval has the personality for the big stage and a game that is being cultivated by the USTA training center in Boca Raton, FL. 

Clijsters second round was probably not the ending that she had envisioned when she announced her retirement last spring. She faced Laura Robson the British 18 year old who is best known for her silver medal this past summer in mixed doubles with Andy Murray. Robson however brought an end to Clijsters singles career when the lefty defeated the legendary Belgium 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

Robson wasn't done knocking out top players as she took out the 9th seed Li Na in three sets to punch her ticket into the fourth round. The Australian born Robson moves on to the second week thanks to a score of 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 against the former French Open champion. 

Robson had a stellar junior career, claiming the Wimbledon Junior Girls Championship at age 14 and is currently the youngest in the top 100 on the WTA with a ranking of 88, though that number is sure to climb after the US Open. Robson has never made it further than the second round of a grand slam but has not seemed rattled thus far by the bright lights of NY.

Robson will have her work cut out for her in the fourth round as she will face 7th seed Sam Stosur who has yet to be challenged to a third set so far as the defending champion. 

Venus Williams coming off of her third gold medal in doubles just a few weeks ago has been playing some of her best tennis of the year. She reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, one of the tournaments leading up to NY, which bumped her world ranking back into the top 50. 

Williams cruised through her first round match-up against Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-1. She then had the unfortunate luck to play Angelique Kerber in the second round. The German seeded 6th easily won the first set 6-2 but then Williams fought back to win a gutsy second set 7-5. She had an opportunity to win the third when she was up 4-2, but ultimately Kerber prevailed to win 7-5. 

One of the biggest surprises earlier in the week was former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki losing in the first round to Irina-Camelia Begu 2-6, 2-6. Wozniacki pulled out midway through the New Haven Open the week prior to the start of the US Open due to a knee injury. It appears that she is still not at full strength. The loss to Begu will knock Wozniacki out of the top ten and be another footnote on a rather dismal 2012 for the young Danish player. 

Serena Williams is coming off a brilliant summer with a win at Wimbledon, Stanford and then gold in both singles and doubles at the London Olympics. Though ranked 4th in the world no one has played better the last few months and Williams is clearly the favorite to win her fourth US Open title. 

Her first round match-up against Coco Vandeweghe was a flashback to just a few weeks ago when Williams beat Vandeweghe in the Stanford final. It was an easy 6-1, 6-1 for Williams who also easily dismissed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the second round 6-2, 6-4. 

The third round brought Ekaterina Makarova who beat Williams earlier in the year at the Australian Open in the fourth round. Williams looked to extract some revenge on her Russian opponent and did so with a 6-4, 6-0 win. The first set played much tighter than the second and Makarova looked initially to be giving Williams a bit of a challenge. That challenge was quickly squashed as Williams upped her game to close out the match easily. 

Though there is a lot of tennis still to be played Williams looks sharp and has yet to be pushed to a third set. Given her rocky history the past few years in NY, a US Open victory would probably be the perfect cap to her year. Though if next week is anything like the first, that trophy is still very much up for grabs.

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