Federer, Djokovic and Soderling Dominate

US Open 2010
By Hiland Doolittle, September 5th, 2010
Roger Federer at US Open

Roger Federer at US Open

The weather provided plenty of reasons to want to be somewhere else on Saturday rather than in New York, but for the top seeds, the Big Apple was the only place to be. Second seeded but bookmaker favorite, Roger federer notched his fifth consecutive win over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3 6-3.

In the one hour thirty-nine minute match, Federer converted four of his six break opportunities and notched his 54th U. S. Open triumph. He tossed 13 aces at the experienced Mathieu. After claiming the final in Cincinnati, Federer has a 42-10 record this season and can hardly be overlooked in any Grand Slam.

Hard playing third seed, Novak Djokovic, not only had to outplay crowd favorite James Blake but he had to overcome his skeptics, of which there are many.

Djokovic blew through the first set at 6-1 and then held off a Blake rally winning the second in a 7-6 (4) tiebreaker before capturing one break and holding on for the 6-3 final. The Serb seems focused and confidant as he approaches every opponent.

Robin Soderling

Robin Soderling

Sweden’s top player, Robin Soderling, was in top form on Saturday registering a surprisingly efficient 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 shellacking of Theo de Bakker of the Netherlands. Soderling struck 30 outright winners on the one hour 30 minute win.

Mardy Fish may be seeded 19th at the Open, but he is the player nobody wants to play right now. The svelte Fish is playing with loads of confidence, is covering more court than ever and is serving with awesome efficiency. Fish needed all those attributes to put away determined Frenchman Arnaud Clement 4-6, 6-3,6-4, 1-6, 6-3. It was Mardy’s first win over Clement in seven years. Fish and Djokovic will meet in a tough round of sixteen bout.

Austrian Jurgen Melzer, the 13th seed, downed Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 6-3, 6-1. Melzer was unbothered by the gusts while Ferrer seemed to be wrestling with his ball toss and his backhand throughout the match.

Janko Tipsarevic, who burst on the scene with a solid victory over popular Andy Roddick, lost a gut-wrenching match to another Frenchman Gael Monfils, 7-6(4), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4. Monfils continues to awe the fans with his daring athletic play.

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