Women's US Open - Aza and Rad out, JJ hangs in

The 2nd round of the Women's US Open came to a close on Thursday with both Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska exiting the competition. It was Azarenka who departed in the most dramatic of circumstances as she collapsed on court against Gisela Dulko at 5-1 down after evidently struggling throughout the whole first set. It was later revealed that Azarenka was suffering from mild concussion after a fall in the gym prior to the match. This was such a disappointment because things were looking good for Azarenka and she was definitely a contender for her first grand slam title. However she will have to wait till 2011 to have another crack at a grand slam. Agnieszka Radwanska, the number 9 seed was also involved in a shock loss as she went down 2-6 6-1 6-4 to China's Shaui Peng. Once again Radwanska has failed to bring her best tennis to a grand slam and it remains to be seen whether she will ever better her QF appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Two other seeds to fall in the 2nd round were Aravane Rezai and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Rezai was extremely ineffective against the American wildcard Beatrice Capra who pulled off a huge shock coming through 7-5 2-6 6-3 meanwhile Patty Schnyder defeated MJMS in straight sets however in only her third game back since injury, this was not a major upset for MJMS.

The remaining seeds in the draw all came through and progressed into the 3rd round. Caroline Wozniacki crushed Kai-Chen Chang, 6-0 6-0 and both Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova progressed with 6-1 6-2 victories. Svetlana Kuznetsova was impressive as she used her all-court game to defeat a talented Anastasija Sevastova, 6-2 6-3. Francesca Schiavone blitzed her way into the 3rd round for the loss of just 4 games as she passed Maria Camerin and Elena Dementieva also progressed in straight sets against Sybille Bammer, 6-3 6-4. Vera Zvonareva and Venus Williams both had tougher matches but progressed in straight sets; Vera overcame the dangerous yet error flowing Sabine Lisicki 6-1 7-6 in a match where breaks were more common than service holds. Venus had to overcome an impressive challenge from Rebecca Marino coming through 7-6 6-2 showing her best tennis in a superb tiebreak. Flavia Pennetta and Yanina Wickmayer also sailed through against tricky opponents; Pennetta beat Szavay 6-1 6-4 and Wickmayer ousted Goerges 6-4 7-5. The highest seed to have a 2nd round struggle was Jelena Jankovic who fought yet again in 3 sets to defeat Mirjana Lucic, 6-4 3-6 6-2. It was a poor match laden with errors but Jelena came through and she will now have to improve her game considerably if she is to progress any further in the competition.

Men's US Open - Berydch and Baghdatis crash out

The big upset in the 1st round of the men's draw saw the Wimbledon champion, Tomas Berdych knocked out in straight sets on by Michael Llodra. Berdych was outplayed by Llodra who served and volleyed his way to victory and will be someone to look out for in the draw as he has looked sharp since a run to the title at Eastbourne in June. Also falling in the 1st round was Marcos Baghdatis who was beaten in a five set thriller by Arnaud Clement. This came as quite a surprise because Baghdatis has produced some excellent performances during the summer including a win over Nadal in Cincinnati. However his tendency to lose against lesser known players and not raise his game remains a problem when competing at a GS. Ernest Gulbis was also knocked out as he was beaten in straight sets by Jeremy Chardy after it appeared the heat was too much for Ernests.

Most of the top seeds prevailed with Federer, Nadal, Murray, Roddick and Davydenko all coming through in straight sets. However the number 3 seed, Novak Djokovic had to battle hard to reach the 2nd round after coming from 2 sets to 1 down to beat an inspired Victor Troicki. Troicki looked set for a superb win as he dominated proceedings early on in the 4th set however Djokovic dug deep in the blistering heat and pulled off an excellent win in the end. David Nalbandian and Mardy Fish, both form players over the Summer had to come through in 5 sets. It remains to be seen whether these two can produce the same results when playing best of 5 set matches at a grand slam. Fernando Verdasco also came through in 5 sets against Fognini who defeated him in the first round of Wimbledon however this time round Verdasco was too strong.

Women's US Open - Na Li falls, JJ and Sam survive

Na Li was the highest seed to fall in the womens draw as the first round of the US Open was completed on Monday night. Li, the number 8 seed looked to be heading to a comfortable victory when she took the first set against Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2. However her game capitulated as Bondarenko (pictured right) grew in confidence and starting going for her shots before coming away with an impressive 2-6 6-4 6-2 victory. Several other seeds suffered scares with Jelena Jankovic having the most trouble in her 1st round match with the talented Simona Halep. Jankovic was 2 points from defeat when Halep served for the match however a scrappy Jankovic managed to battle through and take the match. Sam Stosur also looked to be heading for defeat after losing the first set to Elena Vesnina however like Jankovic, Stosur managed to pull through playing some solid tennis in the final set to win 3-6 7-6 6-1. Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Victoria Azarenka all lost sets to impressive opponents however all pulled through. Sharapova came through 4-6 6-3 6-1 against Jarmilla Groth who was superb in the first set with her fast paced attacking tennis and hitting the ball so early often catching Sharapova short on her movement. However Groth failed to maintain her form and demonstrated her main weakness in her mentality with errors at crucial points in the match. Azarenka was strolling to what looked like a comfortable victory before the all chasing Monica Niculescu grabbed the second set as she defended superbly against the Belarusian, who started to make many errors. However Azarenka came through well in the 3rd set reducing her error count, staying focussed and mixing her game up more against the tricky Niculescu. The likes of Wozniacki, V Williams, Clijsters, Zvonareva, Radwanska, Wickmayer, Bartoli and Schiavone all managed to come through in straight sets to make it into the second round of the final major.