Ivanovic Struggles, Williams Sisters Move On!

August 26th, 2008 New York City, USA

Day 2 of the US Open kicked off today with the number 1 player in the world, Ana Ivanovic starting on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Recently Ivanovic had to pull out of the Olympics because of a sore thumb which has been bothering her since Wimbledon. No one was sure how the top seed would be playing but after being up in the match a set and a break, it seemed Ivanovic was playing well and was going to soar through. Quickly after however her opponent, Vera Dushevina had other plans. Getting back into the match, the Russian was playing well and forced Ivanovic into a third set. Ivanovic's more steady game helped her overcome a rocky start to the last slam of the season with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

Serena and Venus Williams both were in action today. Serena was up during the day session against Kateryna Bondarenko. Serena came out strong and precise winning the first set 6-1. The second set was a bit more tight, Williams made a little more errors but quickly calmed down and ended the match with a nervous looking rally. Williams won 6-4. Venus came out at night to play against always dangers Samantha Stosur. It was a hard hitting match but Stosur made too many errors and Venus was just too strong. Not able to capitalize on her break in the second set, Stosur quickly faltered and Venus moved on with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Daniela Hantuchova lost her opening round match today. Having been plagued since early spring with a heel problem, Hantuchova just hasn't found her form. Safina who is possibly the most in form player here at the US Open won comfortably in her 1st Round match. Tomorrow Jankovic and Kuznestova will return to play their 2nd Round matches as well as Linsday Davenport who plays at night.

Results:

Arthur Ashe Stadium:

(1)Ana Ivanovic d. Vera Dushevina - 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
(4)Serena Williams d. Kateryna Bondarenko - 6-1, 6-4
(7)Venus Williams d. Samantha Stosur - 6-2, 6-3

Louis Armstrong Stadium:

(6)Dinara Safina d. Kristie Ahn - 6-3, 6-4
Nathalie Dechy vs. (32)Amelie Mauresmo - TBD

Grandstand:

Anna-Lena Groenefeld d. (11)Daniela Hantuchova - 6-4, 6-2
Bethanie Mattek d. Marta Domachowska - 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4

Court 4:

(19)Nadia Petrova d. Olivia Sanchez - 6-2, 6-4

Top 10 Seeds:

1. Ana Ivanovic - Round 2
2. Jelena Jankovic - Round 2
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova - Round 2
4. Serena Williams - Round 2
5. Elena Dementieva - Round 2
6. Dinara Safina - Round 2
7. Venus Williams - Round 2
8. Vera Zvonareva - Round 2
9. Agnieszka Radwanska - Round 2
10. Anna Chakvetadze - Lost Round 1 (Makarova)