According to the forecast, the heat wave that has gripped the US Open looks to be on the wane tomorrow. Today, however, the on-court temperatures still reached above 100-degrees! Former US Open winners such as Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova withstood the heat getting through their matches relatively smoothly along with former US Open finalists Jelena Jankovic, Caroline Wozniacki, and Novak Djokovic.
With top American Andy Roddick getting ousted the night before, a pair of American men pulled through today. 19th seed Mardy Fish won in straight sets with former top 4 player James Blake winning in four. Taylor Dent wasn't so lucky as he lost to the suddenly in-form 5th seed, Robin Soderling. In the ladies, 18 year old American Beatrice "Tracy" Capra, ranked in the mid-300s, put up a great fight to defeat 19th seed Aravane Rezai to reach the third round. She next faces Sharapova. Can she repeat Melanie Oudin's result from the year before?
Former top 10 players Richard Gasquet and Patty Schnyder turned back the clock as they both handily defeated seeded players, 6th seed Nikolay Davydenko and 22nd seed Maria Jose Martinez respectively. Gasquet's straight set beating of the 6th seed is especially noteworthy signaling a possible comeback for the Frenchman. Other seeds to fall today include 9th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, 26th seed Thomaz Belluci, and 11th seed and last year's quarter-finalist Marin Cilic. Cilic was beaten by Kei Nishikori in five grueling sets lasting more than five hours (third longest match in US Open history) with both players suffering from and getting treatment for the heat.
While the heat will subside in the next few days, rain and high winds will be the next worry for the players as Hurricane Earl threaten the East coast.
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