Observer » Donald Young

What to Watch on Day 1

John Koblin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:13:20 -0400

It's the first day of the Open, which means chaos. Lots of matches, all courts full and crowds--everywhere, crowds.

Here's what we're most looking forward to today:

Viktoriya Kutuzova vs. Kim Clijsters; Arthur Ashe, 11am:

The former Open champ returns for the first time in three years! And she might be more than respectable.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs. Iveta Benesova; Court 4, late afternoon:

We have a soft spot for Bethanie, and we can't wait to see what she'll wear this year.

Donald Young vs. no. 14 Tommy Robredo; Court 7, early afternoon:

Young had to qualify his way into the Open and he's got a rough opening match, but Court 7 is one of the back courts that's always obscenely loud. If Young can push Robredo, this place will be rocking.

(28) Sybille Bammer vs. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez; Court 10, late afternoon:

Just because.

Opening Ceremony; Arthur Ashe, 7pm:

Andre Agassi finally gets feted at the Open. Plus: Doug Flutie!

Blake Brought Down to the Wire: Nighttime Session Wrap–up

Zachary Woolfe — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:48:09 -0400

In an all-American first-round matchup under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, 9th-seeded James Blake had to slog through five dramatic sets against the promising 19-year-old Donald Young before finally prevailing, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Blake's serve held strong and his net game remained impressive, though the number of unforced errors from both of these hard-hitting players was high. Young was able to dictate play and move ahead at key intervals, but ultimately Blake was just a bit more consistent, and he moves on to face Steve Karcis in the second round.

In the evening session's first match, Jelena Jankovic (2) beat American Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets.

Gasquet Withdraws

John Koblin — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:19:42 -0400

So much for our match of the day.

Richard Gasquet is withdrawing from the tournament due to a fever, giving untested prospect Donald Young a ticket to the third round.

Two things to say about this:

(1) It's a big break for Young, who now, unbelievably, has a shot at the fourth round. In his next match he'll either take on 60th seed Feliciano Lopez or 39th seed Igor Andreev -- not the stiffest competition. If he gets that far, he'll get Federer.

(2) What a blow for Gasquet. The Frenchman had momentum after a solid run at Wimbledon and a lot of pre-tournament buzz. Federer said on Saturday that he liked the 21-year-old Gasquet's game better than either Novak Djokovic's or Andy Murray's.

Scores Today: No Surprises Yet

Josh Benson — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:21:28 -0400

No surprises so far today. Martina Hingis and Lleyton Hewitt both won easily and Novak Djokovic is cruising.

A young American contender, Sam Querrey, lost easily in straight sets, so he won't join unheralded countrymen Donald Young and John Isner in the second round.

Pay attention to James Blake's match, which is playing out very, very tight early on.

You can track live scores here on the very good (and very fast) Open web site, which we have in our blogroll here to the right.

Matches of the Day, August 28

John Koblin — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:40:32 -0400

The first week of a major tennis tournament is usually judged by who loses.

But in a development that should be of some interest locally, yesterday was a big day for American tennis: John Isner and Donald Young, young hopefuls both playing in their first U.S. Open, managed fairly easy victories.

As for today’s matches to watch:

Novak Djokovic will take the court after being newly introduced to pre-Open celebrity status. It’ll be interesting to see how packed Louis Armstrong gets for his late afternoon match.

A day after the victories by Isner and Young, another young American, Sam Querrey, will play in the always-insane Grand Stand in the early afternoon.

Elsewhere, Nadia Petrova will play on Court 7 mid-afternoon and Croatian prospect Ivo Karlovic will take on doubles expert Arnaud Clement on Court 11 in what should be one of the best contests of the morning.

Courts to Watch Today

John Koblin — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:00:03 -0400

Each morning here at the Observer's U.S. Open blog we're going to tell you what to look out for in the day's action. Today's tip: arrive early!

The heavy-hitters -- Jelena Jankovic, Justine Henin, Roger Federer -- will steal the spotlight at Arthur Ashe today. But you know how these first-round matches go: some of them are over in 40 minutes. If you have a pass that lets you into Arthur Ashe, don't be late.

Expect a mob scene on some of the outer courts as well. American hopeful, 18-year-old Donald Young, will hit his first serve on Court 11 at 11am. In addition to being the possible next-big-thing for American tennis, it might be the only time the New York crowd gets to see him (in other words, it could be a quick exit for Young).

Continuing with the stars-and-stripes theme, later today on Court 11 is the battle of the American women-hopefuls: Vania King v. Meghann Shaughnessy.

You could nest at Court 13 for the day and get unbelievable tennis. Richard Gasquet, Tommy Haas and Elena Dementieva play in back-to-back-to-back matches.

Match of the Day: 11am at Louis Armstrong, Marcos Baghdatis v. Max Mirnyi. Baghdatis should win, but at least you'll get to see some power tennis for the first round. And if you get a good seat for this match, you'll be happy because John Isner, that other American stud, hits Louis Armstrong after this match.

U.S. Open Official Schedule of Play for Monday, Aug. 27