There’s a nice mix of first and second round matches today, and this also presents really good stuff we’ve been looking forward to since the tournament began. Play!
Richard Gasquet v. Rafael Nadal; Arthur Ashe, Late Afternoon:
Gasquet has been gone all summer thanks to a suspension after low doses of cocaine was discovered in a drug test (in perhaps the best excuse we’ve ever seen, he blamed it on kissing a Miami cocktail waitress), but we’ve always loved his game and we wish that he could somehow give a good push here. This will also be our first look at Nadal, bad knees and all, and we’ll get a hint if he’s going to make a serious run in this Open.
Marion Bartoli v. Kim Clijsters; Armstrong, Mid-Afternoon:
Well! This should be a fun rematch. Bartoli–no matter what Martina Navratilova has to say–is a player we love to watch, and Kim Clijsters is now the player who is quickly becoming the popular favorite to give Serena the biggest challenge in this tournament. It’ll be a great rematch from a month ago.
Gael Monfils v. Jeremy Chardy; Grandstand, 11a.m.:
Battle of the Frenchmen! Our own Zack Woolfe will be in the stands, with his French-English dictionary, telling us what the French fans are saying.
Vera Zvonareva v. Anna Chakvetadze; Grandstand, Early Afternoon:
The Serena-slayer Zvonareva will take on the former Open semifinalist Anna Chakvetadze, who hasn’t been the same since an intruder broke into her house. We’re really pushing for Chakvetadze to give a good account of herself; her ranking has fallen in the 70s.
Juan Carlos Ferrero v. Fabrice Santoro; Court 11, Early Afternoon:
It could be Santoro’s last match. We’ll always have the memories.
