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Top-Seeded Azarenka Rolls Into Third Round Baker Wins First Open Match in 7 Years
(35 minutes later)
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus continued the trend of top-seeded players having little trouble in early matches at the United States Open, storming through her match Wednesday afternoon against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in the first action of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It gave Azarenka the distinction of being through to the third round before a good chunk of the men’s draw had even played the first. A year ago, Brian Baker’s comeback trail was still winding through the outer regions of professional tennis. His ranking was in the 500s, his memories of playing in the United States Open replaced by memories of five surgeries. His was a new existence, and the minor tournaments he played in made a return to the big stage unlikely.
Azarenka, ranked No. 1, needed all of 65 minutes for her 6-2, 6-2 victory, which finished before most people had settled in comfortably. She happily collected the easy victory, got a little more used to the wind that buffet the stadium court, knowing her hard work is still ahead. As the top seed for the first time, she knows this year will be different for her. Somewhere in all the pain and frustration, Baker summoned the stuff of a remarkable turnaround. Since January, he has lifted his ranking to 70 from 458, earning his way into the Open main draw, which is why he was so nervous taking the court Wednesday. He has not played here since 2005, an absence even deeper than it was long.
He replaced nerves with joy after a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic, an advance to the second round that seemed like a dream as recently as last year.
“It means everything,” Baker said. “Everybody knows I’ve gone through a hard time. I was probably a little more nervous today than I’d like to have been. But seven years is a long time.”
Baker, 27, was given the small stage of Court 11 to start his journey here. He got more good news after his victory when he discovered his next opponent, eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, needed five sets to win his first-round match against Guillaume Rufin of France.
Still, Baker has no illusions that his journey will suddenly be easy.
“I haven’t really played him,” Baker said. “I think I played him in junior Wimbledon when I was 15. He doesn’t have to win in straight sets. He can win in five sets because he’s in great shape. When I get opportunities I’m going to have to be aggressive and step up. I’m going to have to serve better than I did today.”
Baker advanced despite a 61 percentage mark on first serves. But all of that was mere details when he thought about what it meant just to be here.
“It’s just an exciting time,” he said. “I’m excited just to be moving on.”
Earlier in the day, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus continued the trend of top-seeded players having little trouble in early matches, storming through her match against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in the first action of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It gave Azarenka the distinction of being through to the third round before a good chunk of the men’s draw had even played the first.
Azarenka, ranked No. 1, needed all of 65 minutes for her 6-2, 6-2 victory, which finished before most people had settled in comfortably. She happily collected the easy victory, got a little more used to the wind that buffeted the stadium court, knowing her hard work is still ahead. As the top seed for the first time, she knows this year will be different for her.
“The expectations are higher for sure,” she said. “There is a lot more attention. People expect you to play better.“The expectations are higher for sure,” she said. “There is a lot more attention. People expect you to play better.
“For me, I always take it match by match, no matter where it is, what my ranking is. I have been doing it for pretty much my whole career. I try to stay humble and focused.”“For me, I always take it match by match, no matter where it is, what my ranking is. I have been doing it for pretty much my whole career. I try to stay humble and focused.”
The stadium crowd was ushered into its lunch break quickly because the second featured match — John Isner of the United States, the big-serving ninth seed, against Xavier Malisse of Belgium — was not scheduled to begin until at least 1 p.m. No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain, not known for short matches, got through his first-round match relatively quickly with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, the fifth seed, enjoyed an easy victory over Alize Cornet of France, 6-4, 6-3. Nadia Petrova of Russia, the 19th seed, got into the quick-work trend, winning her second-round match over Simona Halep of Romania, 6-1, 6-1, in 57 minutes.
No. 4 David Ferrer of Spain, not known for short matches, got through his first-round match relatively quickly with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Kevin Anderson of South Africa. Nadia Petrova of Russia, the 19th seed, got into the quick-work trend, winning her second-round match over Simona Halep of Romania, 6-1, 6-1, in 57 minutes. Some of the early men’s matches were stretching long, however, including Tipsarevic’s. Another Serb, No. 29 Viktor Troicki, lost in a four-set duel with Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Some of the early men’s matches were stretching long, however. No. 8 seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia lost the first two sets, each by 6-4, before fighting back against the wild card Guillaume Rufin of France to force a fifth set. Another Serb, No. 29 Viktor Troicki, lost in a four-set duel with Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.