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Fifth-Seeded Tsonga Is Upset in Second Round Fifth-Seeded Tsonga Is Upset in Second Round
(about 1 hour later)
After several days without bracket-rattling upsets, the United States Open finally got complicated on Thursday.After several days without bracket-rattling upsets, the United States Open finally got complicated on Thursday.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, seeded fifth and always seeming to threaten to break through at a major, could not get past Martin Klizan of Slovakia in his second-round match and fell in the biggest upset on the men’s side so far, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, seeded fifth and always seeming to threaten to break through at a major, could not get past Martin Klizan of Slovakia in his second-round match and fell in the biggest upset on the men’s side so far, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3. It seemed like Tsonga would not be the only high-profile victim of the day when the No. 2 women’s seed Agniezska Radwanska was down a set and a break, but she rallied to beat Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. And American Mardy Fish fell two sets down to Nikolay Davydenko before pulling out his match in five sets.
Tsonga never looked comfortable in this match, except for in the second set when he seemed motivated by losing the first. But he could not maintain any edge over Klizan, who has good power but has had most of his success so far on clay courts. But Tsonga never looked comfortable against Klizan and seemed mystified by himself. He dominated, the second set when he seemed motivated by losing the first, but he could not maintain any edge over Klizan, who seemed to simply wait for the next flurry of errors from Tsonga.
“Today I was not in a good shape,” Tsonga said. “I didn’t play, you know, good tennis. It seemed like I couldn’t hit the ball enough hard, you know, to put my opponent out of position. I don’t really know why it was like this today, but sometimes it happens with me.”
Klizan, 23, has good power but has had most of his success so far on clay courts. He lost in the second round in the other two majors he played in this year, the French Open and Wimbledon. He did take a set from John Isner in the hard-court tournament Isner won last week in Winston-Salem, N.C.
But that hardly served as a predictor that he would oust Tsonga here.
“For me, I mean, I had no pressure,” Klizan said. “If I lose, then I lose. I lose to good player. But I won and I’m very happy. It means for me more that I beat finally a guy from the Top 10.”
Klizan, who is ranked 50th, played steadily as Tsonga’s game went all over the map: beautiful shots alternating with careless errors hit into the net. Once things started going downhill for Tsonga in the third set, he could not find a way to turn it around and looked lethargic in the fourth, losing his first two service games to dig his hole even deeper.Klizan, who is ranked 50th, played steadily as Tsonga’s game went all over the map: beautiful shots alternating with careless errors hit into the net. Once things started going downhill for Tsonga in the third set, he could not find a way to turn it around and looked lethargic in the fourth, losing his first two service games to dig his hole even deeper.
That seemed to crack open that quarter of the draw for third-seeded Andy Murray, who faced no trouble in his first two matches.That seemed to crack open that quarter of the draw for third-seeded Andy Murray, who faced no trouble in his first two matches.
Tsonga’s struggles transfixed the crowd at Armstrong Stadium while Mardy Fish was battling at Ashe Stadium in his second-round match. Last year Fish was among the real American threats here, but this year his season has been marred by health issues that led to his having surgery to correct a heart condition in April. Tsonga’s struggles transfixed the crowd at Armstrong Stadium while Fish was battling at Ashe Stadium in his second-round match. Last year Fish was among the real American threats here, but this year his season has been marred by health issues that led to his having surgery to correct a heart condition in April.
Fish, seeded 23rd, did not appear comfortable early in his match against Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and lost the first two sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4) before rallying to win next two, 6-2, 6-1, to force a fifth. Fish, seeded 23rd, did not appear comfortable early against Davydenko and lost the first two sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4) before rallying to win next three, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, to advance. The comeback was the 10th from two sets down so far in this Open.
Fish said nerves had a lot to do with his stumbling start and he felt flat for much of the first two sets. The turnaround, he said, was born out of stubbornness.
“This is the culmination of a long summer,” Fish said. “Obviously this is the biggest tournament of the year. You just don’t want to go home yet. That’s what it comes down to.”
Jack Sock, the 19-year-old up-and-coming American, has not yet gotten the message that this tournament is supposed to be hard. He powered his way through Flavio Cipolla of Italy, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, unleashing his huge forehand over and over to dominate the match.Jack Sock, the 19-year-old up-and-coming American, has not yet gotten the message that this tournament is supposed to be hard. He powered his way through Flavio Cipolla of Italy, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, unleashing his huge forehand over and over to dominate the match.
He earned a date with Nicolas Almagro of Spain, seeded No. 11, in the next round. Almagro has done nothing easily so far in this tournament and needed five sets to outlast Philipp Petzschner of Germany, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, after a similar struggle in his first-round match. His matchup with Sock will pit grittiness and experience against power and youthful exuberance which tournament officials may decide to make a feature match in Ashe Stadium. He earned a date with Nicolas Almagro of Spain, seeded No. 11, in the next round. Almagro has done nothing easily so far in this tournament and needed five sets to outlast Philipp Petzschner of Germany, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, after a similar struggle in his first-round match. His matchup with Sock will pit grittiness and experience against power and youthful exuberance which Sock has in spades. He punctuated his victory with a fist-pumping celebration that echoed further than the confines of Court 17.
The women’s matches have been a different story from the men’s. Ana Ivanovic, a former No. 1 seeded 12th, opened up the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. Maria Kirilenko of Russia, the 14th seed, needed only one more game to power past Greta Arn of Hungary, 6-3, 6-2. And Jelena Jankovic, another former No. 1 from Serbia who has fallen all the way to 30th, routed Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino of Spain, 6-4, 6-2. “It was just a lot of excitement,” Sock said. “To be able to play in the third round of the Open and having such a good week so far, I’m looking forward to playing Almagro.”
The women’s matches have been a different story from the men’s. The only top player who has faced much adversity is Radwanska, whose slow start eventually turned around into a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory. Ana Ivanovic, a former No. 1 seeded 12th, opened up the action on Ashe Stadium with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. Maria Kirilenko of Russia, the 14th seed, needed only one more game to power past Greta Arn of Hungary, 6-3, 6-2. Jelena Jankovic, another former No. 1 from Serbia who has fallen all the way to 30th, routed Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino of Spain, 6-4, 6-2.