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| Unseeded Robson Knocks Off Another Seed to Reach Fourth Round | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| As the first sweltering weather descended on the United States Open on Friday, the tournament’s young players found out how well they could stand the real and metaphorical heat. | As the first sweltering weather descended on the United States Open on Friday, the tournament’s young players found out how well they could stand the real and metaphorical heat. |
| As it turned out, only one could. Laura Robson, the 18-year-old from Britain who got attention by ending Kim Clijsters’s singles career in the second round, powered her way past ninth-seeded Li Na of China, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Robson’s go-for-broke style wore down Li and earned her a spot in the fourth round. | As it turned out, only one could. Laura Robson, the 18-year-old from Britain who got attention by ending Kim Clijsters’s singles career in the second round, powered her way past ninth-seeded Li Na of China, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Robson’s go-for-broke style wore down Li and earned her a spot in the fourth round. |
| “My game is based on being aggressive, and if I don’t play that way, then I probably wouldn’t be doing very well,” Robson said. “I had to keep going for it.” | “My game is based on being aggressive, and if I don’t play that way, then I probably wouldn’t be doing very well,” Robson said. “I had to keep going for it.” |
| The young American Ryan Harrison took the same approach to his second-round match against No. 7 Juan Martín del Potro, but with vastly different results. Harrison, 20, tried pounding his way through, but even when Harrison was on, del Potro was able to handle his pace. Harrison threw in enough errors to make del Potro’s 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory seem all but inevitable. | The young American Ryan Harrison took the same approach to his second-round match against No. 7 Juan Martín del Potro, but with vastly different results. Harrison, 20, tried pounding his way through, but even when Harrison was on, del Potro was able to handle his pace. Harrison threw in enough errors to make del Potro’s 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory seem all but inevitable. |
| “He’s a powerful guy. He serves big and plays good offense,” Harrison said. “Any time the ball is up, you’re usually running or watching a winner go by you. So he played about as well as I expected him to, which is very good tennis. I had to play my best tennis to win, and I didn’t.” | |
| Harrison, though, had a lot of company in the fallen challengers pile. Mallory Burdette, the N.C.A.A. runner-up from Stanford, never got a foothold in her match against No. 3 Maria Sharapova and lost, 6-1, 6-1. | Harrison, though, had a lot of company in the fallen challengers pile. Mallory Burdette, the N.C.A.A. runner-up from Stanford, never got a foothold in her match against No. 3 Maria Sharapova and lost, 6-1, 6-1. |
| Other matches with little drama included No. 2 Novak Djokovic’s 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil, No. 4 David Ferrer’s 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (12) victory over Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands, and fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova’s 6-4, 6-4 win over Pauline Parmentier. | Other matches with little drama included No. 2 Novak Djokovic’s 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil, No. 4 David Ferrer’s 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (12) victory over Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands, and fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova’s 6-4, 6-4 win over Pauline Parmentier. |
| Varvara Lepchenko, playing her first Open as an American after gaining citizenship last year, tried to throw a scare into the defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia, the No. 9 seed. She stretched Stosur to a first-set tiebreaker, but Lepchenko sprayed several errors long in the tiebreaker, and Stosur rolled from there. | Varvara Lepchenko, playing her first Open as an American after gaining citizenship last year, tried to throw a scare into the defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia, the No. 9 seed. She stretched Stosur to a first-set tiebreaker, but Lepchenko sprayed several errors long in the tiebreaker, and Stosur rolled from there. |
| “It was tricky out there during the first set, and when it’s tight, you know, it’s hard to really kick-start something,” Stosur said. “I think once I got that first set, then I maybe relaxed a little bit.” | “It was tricky out there during the first set, and when it’s tight, you know, it’s hard to really kick-start something,” Stosur said. “I think once I got that first set, then I maybe relaxed a little bit.” |
| Stosur will face Robson in the fourth round and understands that she will face a challenger with a suitcase full of confidence. | Stosur will face Robson in the fourth round and understands that she will face a challenger with a suitcase full of confidence. |
| “She’s had two of probably the best wins of her career, and she’s starting to maybe live up to some of that potential that people have talked about from when she won junior Wimbledon when she was 14,” Stosur said. “You’ve got to be aware that she’s going to come out swinging and have that confidence behind her.” | “She’s had two of probably the best wins of her career, and she’s starting to maybe live up to some of that potential that people have talked about from when she won junior Wimbledon when she was 14,” Stosur said. “You’ve got to be aware that she’s going to come out swinging and have that confidence behind her.” |
| Adding to that confidence, Robson got proof she is now a trending topic in Britain: the soccer star Wayne Rooney congratulated her in a Twitter message, but called her Laura Robinson. | Adding to that confidence, Robson got proof she is now a trending topic in Britain: the soccer star Wayne Rooney congratulated her in a Twitter message, but called her Laura Robinson. |
| “It’s great that he watched, even though he got my name wrong,” Robson said. | “It’s great that he watched, even though he got my name wrong,” Robson said. |
| Robson’s advance was not the only surprise of the afternoon action. The American Steve Johnson, the two-time defending N.C.A.A. singles champion at Southern California, has made the most of his wild card, advancing to the third round with a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. | Robson’s advance was not the only surprise of the afternoon action. The American Steve Johnson, the two-time defending N.C.A.A. singles champion at Southern California, has made the most of his wild card, advancing to the third round with a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. |
| Johnson generally sits behind Harrison in the pecking order of next American stars, but he has now lasted longer in the tournament. And he got to feel the crowd’s support. | Johnson generally sits behind Harrison in the pecking order of next American stars, but he has now lasted longer in the tournament. And he got to feel the crowd’s support. |
| “The crowd was cheering every point,” Johnson said. “To know they’re all behind me was pretty special.” | “The crowd was cheering every point,” Johnson said. “To know they’re all behind me was pretty special.” |
| John Isner, the only American ranked higher than Andy Roddick, at No. 9, pounded down Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3. Isner has often been compared to Roddick for his huge serve and hefty forehand, but he is already 27, just three years younger than Roddick. Brian Baker, also 27, lost to Janko Tpsarevic, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. | John Isner, the only American ranked higher than Andy Roddick, at No. 9, pounded down Jarkko Nieminen, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3. Isner has often been compared to Roddick for his huge serve and hefty forehand, but he is already 27, just three years younger than Roddick. Brian Baker, also 27, lost to Janko Tpsarevic, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. |
| NOTES | NOTES |
| Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 champion, worked quite hard to reach the third round. He needed 4 hours 35 minutes to dispatch another crafty veteran, Gilles Muller, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4. ... Maria Sharapova confirmed that she was no longer engaged to the basketball player Sasha Vujacic. She said the relationship had been over since this spring. The couple became engaged in October 2010. ... Kim Clijsters, playing her final tournament, opened her mixed doubles tournament with Bob Bryan with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Irina Falconi and Steve Johnson. Clijsters and Bryan avoided a second-round matchup with Bryan’s brother Mike and Lisa Raymond, the No. 2 seeds, who lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares, 6-1, 7-5. | Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 champion, worked quite hard to reach the third round. He needed 4 hours 35 minutes to dispatch another crafty veteran, Gilles Muller, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4. ... Maria Sharapova confirmed that she was no longer engaged to the basketball player Sasha Vujacic. She said the relationship had been over since this spring. The couple became engaged in October 2010. ... Kim Clijsters, playing her final tournament, opened her mixed doubles tournament with Bob Bryan with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Irina Falconi and Steve Johnson. Clijsters and Bryan avoided a second-round matchup with Bryan’s brother Mike and Lisa Raymond, the No. 2 seeds, who lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova and Bruno Soares, 6-1, 7-5. |