Opponent for Maria not much of a match
Against Andy Roddick, 30-year-old Justin Gimelstob played his last match as a pro.
NEW YORK (AP) — The lady in red shanked a backhand wide, prompting Maria Sharapova’s opponent to leap in the air and pump her fist and smile as though she’d won the match — or, indeed, the U.S. Open championship itself.
Uh, not quite. That little celebration by 51st-ranked Roberta Vinci of Italy was for winning one game Tuesday night, allowing her to narrow the dressed-for-success Sharapova’s lead to 6-0, 5-1.
“I win one game, I’m happy,” Vinci said. “6-love, 6-love? No. 6-love, 6-1? OK.”
Done for the day
A few minutes and one hold of serve later, Sharapova’s 50-minute day was done, and she was into the second round at the tournament where she produced her second Grand Slam title a year ago.
“There’s no way to get rid of the memories when I walk on the court and feel the vibe,” the second-seeded Russian said, 600 crystals on her red dress sparkling in the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights. “Every corner I turn here, I get goose bumps.”
Andy Roddick might very well have similar sentiments as he walks around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He did, after all, win the 2003 U.S. Open for his only major title, and he won his first-round match Tuesday night, following Sharapova on court and beating Justin Gimelstob 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-3.
It was the 30-year-old Gimelstob’s last match as a pro, and Roddick hugged him at the net afterward.
“We’re going to miss one of the funniest guys on tour,” Roddick said.
Dominant
Sharapova, meanwhile, compiled 15 winners before Vinci hit her first and finished with a 30-3 edge in that category during the 6-0, 6-1 victory. It was part of a mini-parade of past champions in first-round action, including victories for Martina Hingis, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lleyton Hewitt.
Sharapova’s been on the wrong end of some routs at Grand Slam tournaments this year, including against Serena Williams in the Australian Open final and against Venus Williams in Wimbledon’s fourth round. And Sharapova, whose breakthrough came with the 2004 Wimbledon title at age 17, has been dealing with shoulder problems much of 2007.
No signs of that Tuesday, although she did double-fault twice on match point in the final game. Otherwise, about the biggest problem Sharapova had was when she missed a sip of water during a changeover and spilled a spot on her custom-made outfit.
Even Vinci took note of the getup, saying: “It’s difficult to play against her. Strong player. Nice girl. She has a nice dress.”
James Blake is on quite a run right now, having reached the final of the Cincinnati Masters before losing to Federer, then winning the hard-court title at New Haven last week. He faced down a challenge from Michael Russell on Tuesday before advancing 7-6 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Fails to convert
Blake failed to convert any of the eight break points he held in the first set, then had to save two set points in the ensuing tiebreaker.
“When I’m winning a lot of matches the way I have been, I get to 4-all, 5-all, 6-all in sets, I just feel like I’m going to win ’em,” Blake said. “I just have that confidence.”
Djokovic’s self-belief skyrocketed this month in Montreal, where he beat then-No. 3 Andy Roddick, Nadal and Federer in succession to win the title — the first time since 1994 that someone beat the men’s top three players at a single tournament.
The 20-year-old Serb never has been beyond the third round at the U.S. Open, but he drew a supportive crowd for his 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Robin Haase of the Netherlands — and was appreciative.
“I made a big breakthrough this year,” Djokovic said, “so everybody’s really interested.”