Wozniak topples Mauresmo at U.S. Open
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 | 10:56 PM ET
CBC Sports
Aleksandra Wozniak follows through on a serve during Wednesday's win over Amélie Mauresmo. (Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images)Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak scored one of the biggest wins of her career Wednesday, beating two-time Grand Slam champion Amélie Mauresmo in straight sets at the U.S. Open.
Wozniak won by scores of 6-4, 6-0 in the opening match of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadow, N.Y., to advance to the tournament's third round for the first time.
"I was concentrated on my game, but I could see she couldn't handle the pace of deep balls," Wozniak said. "She seemed tight, but you have to deal with a lot when you are on this court.
"You definitely have to do everything to win. Now I'll look ahead to the third round. I'm excited to be this far for the first time here."
The Blainville, Que., native will next play Italy's Flavia Pennetta, who trounced Sonia Mirza of India 6-0, 6-0.
Defending champs roll on
Five-time defending men's champion Roger Federer of Switzerland is through to the third round at the U.S. Open.
Federer defeated German Simon Greul 6-3, 7-5, 7-5, Wednesday evening in a second-round contest.
The Swiss star sports a career record of 14-0 in night matches at the U.S. Open.
Next up for Federer is Lleyton Hewitt in a rematch of the 2004 U.S. Open final.
Defending women's champion Serena Williams also played during the evening session, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Melinda Czink of Hungary.
The No. 2 seed needed just 52 minutes to defeat Czink and book her spot in the third round.
Williams is vying for her fourth U.S. Open and 12th Grand Slam singles title overall. She is also is trying to become the first woman to win consecutive titles in New York since her older sister Venus did it in 2000-01.
Should Wozniak advance to the fourth round, it will match her best ever Grand Slam showing. She was easily beaten in her only previous meeting with Pennetta, in 2008.
Wozniak was abetted by her 30-year-old opponent on Wednesday, who appeared to lose form after a topsy-turvy first set.
The match actually began poorly for the 21-year-old Canadian. She lost her serve in the opening game and faced that prospect again in her very next service game, but fought off two break points and capped off the game with an ace.
Wozniak would go up 3-2, lose the next two games and then reel off the final three of the set with powerful groundstrokes directed at Mauresmo's forehand.
Mauresmo began the second set by double-faulting to lose her first service game. Wozniak quickly took a 3-0 lead and then broke the Frenchwoman again.
Wozniak ended the match by putting away a volley at the net. She won her first match in straight sets over American Laura Granville.
Nadal looks fine
Rafael Nadal disposed of Richard Gasquet in men's first-round action. Nadal moved well and his knees looked no worse for wear as he won 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
It was Nadal's first match at a major tournament since he fell at the French Open on May 31. The Spaniard skipped Wimbledon because of tendinitis in both knees. He has dropped in the rankings from No. 1 to No. 3 in that time.
"Seems like I was two years outside of competition," Nadal said. "It was two months."
Venus Williams advanced to the third round in straight sets over fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
The 2000-2001 U.S. Open champ had her left leg taped to try to fend off knee problems that nagged her in the first round. It didn't seem to bother Williams against the 124th-ranked Mattek-Sands, defeating her 6-4, 6-2.
"She was moving like a cat," Mattek-Sands said.
The No. 3-ranked Williams also had her knee taped at Wimbledon earlier in the year and went on to the final before losing to sister Serena.
Other seeded women advancing included No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, No. 8 Victoria Azarenka, No. 9 Francesca Schiavone, No. 10 Flavia Pennetta, No. 18 Li Na and No. 31 Elena Vesnina.
Kim Clijsters played her second-round match Wednesday and defeated 14th-seeded Marion Bartoli 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.
Safin falls in final major
On the men's side, former world No. 1 Marat Safin of Russia ended his U.S. Open career with a first-round loss to Juergen Melzer of Austria.
Melzer defeated Safin, who plans to retire at season's end, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Safin has won two major titles, including a U.S. Open in 2000 when he defeated Pete Sampras in the final.
No. 13 Gael Monfils of France was the first in the men's singles draw to finish on Wednesday, winning in straight sets. No. 24 Juan Carlos Ferrero also advanced.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
