Failure In Flushing: Andy Roddick Falls In Second Round Of U.S. Open

Highlights from Day 3 of the 2010 U.S. Open:

•  Janko Tipsarevic def. (9) Andy Roddick, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
it was almost perfect. A primetime match, Roddick yelling at the officials -- only he lost. America's Actual Sweetheart is out in the second round for the first time in his career, and it's now up to No. 17 Gael Monfils to set things right.

•  (2) Kim Clijsters def. Sally Peers, 6-2, 6-1.
And she made it look easy, too, in a blue Fila number that perfectly set off her dead, staring killer shark eyes. Next victim: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.

•  (3) Venus Williams def. Rebecca Marino, 7-6, 6-3.
Wind was a factor early on, but Venus settled down to play nearly error-free tennis, and will face Mandy Minella of Luxembourg in the third round.

•  Gisela Dulko def. (10) Victoria Azarenka (Withdrew)
Azarenka trailed 5-1 in the first set when she collapsed on the court, and has since been hospitalized and released.

•  (4) Andy Murray def. Lukas Lacko, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
The lanky Brit made short work of this match, and will now meet awesomely-coiffed newcomer Dustin Brown of Jamaica.

•  Michael Llodra def. (7) Tomas Berdych, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Berdych can take heart that his defeat was very shortly overshadowed by Roddick's ousting. For Llodra's part, he moves on to Romania's Victor Hanescu.

•  (18) John Isner def. Frederico Gil, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Largely on autopilot, Isner kept this one under two hours despite playing on a recently-injured ankle, and rolls on to Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland. (Also, has anyone else noticed the weird facial resemblance Isner bears to Roddick? If you're having trouble telling them apart at a glance, please note that Isner's the one still in the tournament.)

•  (29) Alona Bondarenko def. Melanie Oudin, 6-2, 5-7.
That'll do it for America's other sweetheart and her sweet kicks. The temperamental Bondarenko has a third-round date with No. 6 Francesca Schiavone.

•  (20) Sam Querrey def. Bradley Klahn, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
A Klahn groin shot was the unfortunate highlight of this choppy, uneven match. Next up for Querrey: Spain's Marcel Granollers.

•  Ana Ivanovic def. (21) Jie Zheng, 6-3, 6-0.
Ivanovic's post-injury comeback is going quite well at Flushing Meadows. Her next hurdle is France's Virginie Razzano, who herself upset 13th-seeded countrywoman Marion Bartoli.

•  Ryan Harrison def. (15) Ivan Ljubicic, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4.
Here's a kid to keep your eye on. You may have seen him serving as Melanie Oudin's doubles partner, but this is 18-year-old Ryan Harrison's singles debut at the Open. His second-round foe will be Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

Battling off the aftereffects of a mild case of mono and the actions of cruel linesfolk, Andy Roddick is gone from the U.S. Open, after losing his second-round match to Janko Tipsarevic, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-7 (7-4). If Tipsarevic sounds familiar, if not pronounceable, he should: the Serb dealt Roddick his Wimbledon exit in 2008.

Roddick began chivvying the officiating crew in the middle of the third set, after being called for a foot fault. It was hard to catch much of it, but he could clearly be heard yelling, "Why don't you get some umpires who know what they're doing?" (Just to make things interesting, he was called for another in the fourth set that broadcast replay showed was clearly not a fault.) The crowd and Roddick's spirits both seemed to pick up on the energy of his indignation, but he was overpowered in the fourth-set tiebreak at almost precisely the stroke of midnight.

Roddick has never lost in the second round of the U.S. Open. Tipsarevic advances to face Gael Monfils, just in case you need any more help rooting against him.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

U.S. Open No. 11 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who collapsed on the court in her second-round match Wednesday morning, has been released from the hospital with a diagnosis that dovetails with her earlier "headache-like symptoms": She apparently sustained a mild concussion during an earlier training session.

Azarenka is said to be resting at her hotel, and has released a statement detailing the events that led to her collapse:

I was warming up in the gym prior to my match against Gisela Dulko when I fell while running a sprint. I fell forward and hit my arm and head. I was checked by the medical team before I went on court, and they were courtside for monitoring. I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy. I also started having trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell. I was taken to the hospital for some medical tests and have been diagnosed with a mild concussion.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

John Isner bears an exhaustively-discussed historical burden thanks to this summer's Wimbledon, rolled his ankle in Cincinnati two weeks ago, and is playing tennis at the U.S. Open like he doesn't have a care in the world.

Isner dispatched Portugal's Frederico Gil in less than two hours, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, and moves on to face Marco Chiudinelli of Switzerland in round two.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

No. 2 Kim Clijsters displayed none of the occasional wavering seen in her first-round match, dispatching her second-round U.S. Open foe, Sally Peers, 6-2, 6-1. This rachets up the defending champ's win streak to 16 matches at Flushing Meadows. Clijsters will face Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the third round of play.

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

As an unseeded player, Melanie Oudin's U.S. Open loss to No. 29 Alona Bondarenko can't properly be called an upset, but safe to say the home crowd was rooting for her to reprise last year's captivating run to the quarterfinals. Alas, it's not to be, as Oudin fell 2-6, 5-7 in second-round play. (The shoes, though adorable, don't appear to have powers.)

Bondarenko will be an entertaining player to watch in the third round, at least -- tied up late in the second set, she could be seen squalling at her coach (to whom she happens to be married) in the stands. She advances to take on No. 6 Francesca Schiavone. 

For more U.S. Open coverage, visit SB Nation's Daily Forehand.

Venus Williams battled heat, gusty winds and a tough opponent in Canadian Rebecca Marino, but pulled out a 7-6, 6-3 victory in the second round of the 2010 U.S. Open Wednesday. Marino's forehand was deadly early in the match, but she seemed to falter after dropping the first-set tiebreaker 7-3.

The third-seeded Williams did seem a bit uncomfortable at the outset. ESPN's Pam Shriver kept talking about Venus' wardrobe malfunction (I guess a string or something was loose on her shirt). In the end, it didn't matter. Williams only made 12 unforced errors the entire match.

She'll take on Mandy Minella of Luxembourg in the third round.

A quick update on the condition of Victoria Azarenka, who collapsed on the court Wednesday morning at the U.S. Open.

ESPN's Tom Rinaldi read the USTA's statement over the air:

"Victoria Azarenka retired from her match with headache-like symptoms. She was taken to a nearby hospital for diagnostic testing. Out of respect for her privacy, we cannot give any more details. However, we can say this does not seem to be primarily a heat-related illness."

Rinaldi also said that according to sources, Azarenka was also dealing with physical issues and suffered a similar fall "before her match."

Andy Murray beat Lukas Lacko, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of the 2010 U.S. Open Wednesday. The No. 4 seed needed only 111 minutes to take care of Lacko. Murray tallied 37 winners, 17 more than Lacko, who didn't really stand a chance.

Frenchman Michael Llodra notched the biggest upset (so far) of the 2010 U.S. Open, beating No. 7 Tomas Berdych 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. Despite what looked like a nagging foot injury, Llodra served and volleyed effectively, winning 48 points at the net.

Afterward, Llodra was asked about his reputation as a practical joker in the locker room. He smiled big.

"It's just my secret," he said.

I think this 2005 story says it all:

Ivan Ljubicic was preparing for his third-round match at the Nasdaq-100 Open on Sunday when he found something totally unexpected in his locker, naked fellow player Michael Llodra.

The French prankster Llodra decided to surprise Ljubicic by taking off his clothes and squeezing into the Croatian's locker, much to the amusement of the other players in the changing rooms.

"I went to open the locker and I was completely shocked," 13th seed Ljubicic told reporters.

"He was looking at me, I was looking at him. I said, 'What the hell are you doing here?'"

American Ryan Harrison, an 18-year-old qualifier, upset No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the 2010 U.S. Open Wednesday. The 6-foot-1 Harrison, who ESPN's Brad Gilbert compared to a young Andy Roddick, piled up 44 winners in his Open debut.

Check out Harrison's official bio, a recent feature about him in the Shreveport Times, and his Wikipedia page, which contains this nugget:

Harrison is notable for being the third youngest player since 1990, after Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal, to have won an ATP level match, defeating world #130 Pablo Cuevas in the 2008 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.

Sam Querrey won his first-round match at the 2010 U.S. Open, but his opponent, fellow American Bradley Klahn, deserves a round of an applause for continuing to fight after getting drilled in the groin during the first set. Ouch, check this out:

Anyway, Querrey ended up prevailing, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. But I'm still impressed with Klahn. The reigning NCAA singles champion, won a set after absorbing a wicked shot. Unbelievable.

And Querrey, who had more unforced errors (36) than winners (33), clearly has work to do.

Ana Ivanovic scored a minor upset in the second round of the 2010 U.S. Open Wednesday, taking less than an hour to beat No. 21 Jie Zheng, 6-3, 6-0. Zheng couldn't do much to stop the Serb, who racked up 22 winners (Zheng only had seven).

Ivanovic is looking to rebound after suffering a foot injury that forced her to retire from her semifinal match against Kim Clijsters at last month's Cincinnati Open.

Awful start to the U.S. Open Wednesday morning: Victoria Azarenka collapsed in the middle of her second-round match. SI.com's Andrew Lawrence has the story. Watch the video below (and ignore the Mario Bros. music if you can).

Big scare at the Grandstand’s first match today: 10th-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka collapsed 30 minutes into her second-round match against Argentinian Gisela Dulko. Playing amid 90-degree heat and 42 percent humidity, Azarenka was trailing 5-1 in the first set when she fell to the court. Medical personnel quickly rushed to her aid and yelled to the sideline for water. After a few minutes on the ground, the 21-year-old was helped into a wheelchair; a trainer placed a hand at her neck to check her pulse and help support her head.

This is not the first time Azarenka has felt feint at a major. At the 2009 Australian Open, Azarenka withdrew from her fourth-round match against eventual champ Serena Williams, citing an “undisclosed illness” that caused dizziness.