It looked like it was going to be an an easy night for American Mardy Fish. He won his first set against France's Gilles Simon 6-1. Simon thought otherwise and hoped to make Fish the fifth American to exit the US Open today. Fish appeared to be his own worst enemy. Somehow after 75 unforced errors, a lingering injury and a major disagreement with a referee, Fish was able to beat Gilles in four sets.
Following Fish's first set victory, Simon forced a tie-break in the second set and would go on to win 7-5. Getting the match to the tie-break could be attributed to the semi-meltdown that Fish had over two calls against him. Fish would show his displeasure throughout the game by making offhanded comments and slowly coming to the service line. Fish would refocus and take the next set to tie-break and eventually win 7-6. Fish's serve topped out at 132 mph during the game leading to 16 aces. Using this and body language of his opponent indicating a leg injury, Fish would make his opponent run around until Simon stopped trying to get at balls. A 6-3 set for Fish gave him the victory.
Fish's prize for winning this match? He gets to take on Rodger Federer on Monday. Lucky guy.
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