The U.S. Open kicks off Monday morning in New York. Melanie Oudin, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters and Roger Federer will all be in action today at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Live matches will be shown on the Tennis Channel from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., on ESPN2 from 1-11 p.m. and streaming starting at 1 on ESPN3 (all times East Coast). According to the official TV schedule, from 2-7 p.m. Tennis Channel coverage will only focus on courts 11 and/or 13. So if you're interested in the big guns, ESPN2 is your best bet.
Here are a few matches worth checking out on a steamy Day 1:
11 a.m.
Arthur Ashe, Melanie Oudin (USA) vs. Olga Savchuk (UKR)
I bet Tennis Channel fought like hell for this one. Georgia's own Oudin, who last year made an improbable run to the quarterfinals, will open the tourney on the show court. Expect tremendous crowd support for America's 18-year-old sweetheart, who has struggled since her breakthrough in Queens.
Not before 1 p.m.
Arthur Ashe, Greta Arn (HUN) vs. No. 2 Kim Clijsters (BEL)
With Serena Williams out, Clijsters has a good shot at making it through a match without controversy (and defending her 2009 title).
Arthur Ashe, Stephane Robert (FRA) vs. No. 9 Andy Roddick (USA)
Can Roddick finally win his second major? Robert ain't gonna stop him.
Not before 5 p.m.
Louis Armstrong, No. 32 Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
Hewitt is a bit obnoxious, what with his backwards hat and all that yelling, but it's always fun watching a guy who isn't blessed with any big weapons try and survive.
7 p.m.
Arhur Ashe, Roberta Vinci (ITA) vs. No. 3 Venus Williams (USA)
Arthur Ashe, Brian Dabul (ARG) vs. No. 2 Roger Federer (SUI)
Federer's the favorite, even after a less than stellar summer (by his standards).
Click here to view the full schedule. For more tennis coverage, visit The Daily Forehand.