Maria Sharapova breezed into the second round of the US Open, dispatching Melinda Czink recently, 6-2, 6-2. The win follows a recent loss to Serena Williams at the Olympics where she won a single game in the gold medal match. However the third-seeded Sharapova dominated her Hungarian opponent.
After the game, she revealed the reason why she had pulled out of a pair of tune-up tournaments earlier. It seems that she contracted a stomach virus following a series of tests that included an ultrasound to check if she was pregnant.
Maria Sharapova
She also denied a rumor that indicated that she will marry her fiancée, Sasha Vujavic, in November in Istanbul.
Aside from Sharapova, three-time winner Kim Clijsters also won her match against Victoria Duval but not without having to struggle near the start of the match. Duval is currently ranked 562 and was given a wild card for the tournament.
The win was the 22nd straight win of Clijsters in the US Open although she missed the tournament last year due to an injury. She was not able to defend the title that she won in the previous two years.
Donald Young was able to break the serve of Roger Federer in the second set but was not able to hold off the Wimbledon champion who went on to win the match, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Young reached the fourth round in the Open last year but has struggled thus year, winning only three matches for the year. However Federer is aiming to capture the US Open for the sixth time in his career.
Despite a delay due to rain, Andy Murray was still able to defeat Alex Bogomolov Jr., as he moved to the second round of the tournament. But the Scotsman had to struggle to hold his serve in the first set.
According to Murray, the humidity bothered him and he also had to fight off some cramps. He also described his Olympic win as the biggest win in his career. He indicated that being able to play for his country at home during the Olympics and winning the gold medal was perfect.
