By Rosangel Valenti, TW Contributing Editor
Good morning. To start off the middle weekend of the 2008 US Open, this is your regular space for discussing the tennis happenings in Flushing Meadows. Today's Order of Play can be found on this link. Given the number of visitors we're seeing each day, we'd appreciate it if you could keep the subject of your discussions focused on the tennis while it's going on, and save off-topic discussions until afterwards.
!Amelie2Matches of the Day:
Men, Third Round - David Nalbandian meets Gael Monfils, third on Armstrong stadium. The two have a career head-to-head of 1-1, with Nalbandian triumphing in four close sets at Roland Garros last year, but Monfils winning in straight sets at the Beijing Olympics. On the Grandstand Court, number 16 seed Juan Martin Del Potro plays one of the other hot players of the US Open Series, Gilles Simon, seeded 17. Simon won their only encounter to date, at New Haven in 2007, over three sets. I think plenty of the Tribe will also be watching the first-time matchup between fourth seed David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori.
Women, Third Round - First on the Grandstand Court, Dominika Cibulkova, the number 18 seed, plays 9th seed Agniezska Radwanska. Radwanska leads their head-to-head 2-0, but Cibulkova pushed their match in Doha earlier this year to three tight sets. Later, 32nd seed Amelie Mauresmo plays world number 188 Julie Coin, who eliminated Ana Ivanovic from the tournament earlier this week. The two Frenchwomen have never played each other before. Mauresmo's form has looked to be improving recently; this looks like a good opportunity for her to progress.
Player of the Day:
Katarina Srebotnik, the 28th seed, who yesterday beat the number three seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in a three-setter.
Weather Report:
A cloudy day is expected, with a fair chance of seeing some light showers or thunderstorms in the afternoon, and possibly into the evening.
As always, enjoy today's tennis.