GRIGOR DIMITROV ADVANCES OVER HOT HEADED RYAN HARRISON & EXTENDS AMERICAN WOES AT U.S. OPEN BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 27th August 2014

GRIGOR DIMITROV ADVANCES OVER HOT HEADED RYAN HARRISON & EXTENDS AMERICAN WOES AT U.S. OPEN BY RICKY DIMON

epa04346581 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria celebrate shis win over Kevin Anderson of South Africa in their quarter-finals match of the Rogers Cup mens tennis tournament in Toronto, Canada, 08 August 2014. EPA/WARREN TODA |

And then there were three.

Only three American men advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open after two of the remaining five in the draw were eliminated on Wednesday. Unable to join John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Tim Smyczek in the last 32 were Steve Johnson and Ryan Harrison.

Part of the United States’ struggles can be attributed to poor play, but the host nation’s male representatives have endured some terrible luck so far in Flushing Meadows. One day after Jack Sock retired against Pablo Andujar due to a calf injury, Steve Johnson was forced to retire from his match against Tatsuma Ito because of severe cramping.

Jack Sock of the US hits a return to Pablo Andujar of Spain during the second day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, Meadows, New York, USA, 26 August 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

Sock and Johnson were arguably the USA’s two best players of the summer heading into New York.

Steve Johnson of the US hits a return shot to Milos Raonic of Canada in their third round match of the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament at the Linder Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 14 August 2014. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Johnson, who led the University of Southern California to four consecutive NCAA team titles, was leading by two sets to one and had a break in the fourth when cramps rendered him unable to move. A series of point and game penalties put Ito ahead 4-1 before Johnson finally called it quits.

“It sucked,” Johnson assured. “That’s the first time I felt pretty useless on the tennis court. I’m a competitive guy. I’ll lay it on the line as much as I can. I really would not have liked to retire from that match, but physically I just couldn’t walk. If I could have walked, I would still be out there. I would have competed.

“It was hot. On (Court)17 with no shade anywhere, it felt pretty hot out there. I felt fine. I don’t know how long we were out there; two hours and 45 minutes or something like that. I’ve played matches four and a half hours in Australia. It’s kind of frustrating. I mean, it was definitely hot, but I really wish things would have gone differently.”

So, too, would the American men as a whole–including Harrison. The world No. 184’s run of bad draws at Grand Slams continued, as he had to go up against Grigor Dimitrov in the first round of a second straight major. Dimitrov beat Harrison at Wimbledon and prevailed again on Wednesday, this time by a 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-2 margin. It was Dimitrov’s first-ever win at the U.S. Open.

Isner and Querrey will hope to get back on the winning track on Thursday against Jan-Lennard Struff and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, respectively. Smyczek will continue his campaign on Friday versus Roberto Bautista Agut.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: GRIGOR DIMITROV, John Isner, Ricky Dimon, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson, Tennis, Tim Smyczek, US Open

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10sBalls_com says:

August 27, 2014 at 8:55 pm

@GrigorDimitrov ADVANCES OVER HOT HEADED RYAN HARRISON & EXTENDS AMERICAN WOES AT @usopen BY @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/78lKfRKh9J #USOpen