TENNIS RESULTS • U.S. OPEN 2017 • RICKY COVERS AMERICAN MEN RESULTS FOR 10SBALLS

Written by: Staff on 28th August 2017

TENNIS RESULTS • U.S. OPEN 2017 • RICKY COVERS AMERICAN MEN RESULTS FOR 10SBALLS

epa06169076 John Isner of the US reacts as he plays Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France on the first day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 28 August 2017. The US Open runs through September 10. EPA-EFE/JASON SZENES |

By Ricky Dimon

The bottom half of the U.S. Open draw is one giant opportunity for every single player in that half. Even on the first day of the tournament, massive opportunities can be either squandered or capitalized on. For the American men, it went both ways on Monday.

John Isner, the host nation’s highest-ranked man, was among those who took care of business and took the first step toward what he hopes are much greater heights. Isner dropped one set to Pierre-Hugues Herbert but for the most part cruised to 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory. The No. 10 seed was up to his usual tricks, firing 22 aces compared to only one double-fault. His more aggressive return game, which has been on display throughout the North American summer, produced five service breaks.

“I think I’m playing pretty well,” said Isner, a recent champion in both Newport and Atlanta. “I’ve had a strong summer. I thought I played really well today. I was very happy with how I played. I’m in a good spot.”

Fellow American Jared Donaldson is in an absolutely outstanding spot–the best of his career, in fact. Playing the best tennis of his life, the 20-year-old is up to No. 51 in the world. He has earned 18 of his 29 ATP-level match wins in 2017 after beating Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) on Monday night.

Donaldson struggled with an apparent leg cramp in the fourth set and had a hard time even moving. But he somehow managed to stumble across the finish line. He hit a blistering forehand to recover from a mini-break down in the tiebreaker and he eventually clinched victory when Basilashvili sent a forehand long and wide at 6-7.

The evening atmosphere for Donaldson on Court 4 was raucous by first-round standards and the scene was no different on the new, temporary Louis Armstrong Stadium for Jack Sock vs. Jordan Thompson. Although the fans did their best to pull Sock through, they went home disappointed. Sock lost to Thompson for the second time in 2017 after going down 6-2, 7-6(12), 1-6, 5-7, 6-4.

After taking sets three and four, the 16th-ranked American had all the momentum. And he parlayed it into a 4-3 lead in the fifth, with a break in hand and Thompson taking a medical timeout for an apparent back issue. But it all turned suddenly and disastrously for Sock, who lost the last three games of the contest.

“Utter disappointment when you’re up two breaks in one set, a break in the fifth,” Sock said when asked to describe his feelings. “Choke it all the way. Really sucks.”

Sam Querrey joined Isner and Donaldson in the second round thanks to a straight-set rout of Gilles Simon and Steve Johnson did the same at Nicolas Almagro’s expense. American men who hit the exits with Sock were Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Tennys Sandgren, J.C. Aragone, Ernesto Escobedo, Christopher Eubanks, and Evan King.