Last Night's Action: Maine Delivers a Win
Last Night's Action: Roddick Asserts Himself
After rain washed out Tuesday's action, plenty of tennis made up for the lost time on Wednesday. Mikhail Youzhny took out Rafael Nadal in four sets, opening the draw for Andy Roddick, who disposed of Lleyton Hewitt. Roddick has enjoyed a resurgence since he hired Jimmy Connors. His backhand has improved -- it couldn't get worse -- and his attitude has changed. Could Roddick beat Roger Federer if they met in the final on Sunday? Their history doesn't suggest so, but it would be the most intriguing match.
Tennis in Flushing
This year, as was the case last year, the men's tournament has defending champion Roger Federer on one level and everyone else on the next. That Federer owns his two closest rivals, Lleyton Hewitt (2001 champion) of Australia and the American Andy Roddick (2003 champion), makes most of his matches predictable. The only player capapble of beating Federer when both play their best tennis is 2000 champion Marat Safin, but inconsitency has rocked his career.
Play Begins in Flushing
The 2004 US Open kicked off with a bang last night, as evidenced by Serena William’s latest attire. Williams, never one to shy away from spectacle, dispatched Sandra Kleinova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 in a just 53 minutes.
Wheaties Curse?
On Monday Wheaties announced that Andre Agassi would be gracing a special edition of the cereal box to coincide with the start of the French Open. Agassi then went out and suffered one of the most surprising and unexpected losses in the Open era, ranking with Pete Sampras' loss to George Bastl at Wimbledon in 2002, and Lleyton Hewitt's loss to Ivo Karlovic there a year ago. Jerome Haehnel, a 23 year old qualifier from France, ranked 271st in the world, shocked the 1999 French Open champ 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

