MINELLA NICE! Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella returns a shot in her 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Olivia Rogowska during yesterday’s first round of the U.S. Open in Flushing. (Getty Images)
The future of American tennis may have arrived, and for at least one day, its past was revived.
Playing simultaneously on adjoining courts, 32-year-old James Blake and 19-year-old Jack Sock earned impressive first-round victories yesterday at the U.S. Open, also earning their first Grand Slam victories of the year.
Blake defeated Lukas Lacko, 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, at Louis Armstrong Stadium, while Sock followed with a win over 22nd-seeded Florian Mayer, 6-3, 6-2, 3-2 (ret.), on the Grandstand. Sock will face unseeded Flavio Cipolla in the second round.
Blake, a Yonkers native and former top-five player, is currently ranked outside the top 100 and needed a wild card to make the main draw. After winning the first two sets, Blake displayed some rust after a rain delay of more than two hours, but soon rode his vintage forehand to win five of the final six games and set up a second-round matchup with No. 24 seed Marcel Granollers.
“You know, I can’t believe that it’s been I think 12 years I have been playing here. … Every time I come back here there’s still sort of goosebumps walking out on Louis Armstrong or Arthur Ashe,” Blake said. “As a kid I came here and watched, and honestly never believed I’d be good enough to come out playing. You know, it still doesn’t feel normal. … It’s still an incredible feeling to be here and to be doing what I dreamed of as a kid.”
Sock isn’t as far removed from such childhood fancy, but success in New York is more tangible than ever for the 2010 U.S. Open junior champion. Also given a wild card, and ranked 243rd in the world, Sock opened his match with an ace, setting the tone for 11 straight service games without being broken.
Sock’s forehand was equally devastating, helping him recover from a few early deficits and ultimately suffocating any opportunity for Mayer to contemplate a comeback. The German eventually retired, complaining of dizziness.
After losing to Andy Roddick in the second round last year, Sock is positioned for a solid run. He will play an unseeded opponent in the second round and then could meet 11th-seeded Nicolas Almagro, who has never advanced past the third round of the U.S. Open and prefers playing on clay.
“Definitely winning [in the first round] last year gave me more confidence to try to advance in the draw as far as I can,” said Sock, who earned his second career Grand Slam victory. “I’m going to try to use that and go as far as I can this year.”
Blake, a two-time quarterfinalist in Flushing, basked in the familiar cheers. At the same time, behind a wall of seats, the pitch was slightly different. Sock aroused something new, wowing the crowd with power and potential.
Blake said he is feeling as healthy as he has ever been, and Sock said this might be as good as he has ever been. A last ride? A first run?
The U.S. Open has begun.