Mardy Fish was down two sets to none, but in this years’ U.S. Open, that hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing. Fish became the 10th man in the tournament to win a five-setter after trailing 2-0, beating Nikolay Davydenko 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, and will meet Gilles Simon in the third round.
“It’s a big stage to win on, period,” Fish said after the 3-hour, 26-minute match. But to be able to come back like that against a great player who has been to the semifinals twice here … it’s hard to do [five-setters] early in a tournament. You sort of want to stay away from the longer matches to give yourself some room to try and go as far as you can.”
It was just the second time in Fish’s career he won a match after trailing by two sets. It’s a great sign for Fish, who missed the French Open earlier this year with what was later revealed to be arrhythmia. He had an operation to cure the irregular heartbeat, but has felt and played better since then.
“You’re just not quite sure how you are going to turn up the first match back was Wimbledon for me and it was a three-set match and sort of freak yourself out a little bit,” Fish said. “That part has been really hard for me. I feel fine right now and hopefully can draw on that type of confidence.”
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Serena Williams cruised into the third round by beating Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. But she certainly wasn’t all smiles after the victory. Williams had six double faults and 24 unforced errors, which was double that of Sanchez.
“It was one of those days, I wasn’t really happy with the way I was playing,” Williams said. “I just wasn’t happy out there today in general. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”
Williams will meet Ekaterina Makarova in the third round.
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No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost to Martin Klizan 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the second round. It was the first time since 2007 that Tsonga, who made the quarterfinals last year, failed to make the third round of a Grand Slam.
James Blake, who is unseeded, took out No. 23 Marcel Granollers of Spain, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round. Blake had lost in the first round in each of the past two Grand Slams.
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Brian Battisone, he of the funky racket that has two handles, will team up with Nicole Melichar for a mixed doubles first-round match against Spain’s Nuria Llagostera and David Marrero on Court 14 at about 4 p.m.
— Additional reporting by Marc Berman