Day 4 - and another day of reasonable temperatures - but also a threat of a gathering dust storm from the deserts of the interior of the country. This really is a city where the saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait an hour or two” is certainly applicable.
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Always one of the highlights of the tournament for me is to see what the gang of co-ordinated and highly original yellow guys are going to come up with when they take over a complete section of the stand on one of the outside show courts.
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This year they demonstrated that the US election result has been closely followed and had an impact even on the opposite side of the world. There is clearly a lot of expectation that the world could be a different place as a result.
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But they were - in their very unique way - also very much into the matches and keeping the officials on their toes. They really add to the color and the unique flavor of this event and are part of the reason for this being called “The Happy Slam”.
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Kateryna Bondarenko of the Ukraine won a tough one out on Court 21 with a 7-5 7-5 defeat of Lourdes Domingo Lino of Spain
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This is the furthest the unseeded Kateryna has ever advanced in a Grand Slam event - matching her sister Alona who is seeded 31 in the event and also won today.
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Should she win her next round match against Jie Zheng of China, and Alona win against Svetlana Kuznetsova, they will play each other in the 4th round.
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Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain (seeded 21) had a slightly easier time of her match against Julie Coin of France winning in straight sets 6-1 6-4.
Her opponent in the 4th round will be 12th seeded Flavia Pennetta.
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Dudi Sela of Israel beat Victor Hanescu of Romania in straight sets 6-3 6-3 6-2 helped by support from his numerous and vocal supporters…
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…all keen tennis players themselves, of course…
Day 3 of the event - the first day of the second round - brought some welcome relief from the oppressive heat that has taken its toll on players during the first two days of the tournament.
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Amer Delic of the United was particularly grateful for the kinder conditions as he had to work really hard to earn a chance of a fifth set against opponent Paul-Henri Mathieu of France.
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The seeded Frenchman won the first set easily 6-1 and also took the second set. The unseeded Delic fought back to take the third set 6-3 and prevailed in a tiebreak that could have seen the end of his hopes in the 4th set. The fifth set went with serve until Delic was able to break Mathieu’s serve at 9-7 to win the match.
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After the match, Amer gave credit to the support of the many Bosnian fans that flocked to the court with their banners, flags and enthusiasm. Although he is now a US citizen, Amer was born and raised in Bosnia - and will always be Bosnian to the large Bosnian contingent that can always be seen around the grounds. There is always an intense and vocal rivalry whenever players from countries that were formerly part of Yugoslavia are matched against each other. With lots of Serbs, Slovenians, Croatians and Bosnians in the draw, the fans a have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate their passion and patriotism.
The final score of the match: 1-6 3-6 6-3 7-6(3) 9-7.
Amer had to battle his way through three qualifying matches and, losing his final match, appeared to have lost his chance of a place in the main draw. But, as is often the case in sport as in life, one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity and Amer got his chance of a main draw place as a result of Nicolas Keifer’s withdrawal as a result of an ankle injury. Amer, as a lucky loser, has now progressed through two main draw rounds.
His luck - or skill - may run out in the 3rd round… He is hoping to become the first lucky loser to reach the 4th round of a Grand Slam but he is going to need luck, skill, support - and maybe a little divine intervention - as Amer has to play defending champion and third seed, Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
In spite of this providing another opportunity for some ex-Jugoslav rivalry, the fans will find it a little more difficult to make their presence felt as the match is sure to be played in one of the two main show courts where entry is limited to seatholders.
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Sara Errani of Italy had an easier time against Monica Niculescu of Romania. She won in straight sets 6-2 6-3.
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She will meet 7th seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia in the third round.
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Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic had the women’s equivalent of a Delic/Mathieu match. She won the first set easily at 6-1 but allowed her opponent, Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, back into the match in the second set. Like Amer, she needed a 9-7 advantage to close out the thrd set and the match. And also like Amer, she had to contend with a court surrounded by supporters of her ‘almost-local’ opponent.
Her third round opponent will be Marion Bartoli of France.
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Roger Federer of Switzerland also advanced easily into the third round, beating Evgeny Korolev of Russia 6-2 6-3 6-1. His third round match should be an interesting one - against the talented but volatile Russian, Marat Safin.
