1) Capra looks to become the next Cinderella
Maria Sharapova made an unexpected exit in the third round of last year's U.S. Open, falling in an upset against 17-year-old American Melanie Oudin in three sets. Now in 2010 she'll have to avoid getting knocked out by a similarly surprising American teen if she wants to continue her U.S. Open run into the fourth round.
Beatrice Capra has shown tremendous poise and composure in her two wins in her first U.S. Open appearance, and she'll need to draw on those traits when she plays in front of the big crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here 2) Which American will step up?
Now that Andy Roddick has been forced to make an early exit from Flushing Meadows, which American man inherits the mantle of most likely to contend for this year's title? In previous years it might have fallen on the shoulders of James Blake, but his advancement to the third round was a relative surprise in and of itself. He's looked good so far at the tournament, showing little of the shaky form that plagued him leading up to the U.S. Open, but he'll face a difficult obstacle in No. 3 Novak Djokovic on Day 6.
No, it's No. 19 Mardy Fish who is the player to watch. After surviving a bizarre first-round five-set match in which he dropped just one game in the three sets he won, he showed a more consistent form in beating Pablo Cuevas in straight sets. Fish next will take on crafty court veteran Arnaud Clement in the third match on Louis Armstrong.
After surprising No. 16 Marcos Baghdatis in five sets in the first round, Clement should be well rested coming into his Day 6 match against Fish; the Frenchman played just two in the second round before his opponent retired. Clement has a 2-1 career record against Fish, although they haven't played against each other since 2008. Just one of four American men remaining in the U.S. Open men's singles draw, Fish will be looking to equal up that record.
3) Wozniacki looks impressive
Coming into the 2010 U.S. Open as the top seed but without a Grand Slam title to her credit, Caroline Wozniacki had a lot to prove. She's done just that in her two matches so far. Granted they haven't been against particularly difficult opponents (and she should have another opportunity to cruise in the third round when she plays Yung-Jan Chan, ranked 77th in the world), but Wozniacki hasn't shown any weakness. She lost just two total games in her first-round match and bageled her second-round opponent. While all of these easy matches could come back to hurt her when she faces her first serious challenge, Wozniacki has demonstrated she can live up to her top billing.
4) On-court excitement
For flashy playmaking, big serves and extra exertion, tune in to the first Grandstand match of Day 6: a battle between No. 17 Gael Monfils of France and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia. Tipsarevic, who knocked contender Andy Roddick out in the second round by blasting 66 winners, has a 2-to-1 head-to-head edge over Monfils with all three of their meetings coming last year.
5) Americans vs. Americans
It will be an all-American affair when two established U.S. doubles players -- the No. 1 duo of Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan -- take on two rising stars -- Melanie Oudin and Ryan Harrison -- in the second round of the mixed doubles draw. Combined, Huber and Bryan have 24 Grand Slam doubles titles. And while Oudin and Harrison have impressed many with their gutsy U.S. Open performances and undoubtedly will have quite a few fans at their Grandstand match, the 18-year-olds will need more than just crowd support to knock off the veterans. Still, it will be an entertaining match the watch.
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