A gusting wind proved the most difficult opponent at the US Open for women's top seed Maria Sharapova and last year's men's runner-up Lleyton Hewitt yesterday.
The remnants of Hurricane Katrina made life difficult for all the players, but Sharapova adapted quickly to thrash Madagascan opponent Dally Randriantefy 6-1, 6-0
in the second round.
"It's so windy ... I'm really glad I had a piece of chocolate cake last night or else I would have been blown away out here," said the unruffled Russian, who has dropped only three games in her two matches so far.
"When it's windy like this you never know what to expect."
Impatience proved a virtue for Hewitt, who hurried through to the second round with a breezy 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 victory over former French Open champion Albert Costa.
Hewitt, the No 3 seed, served superbly to outplay Spaniard Costa from start to finish on Arthur Ashe Court.
The Australian, who lost in last year's final to Roger Federer, wrapped up victory over the world No 104 in one hour and 20 minutes with a crunching backhand winner.
"They were extremely tough conditions," Hewitt said.
"It was one match that you just wanted to get under your belt and get back into the locker-room as quickly as possible."
Following the late withdrawal through injury of Marat Safin and the exit of British 12th seed Tim Henman on Wednesday, Slovakian 15th seed Dominik Hrbaty is the highest seed left in Hewitt's quarter of the draw.
The 2001 champion could, however, face top seed Federer in the semifinals.
Taylor Dent lifted US spirits following Wednesday's shock first-round exit of fourth seed Andy Roddick when he beat German Lars Burgsmueller 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 6-4.
Australian wildcard Mark Philippoussis crashed out of the tournament after suffering a humiliating first-round loss to Slovakian journeyman Karol Kucera.
Kucera, playing just his fourth match of an injury-plagued season, hammered an error-prone Philippoussis 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in yet another setback in the career of the struggling former Grand Slam finalist.
Philippoussis, 28, has needed wildcards to gain entry into his last seven events this year and will require the continued generosity of tournament organisers as he slips further from his lowly ranking of No 209 in the world.
His latest defeat leaves Hewitt as the lone Australian in the men's singles.
Women's fourth seed Kim Clijsters initially found the weather and Colombian opponent Fabiola Zuluaga more difficult to cope with before earning a 7-5, 6-0 second-round win.
Clijsters, with six titles to her name this year but still seeking her maiden Grand Slam title, threw away a 4-1 lead to trail 4-5 in the first set against the world No 58. The Belgian recovered her rhythm to break to love at 5-5 and she romped through the second set.
"I don't think I've ever even practised in these conditions," Clijsters said. "It was tough out there."
Russian Ekaterina Bychkova, who knocked out defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round, lost 5-7, 1-6 to Croatian qualifier Ivana Lisjak.
Meanwhile, American Serena Williams has promised to donate US$100 ($145) for every ace she serves for the rest of the year to help the relief effort in New Orleans following the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina.
The 23-year-old former world No 1 made the announcement after beating Catalina Castano, of Colombia, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round.
"I would like to thank everyone for coming out," she told the crowd. "I was just thinking about the hurricane. It's been such a tragedy down there. I decided that for every ace I hit I am going to donate $100 for the rest of the year, every tournament I play."
- REUTERS
A gusting wind proved the most difficult opponent at the US Open for women's top seed Maria Sharapova and last year's men's runner-up Lleyton Hewitt yesterday.
The remnants of Hurricane Katrina made life difficult for all the players, but Sharapova adapted quickly to thrash Madagascan opponent Dally Randriantefy 6-1, 6-0
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.