Friday forecasts

Apparently there’s a hurricane a-coming so those coming to watch the action at the US Open might be best advised to bring galoshes, a raincoat and possibly a canoe to the courts in case the more pessimistic weather forecasts prove accurate. If the weather behaves itself, the tennis might just blow up a storm or two of its own.

Matches of the Day (all day session)

Men:

Andy Murray versus Dustin Brown

Murray looked in fairly ferocious form in his opening match against Lukas Lacko and there is little to suggest that the Jamaican No.1 can provide anything other than an entertaining cameo against him in the second round. For all that this is unlikely to be long or dramatic, Brown is a lively player who impressed on his grand slam debut at Wimbledon both with his level of play and his chatty charm. Nicknamed Dreddy, he is unlikely to pick up any rankings points against Murray but his continued rise up the rankings can only be good news.

Sergei Stakhovsky versus Ryan Harrison

Ryanmania appears to spreading like the West Nile virus in New York after the American teenager’s thrilling first round win over Ivan Ljubicic and is likely to mutate into something even more contagious if he reaches the third round. Stakhovsky, from the Ukraine, is a former US Open junior finalist (lost to A.Murray) but he is neither invulnerable nor invincible and Harrison should go in with every confidence.

Women:

Shahar Peer versus Flavia Pennetta

Peer is not one to blether on about her earrings or discuss her clothing label on Twitter but in a wide open women’s draw, it would be unwise to overlook her as a long-odds outside punt for the title. Pennetta, though, is more than a match for anyone and represents a particularly slippery banana skin for the Israeli. They are playing on Grandstand court, which can always be relied upon to create a lively vibe and the players’ respective nationalities – Israeli and Italian – should tap in to two of New York’s more prevalent cultural groups. It should be fun.

Petra Kvitova versus Kim Clijsters

Obviously we’re not speaking to Kvitova after she knocked out 10sBalls.com’s own Elena Baltacha in round two but she played a stunning match to beat our Bally and will be a handful if she can find that level against Clijsters. The defending champion herself has been in cruise control so far this tournament but will not have that luxury against one of Wimbledon’s surprise semi-finalists. She can expect a difficult time in what are likely to be testing conditions (hurricane-force winds anyone?) and she should be warned – Petra never Kvits.

Topics: American Teenager, Andy Murray, Banana Skin, Clothing Label, Cultural Groups, Dustin Brown, Flavia Pennetta, Grandstand, Ivan Ljubicic, Lacko, Long Odds, Open Women, Raincoat, Ryan Harrison, Session Men, Shahar Peer, Slippery Banana, Twitter, Weather Forecasts, West Nile Virus

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