Venus is top of the town in her self-designed, NY-inspired dress that is dazzling the crowd. Wozniacki is sophisticated and so stylish in Stella McCarthy for adidas’s laser cut dress. Sharapova is smashingly beautiful in her Nike tuxedo-collared dress or her baby blue, fitted day dress with black accents.

The women dominating center court have really stepped up the style at the US Open this year! They have planned their wardrobes like any celebrated diva and it is a welcome change! Using tennis as their “fashion” platform adds pizzazz to the show. Even Fila has become more creative for Kim Clijsters’s attire.

Venus tells us she has a new dress for each match she plays. I say, “Keep winning Venus – we want to see all seven of them”.

Here at 10sballs.com, we and all of the stars’ fans know they are beautiful and talented. It is also great to see their individual fashion sense and their sponsors becoming more fashion conscious!

Nothing like winning in style!

Matches of the Day:

Men:

Andy Murray versus Stanislas Wawrinka

Murray has built up a healthy head-to-head record against Stan “I’m a friend of Roger’s” the Man. Wawrinka was a top ten player until relatively recently, though, and has a backhand to die for so he is certainly equipped to cause an upset. Wawrinka’s more attritional style should force Murray to attack and that, if nothing else, should make for a good spectacle. Murray has designs on the title and how he performs in the third round, in his first genuine test of the tournament, will tell us plenty about his chances of fulfilling his ambition.

David Nalbandian versus Fernando Verdasco

You write off David Nalbandian at your peril for he loves nothing more than chipping away at a lead and clawing his way back from an apparently unwinnable position, so even if Verdasco runs up a two-set lead, he will not have the luxury of resting on his laurels. The Spaniard is a sharp player himself though and it is probably about time he made an impact at another grand slam, so it would not be stunning to see Verdasco  stop even the old stager in his tracks. Nalbandian was once on the receiving end a shocking line-call in the 2003 semi-final against Andy Roddick and has never quite got over it, so any peep from a line judge is likely to be met with a less than impressed face from the Argentine.

Women:

Ana Ivanovic versus Kim Clijsters

If Ivanovic can show the resurgent form of earlier this summer then she might just give the indisputed comeback queen something of a fight. After the best part of a year spent in what appeared to me a mental fog, the Serbian is back and starting to fire on all cylinders again. Clijsters had better be on her guard and though she has cruised do far this tournament, she will need to find a far higher gear for this one. Expect classy tennis and the once-familiar sight of Ivanovic doing that peculiar fist-pumpy thing of hers.

Samantha Stosur versus Elena Dementieva

I have gone back and forth like a clay-court rally on this one and I still can’t decide who is the more likely to win. Granted, Stosur has had the best of summers but she seems to have shaken off the arm problem that seemed to rob her usually ferocious forehand of some of its bite and the surface should suit her. She is certainly better than the third round. It is rather unfortunate, then, that she is facing a player with every likelihood of beating her. Dementieva is a former finalist at Flushing Meadows and is at her best on medium-paced American hardcourts and though she is never the most predictable of players, she is more than capable of giving Stosur plenty to think about.

Men’s Singles: Click Here

Women’s Singles: Click Here

Men’s Double: Click Here

Women’s Double: Click Here

Mixed Double: Click Here

And so the first week is almost over. We have survived. There have been times when it has been touch and go, but we have come through it. We deserve a pat on the back. We actually think we deserve a large gin and tonic and a lie down but we have learned to manage our expectations – this is the US Open, after all.

Of all the slams, the US Open is the most gruelling. The hours at the Australian Open may be longer and the on-court conditions may be more testing, but nothing compares to the 14 days and nights of humidity, noise, traffic and officialdom. That is not to mention the food (and we are using the term loosely), the technical glitches or the sheer insanity of the scheduling.

Admittedly, those of us who write about tennis have a job that many people would willingly give a vital organ to do, but, as journalists, we gripe for a living. It’s written into the job specs. But, even so, this slam is the toughest; it can crush the strongest of characters.

The other day, Greg Rusedski was spotted wandering forlornly around the media dining area. Now, Greg is one of life’s optimists and one of nature’s battlers. Throughout his career, he took on whatever life threw at him and he beat it, fair and square. His thumping serve was the best of its generation and, combined with a pathological need to get to the net, he reached the final here in 1997 and hit a career-high ranking of No.4 in the world. He was darned good, was our Greg.

But as he surveyed the tepid mush on offer in the press canteen, he looked distraught. Eventually, he cheered up. He had an idea: he would plump for a turkey sandwich. “They can’t mess that up!” he said cheerfully. Oh, Greg. They can. They will. You’ll learn.

Greg is also a friend of 10sballs.com and has promised us a sneak peek at life behind the scenes at the Open next week. But let’s not spoil the surprise. Stay tuned in the coming days and all will be revealed.

Actually, all may be revealed before that, and not necessarily in a good way.

Our hero is here this year as a commentator and pundit for Sky TV, his first trip to Flushing Meadows as part of the media. And life on our side of the fence is taking some getting used to.

The first challenge for the tall, lithe and still extremely fit Mr R was to find somewhere to have a shower. This sitting in front of TV cameras was all very well but once a player, always a player – Greg wanted to stretch his legs and have a hit for a while, but he needed to know where he could spruce up afterwards. That was when it all went horribly pear shaped.

When Greg was still playing, he was used to having the run of the US Open site; now that he only has a press pass, he is discovering that his access severely limited. His media credential allows him into the players’ lounge but not into the players’ restaurant (hence the sandwich) and it allows him into the media work areas but not into the locker rooms. This, he thought, was ridiculous.

Heading to the accreditation office, he asked, politely, where he might be able to shower after having a session on the practise courts. “No idea,” the official said. “Surely the former champions are allowed to shower after a work out,” Greg offered, after having seen John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors hitting on the practise courts. “They have to get ready for their TV appearances after they’ve worked out…” Alas, the official could not help.

At this point, your trusty 10sballs.com correspondent mentioned – unwisely – that there was a shower in the ladies’ lavs in the media room. Greg’s eyes lit up. He could go in there, lock the door and all would be well. Yes, it might be well for you, Greg, but given that the US Open prides itself on the number of accredited media in Flushing Meadows and yet provides one tiny bathroom for the ladies and – I’m guessing here, as I haven’t been into the gents – the same for the boys, it won’t be much good for the rest of us. If you think you will be allowed to lock us out of our miniscule comfort station, you are sorely mistaken. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do – and when a girl’s gotta do it.

Added to which, the ladies’ is always densely populated with the cleaning staff who, for some reason best known to themselves, take their breaks in there.

No matter, Greg was willing to risk it and go for broke. As yet, we have not seen him – nor any part of him – try, but we will keep you posted. Poor Greg, he will learn. Eventually. We will knock that optimism out of him by the end of the tournament.

Greg is not alone in finding life in the press bunker something of a struggle. M’learned colleague, Hugh MacDonald, of The Herald in Glasgow, was the talk of the press bunker on Friday.

Hugh – or Shug, as they call him in Glasgow (it’s a linguistic thing) – is here to write about Andy Murray. Actually, he does not just write about Andy, he provides wall-to-wall coverage on the life and times of A. Murray of Dunblane. Wur Shuggie (or, for non-Glaswegians, that would be our Hugh) writes thousands of words every day on Scotland’s finest and is always on the look out for a new angle or a decent quote.

So when the Muzza reached the third round and it became clear that he would play Stanislas Wawrinka next, Shug shot into Stan the Man’s press conference.

Stan speaks English, German, Polish and French and, in all languages, he answered questions eloquently and thoughtfully. And then Shug asked his question. In a Glaswegian accent. Stan looked stunned. “What?” he said, regarding his interrogator as you would an alien from a different planet.

At this point, Shug’s hugely supportive press colleagues fell about laughing. Shug, who is a lovely man and a lovely writer, blushed (“I had a reddy”, as he put it) and, slightly flustered, he slowly and carefully asked his question again. Eventually, he did get an answer but word of the encounter spread around the press pit like wildfire. Complete strangers came over to introduce themselves – “So, you’re the man Stan couldn’t understand…”. Poor Shug could be scarred for life but his reputation will live on forever at the US Open.

I’m working here at the US Open as a commentator for the Australian television channel Fox Sports. It’s given me a great chance to assess the chances of some of the big names in the men’s draw as we head towards the second week of the tournament.

Roger Federer is looking very impressive. When Roger comes here, it’s like his second home and here and Wimbledon are where he feels most comfortable. He is very, very happy with the speed of the courts at Flushing Meadows, which are very different to anything else the guys play on throughout the year. The courts here are very quick and his natural coordination and level of skill mean that he can cope very well with that. He was sublime in the first round and then second round, when it was hot and windy, and yet he still looked very composed out there.

Things haven’t looked as easy so far for Rafael Nadal, who isn’t so well suited to the speed of the courts. Against the very talented Temuiraz Gabashvili in the first round, Nadal looked late and a little laboured to the ball, which comes about because the courts are too quick for him. He’s very rushed. That said, he has got better every year he has come to Flushing Meadows and the change in weather could be crucial for him because if it cools down then conditions will slow a little bit.

Nadal having been a semi-finalist in the last two years, I would still back him to make it to the last four again.

If Nadal gets that far then he would meet Andy Murray, who is another man who has a very, very good shot at the title. Like Federer, he copes very well with the speed of the court, he’s got good hands on the ball and changes the pace up very well. He certainly won’t be rushed. Andy has had pretty good form coming into this tournament. He beat Rafa and Roger in Toronto a few weeks back, won the US Open Series and has played well enough in his first couple of matches to suggest that he will be a semi-finalist here at the very least.

Novak Djokovic looked very, very average in his first round match and was definitely affected by the heat, which can be an issue for him. Like Nadal, he will be very pleased to see the weather change and become less hot because it might hold the key to his chances to making a dent in this tournament. He improved a lot against Philipp Petzschner in the second round and I must say I was very impressed by his opponent, who is very, very talented and is certainly capable of playing top 25 tennis. Djokovic had to play well to beat him and he did that.

It’s hard to look beyond the top four for this year’s US Open champion but there are one or two other players that are worth keeping an eye on. David Nalbandian is a former semi-finalist here and he could be a dark horse, especially as he’s dropped a lot of weight and is looking very fit, plus he’s done well over the summer. You just never know what you are going to get with him but he is one of those players who can be playing badly and still find a way to win matches, just like he did against Rik DeVoest in the first round.

Robin Soderling is another player who I’ll be keeping my eye on. He beat Taylor Dent unbelievably easily on Thursday and that was a very good match-up because Soderling loves playing against guys that come at him. He is in Federer’s half of the draw, though, and even though he beat Roger at Roland Garros this year, I think Federer’s level of confidence is a lot higher here than it is in Paris.

Federer is very, very motivated here. He only made back-to-back quarter-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and he will want to win a second grand slam title and make it two majors apiece for him and Nadal this year. He lost to Juan-Martin Del Potro in last year’s final and that probably still hurts him and he’s also chasing Ivan Lendl’s record of eight US Open finals in a row. He’s made the last six. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t make it seven.

When it comes to weather, the Scots know a thing or two. The tiny country of my forefathers (anyone inserting a gag here will have to face the wrath of my mother – and that, believe me, is not what you want to deal with on a holiday weekend) is a land battered by wind, rain, hail, snow, sleet and storms. And that is just during the summer. So, when it comes to a hurricane bumbling about offshore, no Scot worth his salt is going to be worried.

So it was that Andy Murray blew into the third round of the US Open, whistling past Dustin Brown 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 and getting back to the locker room long before Hurricane Earl had made his presence felt. Keeping a watchful eye on both the dark clouds overhead and the unpredictable form of Brown in front of him, Murray was done and dusted in just 85 minutes.

In the old days, a time when Dame Timothy Henry Henman used to wobble about on the edge of the second week of a grand slam, he would describe the likes of Brown as “unorthodox yet effective”. This was usually because the unorthodox newcomer, a man who had barely laid sneaker on DecoTurf before, had just walloped the toothless tiger in straight sets. Henman’s was the failing forehand that launched a thousand careers.

But when Murray faced Brown, he took one look at the welting serve, the spanked forehand and the ridiculous number of drop shots and thought: “Unorthodox? Sure, but effective? Not a chance, pal”.

The match was pretty much decided in the first 39 minutes. During that time, Brown had clattered the ball for all he was worth, he had dropshotted like a mad man and he had escaped from a few tight corners with some huge serves. But he could not keep it going forever. As soon as Murray broke to take the first set, Brown’s challenge all but evaporated.

Skipping lightly to a 5-0 lead, Scotland’s finest was racing into the third round until he made a bit of a hash of serving for the second set. Not that it mattered, he was so far ahead by then that he only had to bide his time to get another chance and this time, he made no mistake. Collecting the last seven games of the match, he allowed Brown just nine points in 18 minutes it took to win the third set.

For Brown, it had all been something of an experience. Ranked 123 in the world, he had no experience of the big show courts at the major tournaments so 85 minutes running around the Arthur Ashe stadium with the world No.4 was an event in itself, despite the fact that he was absolutely walloped at the end of it.

“In the first set, I realised I was staying with him,” Brown said. “I was serving well, and especially my first serve. I was hitting the targets in the beginning. And even all of the rallies, as soon as I had a chance to go for my forehand, I actually did that pretty well in the beginning.

“Only thing is that he read my dropshots really well. I mean, I guess he got coached on that pretty well. As soon as I opened up the racquet to hit a dropshot, he was already inside the service line. So didn’t make any points on that at all in the beginning.”

Ah, yes: the coaching. Now that Murray has no official coach, he has surrounded himself with his mum, Judy, his best mate, Dani Vallverdu, and Alex Corretja, his “coaching consultant” from Team Murray. Of these three, it is Judy who can be seen at the courtside of every match featuring one her son’s potential opponents, and it is she who texts him handy hints and pointers should he wish to use them. As a shrewd assessor of tennis talent, there is not much that escapes Mrs Murray and she will have briefed her youngest fully on the number and quality of those dropshots.

Murray, meanwhile, went straight to the practise courts after the match and spent 20 minutes hitting with Corretja. After such a brief second round encounter, he wanted to iron out a few wrinkles. “There were probably only two rallies today over eight shots,” Murray said. “I just wanted to get a bit of rhythm going again.

“But I’d not seen him play before and he’s got a very fast service action so it probably took me about three games to read it. He started very flashy. I had to focus on making as many returns as possible and I didn’t give him any chances so it was good. But I did serve well today and that’s something that will be important later in the tournament.”

As for Hurricane Earl, Murray had barely noticed all the fuss. Allowing himself a little bit of a lie-in that morning, he wandered off to see his physio before he even thought to check on the weather. “I just had a look outside because I heard it wasn’t meant to rain,” he said. “But then I was told it wasn’t going to come till later in the afternoon, so I wasn’t too worried about it.”

In Scotland, rain is not so much a weather feature as a way of life so a bunch of dark clouds lurking on the horizon in Queens is not going to panic a Murray. They make ‘em tough in Dunblane, possibly just tough enough to win this year’s US Open, whatever the weather.