U.S. Open Day 4 aces and faults
Victoria Duval returns the ball during a match against Samantha Stosur during the U.S. Open. (Aug. 27, 2013) Credit: Getty
FAULT: Victoria Duval, the early sensation of the tournament, was assigned to humble Court 11 -- 1,552 capacity -- for her second-round match, instead of one of the Open's show courts, such as the 6,106-seat Grandstand. Or even Louis Armstrong (10,103).
ACE: By late afternoon, Duval was moved to Court 17, fourth largest on the grounds (2,800).
ACE: The Bryan twins, Bob and Mike, won their first-round doubles match as they pursue a calendar Grand Slam sweep of the four major tournaments: Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.
By the numbers . . .
1 The number of bounces ballpersons are trained to use.
5 Forms of headwear (preferably with a sponsor name attached) favored by the pros. Cap, backward cap, thick headband, thin headband, visor. And many play bareheaded. (Early in their careers, the Williams sisters wore beads in their hair, Andre Agassi played in 1995 with what appeared to be a napkin on his head and doubles player Betthanie Mattek-Sands once warmed up in a cowboy hat.)
9 Consecutive years that Rafael Nadal has won at least one Grand Slam tournament (a men's record).
Furthermore
Scott Lipsky, the former state champ at Bellmore JFK High School who has made a pro career as a doubles specialist, lost his first-round match with partner Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico yesterday, 6-2, 6-3, to the Israeli pair of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.
