Heartening Losses

There is something very charming about watching a young man play one of the great champions of the game... even when, as in this case, the great champion completely destroys the young man. If the match is played in a good spirit, then it is a beautiful thing to watch.

I like what I see from Devin Britton. I think he's going to be pretty good in the future. I follow him on Twitter, and you can tell that he had a real sense of the occasion and appreciated the experience immensely, even though he got pretty well annihilated by Federer, who sailed through and didn't appear to be concentrating that hard in places. These are the matches which shape a young player's career, when they can see what the game is like at the very top. It gives them, I think, something to aspire to.

And I think we're going to be hearing a lot more from Devin Britton.

The same goes for Alexa Glatch, who got killed by Serena today. I think the USA is going to be very strong in the future, with the likes of she and Britton coming up. She's already been a Fed Cup heroine, and I think we're going to see a lot from her at Slams in the future. Serena destroyed her today, one and one, but just playing the top guns is good for young players. Once they have a real, tangible place to aim for, I think it really helps their game in future. Not necessarily through emulation... but when you've experienced something that good, I don't think it can be forgotten.

For both of them, I feel their losses today were not disheartening, but heartening in the extreme.


Today's Results

US Open (Flushing Meadows)

Men's Draw

Roger Federer def. Devin Britton, 6-1 6-3 7-5
Nikolay Davydenko def. Dieter Kindlmann, 6-3 6-4 7-5
Robin Soderling def. Albert Montanes, 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-4
Tommy Robredo def. Donald Young, 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-3
Tommy Haas def. Alejandro Falla, 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2
Mikhail Youzhny def. Paul-Henri Mathieu, 2-6 7-5 6-0 6-2
John Isner def. Victor Hanescu, 6-1 7-6 (16-14) 7-6 (7-5)
Marco Chiudinelli def. Potito Starace, 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) 6-0
Marcel Granollers def. Mischa Zverev, 2-6 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-0
Jan Hernych def. Rainer Schuettler, 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 2-6 6-3
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Peter Polansky, 6-4 6-4 5-7 3-6 6-1
Marsel Ilhan def. Christophe Rochus, 3-6 6-3 3-6 7-5 7-5
Robert Kendrick def. Martin Vassallo Arguello, 6-3 6-2 6-2
Somdev Devvarman def. Frederico Gil, 6-3 6-4 6-3
Olivier Rochus def. Igor Kunitsyn, 6-3 6-0 6-2
Simon Greul def. Giovanni Lapentti, 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-0 7-6 (11-9)
James Blake def. Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-1 6-4 7-5
Lleyton Hewitt def. Thiago Alves, 6-0 6-3 6-4

Women's Draw

Serena Williams def. Alexa Glatch, 6-4 6-1
Vera Zvonareva def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-0 6-4
Victoria Azarenka def. Alexandra Dulgheru, 6-1 6-1
Flavia Pennetta def. Edina Gallovits, 6-0 6-4
Agnieszka Radwanska def. Patricia Mayr, 6-1 6-2
Marion Bartoli def. Rossana de los Rios, 6-1 6-0
Samantha Stosur def. Ai Sugiyama, 6-4 4-6 6-4
Amelie Mauresmo def. Tatjana Malek, 6-3 6-4
Anabel Medina Garrigues def. Gail Brodsky, 6-4 6-4
Chang Kai-Chen def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-0 2-6 6-2
Francesca Schiavone def. Yvonne Meusburger, 6-1 6-2
Aleksandra Wozniak def. Laura Granville, 6-1 7-6 (9-7)
Magdalena Rybarikova def. Valerie Tetreault, 6-3 4-6 6-1
Melinda Czink def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-3 6-4
Maria Kirilenko def. Mariya Koryttseva, 6-2 6-1
Anna Chakvetadze def. Yurika Sema, 4-6 6-1 6-2
Timea Bacsinszky def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-3 6-4
Sania Mirza def. Olga Govortsova, 6-2 3-6 6-3
Jill Craybas def. Carly Gullickson, 6-3 7-6 (7-5)
Stefanie Voegele def. Alberta Brianti, 6-7 (10-12) 6-1 6-3
Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Iveta Benesova, 6-3 6-4
Angelique Kerber def. Andrea Petkovic, 6-4 5-7 6-3
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova def. Marta Domachowska, 2-6 6-2 6-3
Vania King def. Anastasiya Yakimova, 2-1 retired
Kim Clijsters def. Viktoriya Kutuzova, 6-1 6-1