This year the New York crowd may be ready to board McHale’s Navy.

Nineteen year-old Christina McHale, stormed to the third round with a straight set win over No. 8 seed 7-6 (2) 6-2 to become the darling of this year’s open.

“I knew that like I had to try,” the New Jersey resident said.  “I couldn’t play like any sloppy games.  I had to try and compete really hard in the second set because I knew she was going to try even harder, too, to get the second set because she lost the first.

“When I went from 3‑Love to 3‑2, I was like, C’mon, Christina, don’t let it get back to 3‑All.  That game was a big game to get it to 4‑2.”

McHale isn’t any stranger to upsets. She slayed World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in Cincinnati last month in the first round and then proceeded to beat Aleksandra Wozniak in the first round.

This win may have topped it off for the young American.

“I think they’re different wins.  I had never really, at the Grand Slams, made it past the second round,” she said.  “Yeah, that was a good win for me, too, but I think to have it happen here at the Grand Slam is exciting for me.”

Two years ago, during Oudin-mania McHale quietly win her first round match against Polona Hercog but lost to Maria Sharapova. Now, though, she seems poised to take on the bigger names in the sport on her rise to the top.

Yet, she is trying to not to get too tied up in the hype and become a long term disappointment like Oudin.

“I try not to think about that too much,” she said.  “I mean, when I go out there every time on the court, I’m going to try my best, try to compete really hard.”

Being from New Jersey means this is her hometown match. For years as a teenager she came to Flushing as a fan to watch the greats competed for the title.

Now she is getting the same treatment she gave to her heroes.

“Someone asked me this the other day,” she said.  “I don’t remember a particular match.  I just remember we’d all get here when the gates opened and we’d literally spend the whole day here, all of our friends, running from court to court, trying to get an autograph, a picture.

“It was so much fun for us.”

Almost as fun as winning the second round of the Open and if she beats the 25^th seed Maria Kirilenko in the third round, then McHale’s Navy may be in full force.

All Aboard!

Kim Clijsters goal of winning a Grand Slam outside of the US Open came to fruition with a three set win over Na Li, 3-6 6-3 6-3.

“Yeah, [the Grand Slam wins are] all emotional,” Clijsters said. “Obviously, you know, I think what overwhelms me is that it’s so intense up until, you know, that last shot, and then all of a sudden it’s finished. Then it’s just like a big relief.

“Yeah, you know, the disbelief maybe a little bit too it’s over and that I was able to turn it around is what makes it all so special.”

It looked like the day wasn’t going to go Aussie Kim’s way as Li took the first set rather handily, but the Belgian roared back to take the crown.

“She did everything better than me in that first set,” Clijsters said. “I mean, obviously her groundstrokes were heavier, deeper. She served better. She returned better.

“So I think, you know, she was playing really, really well probably the best that I’ve ever played against her, or that she played against me.

“I tried to just, you know, think after that first set, you know, like, What can I do differently so I can maybe break her rhythm a little bit, try to make her think out there a little bit more? So I tried to mix it up a little bit, put some slices in, also hit a few higher shots that, you know, kind of just made her make some unforced errors.”

“Yeah, I saw her get a little bit aggravated, and just tried to hang in there.”

The win allows Clijsters to achieve the goal she set out for herself after winning in Flushing Meadows back in September. Because of her dominance at the US Open, she was gaining the reputation of a hard court specialist, who couldn’t win on the slower courts. She said at the time, Melbourne was the place she though she had her best chance of winning, and with her only dropping one set the whole tournament, she proved her point.

“Obviously, I mean, you know, if I could win another US Open it would also be nice,” Clijsters said. “But, no, I do enjoy this win, especially here in Australia, as well. It’s been a country where I’ve always loved coming to and where I’ve always been very well received.

“Yeah, I’ve been close to doing well, you know, a few years in a row, so it’s nice to finally get it this year.”

Now Clijsters will set her eye on the French Open and Wimbledon. She has gone one record saying she will probably either retire or reduce her schedule again after the 2012 Olympics. Yet, that’s so far away and there are other Slams to win.

“I’m not going to sit here and be like, No, that wouldn’t be nice,” she said. “But to be honest, I really haven’t thought about it. It’s a little early I think to already think ahead, focus on those kind of things.

“I’ve been really focused on this last month, you know, two months, to try and be ready for the Australian summer. And now I kind of just need a break from that whole, like, goals and preparing and all that.

“But, no, obviously the French is a Grand Slam where, you know, I would like to do well, as well. All of them, of course. But, uhm, again, yeah, I’m just excited that I won this one. Like I said, not really thinking in those kind of ways yet.

:That will probably happen after Fed Cup when I’m done and home for a few weeks. I’m playing Paris. Once after that, I’ll probably have time to sit together with the team and kind of just relook at the whole kind of schedule for later this year.”

Yet, that seems so far in the future. Right now, Clijsters is just going to enjoy her win with her husband Brian Lynch and daughter Jada, who seems to be getting used to mommy winning titles.

“She’s always excited,” Clijsters said. “Although when she saw the trophy, she was like, Who is that trophy for? And then she’s like, Did you win that? I’m like, Yeah.

“I mean, to her, she knows I play tennis, but that’s it. She doesn’t know everything else that comes with it, winning, losing. You know, obviously, I mean, she’s seen me like a little bit disappointed and stuff.

“She asks, Why are you disappointed? I explain to her that I lost. But, I mean, it’s not a big deal for her.”

Rather it’s a bigger deal for mommy who is rolling along in her second tennis career.

The duo won seven titles last year but this was their first Grand Slam crown.

“Last year was a great year, this year we are starting really good,” said Pennetta, who lost in single’s in the fourth round to Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova.

The win means Dulko will remain the No. 1 Women’s Doubles player in the world with Pennetta staying at No. 2.

First you have La, who is trying to become the first Chinese woman to win a Grand Slam, taking on the three time US Ioen Champion, who set her sights on winning Australia after winning in Flushing Meadows back in September.

La was able beat No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki who is still looking for her first Grand Slam win.

A Recap of the Semi’s is Below

According to Milner, whether tennis fans were looking for upsets, following their favorite players or tracking a potential Federer-Nadal showdown, they were doing it on TENNIS.com.  In the two weeks from August 30th through September 13^th, the site recorded 658,072 unique visitors – about 10% more uniques than a typical full month of traffic. The 1,832,638 user sessions, an 11% increase from the 2009 US Open, shows that visitors are returning to the site throughout the tournament for the latest news and information.  The 26% increase in page views to 12,493,249, proves that tennis fans are not just checking scores but are discovering robust content throughout the site such as daily videos, twitter feeds and blogs.

Advertisers who benefitted from the substantial online audience included: American Express, Wilson, K-SWISS and POLO.

The company’s explosive growth surrounding its podcast programs continued during the 2010 US Open as more than 39,000 podcasts, sponsored by American Express and Prince Sports, were downloaded from iTunes, Zune and TENNIS.com.

About The Tennis Media Company: The Tennis Media Company publishes TENNIS Magazine and SMASH Magazine. TENNIS, published 8 times annually, is the world’s largest tennis title, with a circulation of more than 600,000. The Tennis Media Company also owns TENNIS.com, the world’s leading tennis website, plus the blog Peter Bodo’s TennisWorld (peterbodostennisworld.com).

In a match of friends and former doubles partners who ooze French flair with each swing of the racquet, Monfils broke Gasquet’s serve, nerve and mind in an entertaining 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 victory. Monfils saved a set point in the second set and roared back from a 3-5 deficit in the third set to become the first Frenchman to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Arnaud Clement in 2000.

“I tried to be very tough and hard with him, showing him that I’m the man and I’m the leader,” Monfils said of Gasquet. “So I think I try also to get him a bit in the head, to show him like I will be strong and he might hit a good shot, but it’s okay. For me it’s nothing. I will try to reach every ball and show him…if he come in I will be everywhere.”

The quarterfinal match between Monfils and Novak Djokovic, who dismissed Mardy Fish, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his sixth straight Grand Slam quarterfinal, should be a shot-making spectacle between two players who cover the court as quickly as if playing on roller blades.

It sounds like a battle of the super heroes pitting the Djoker against Slider Man, Monfils’ nickname for his sliding, skidding retrievals across the court.

“He’s physically one of the most prepared and strongest guys on the tour,” Djokovic said. “We have a lot of respect for each other. We grew up together….He’s kind of flashy. If he starts playing well, he can beat anyone because he’s so fast and so athletic and so strong that he can get a lot of balls back. I just have to be patient and wait for my chances.”

When he’s on his game and playing with confidence Gasquet is one of the most spectacular shotmakers in the sport. Winners can stream from his racquet like all the right answers on a test, but the Frenchman has a fragile psyche at times and must add some grit to accompany his glamorous stroke production in order to return to the top 20.

Gasquet’s brilliant one-handed backhand is one of the most beautiful strokes in the sport, but when he missed a challenging backhand pass up the line on set point, Monfils knew he could break Gasquet mentally.

“I got lucky in the first set point he had in the second set because he could like pass me easy,” Monfils said. “But he showed me at the time he was not that good mentally. He show me he was, I won’t say weak, but it was like shaky a bit. Then I knew he missed and I knew if I closed this game then (I) will break for sure if I put pressure on him and I was right.”

Monfils, who is not exactly a pillar of mental strength himself, exchanged a French kiss with Gasquet after the match and said the fact Gasquet doesn’t embrace pressure or loud crowds played to his advantage.

“Richard, he doesn’t really like pressure. He love like good play not (tough) play,” Monfils said. “He don’t like a lot of crowd around, the crowd involved. He doesn’t like to see the opponent like show emotions. (I) just played with that, play with his mind and that was it.”

Seeing Gasquet crumble across the net, Monfils did what he does best: stirred the crowd up with both his eye-popping speed and sprinting shots and by exhorting the fans with the wave of his arms.

“They helped me for sure in the second set.  After I served the set point, I think I ask a bit the crowd to get involved, and they did,” Monfils said. “Then was great.  That’s why, you know, I broke him straightaway, because I had like positive energy.  I love when it’s intense.  I love it.  It make me feel like I’m stronger again. So for sure when the crowd get involved I play my best tennis.”

Seeking his fourth consecutive trip to the US Open semifinals, Djokovic is a decided favorite against quarterfinal opponent Gael Monfils.

In an all-French fourth round meeting, the 17th-seeded Monfils broke Richard Gasquet mentally in scoring an entertaining 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 victory. Monfils saved a set point in the second set and roared back from a 3-5 deficit in the third set to send the fragile fellow Frenchman packing and become the first French quarterfinalist since Arnaud Clement in 2000.

“I tried to be very tough and hard with him, showing him that I’m the man and I’m the leader,” Monfils said of Gasquet. “So I think I try also to get him a bit in the head, to show him like I will be strong and he might hit a good shot, but it’s okay. For me it’s nothing. I will try to reach every ball and show him…if he come in I will be everywhere.”

The Djokovic-Monfils match pits two of the fastest, most charismatic, flamboyant and sometimes flakiest players in men’s tennis. They are two men who play as if empowered by the belief that no ball is beyond their reach which should create a highly entertaining match.

“Gael is very charismatic and very athletic,” Djokovic said. “He slides a lot and so do I so I guess there’s going to he a lot of sliding between him and me.”

Djokovic is 4-0 lifetime vs. Monfils, including a controversial 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(5), 0-6, 7-5 triumph in the 2005 US Open first round in which some spectators believed Djokovic resorted to gamesmanship in pulling a lengthy injury time out to rest and recover.

Their most recent encounter saw Djokovic outduel Monfils and silence the Parisian crowd in an explosively entertaining, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3), victory in the Paris Indoor final last November.

Master showman Monfils, who has entertained the New York City crowd with his electrifying shotmaking skills on the run, his expressiveness and even his impromptu post-match dance moves, is hoping he can work the crowd into a festive frenzy.

“I can get the crowd behind me,” Monfils said. “I know him perfectly. We had like always a tough match. And then, damn I had revenge to take it because he won against me at home in Bercy (Paris). So this time I hope to win.”

Richard Pagliaro is the editor of TennisNow.com.

That frame shot symbolized the type of day it was for the 2008 US Open finalist: a frustrated Jankovic fretted, framed balls and even yelled at the elements at one point while Kaia Kanepi continued to swing away through the drafty day.

In the end, the 31st-seeded Estonian managed both her emotions and shots better than Jankovic in bouncing the fourth-seeded Serbian out of the US Open third round, 6-2, 7-6(1) on a day in which wind gusts reached more than 25 mph on Arthur Ashe Stadium Court.

“Oh, the wind was really tough. The conditions were really, really tough to play,” said Jankovic, who got to the post-match press conference so quickly you wondered if she sprinted down the hall way. “I had a really hard time hitting the balls. obviously, they were going all over the place. The wind was really strong and she handled those kind of conditions a lot better than I did…You hit the ball in one direction, it goes another. You’re just getting ready to hit the ball and it just moves away from you. She was the better player today. Congrats to her.”

Reaching the Flushing Meadows fourth round for the first time in five appearances, Kanepi is one win away from her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. The Wimbledon quarterfinalist will play either 15th-seeded Yanina Wickmayer or Swiss southpaw Patty Schnyder for a place in the last eight in what has become a wide-open second quarter of the draw.

“My coach told me we have a chance everywhere we go, so we have a chance here,” Kanepi said.

Player and coach have cause for such optimism.

In the span of four months, the 25-year-old Kanepi has completely revived her career in raising her ranking 108 spots from No. 140 to No. 32 after embarking on a 31-4 tear from the start of May through mid July. She played through qualifying at Wimbledon and strung together seven straight wins, beating French Open finalist Samantha Stosur at the grass-court Grand Slam along the way, before suffering a heart-breaking loss to Petra Kvitova, 8-6 in the third set, in the quarterfinals.

Following her Wimbledon run she swept World No. 12 Flavia Pennetta in the Palermo final to become the first Estonian woman to win a WTA Tour title in July.

The 5-foot-11 Kanepi has always been a big hitter, but has worked to temper her power with patience after bottoming out with a Flushing Meadows first-round loss last year that was one of 11 consecutive opening-round exits. During those dark days she bounced racquets off the court as frequently as fans through coins into the fountains outside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Now she’s collecting wins even in unforgiving winds and reaping the rewards of a more self-controlled approach.

“I changed my game and tried to play more patient,” Kanepi said. “Then I started winning and my confidence started getting higher. Last year, I started losing and I had to change. I’m still quite aggressive, but I try to play more patient.”

Patience and precision are the the cornerstones of Jankovic’s game, but that foundation cracked and crumbled as Jankovic, who is usually so adept at taking those short preparation steps before striking her shots, sometimes flailed off balance like a woman trying to hit the ball while embroiled in a game of twister.

On a day in which merely making clean contact looked as easy as threading a needle on a stuck on a spinning pin wheel, the Wimbledon quarterfinalist summed up her
tactical approach simply.

“I tried to hit as much balls inside the court as possible,” Kanepi said. “She was frustrated, but sometimes I also got upset.”

Jankovic is one of the fastest players in women’s tennis and plays concise combinations when she’s on her game, but could not use her speed to salvage a match of shoddy shotmaking in which she clanked 41 unforced errors against just 13 winners.

The former World No. 1 does not hit the ball as hard as Kanepi and struggled to hit through the wind when playing against it on the north side of the court.

“Why is it so windy?” Jankovic pleaded at the sky at one point as if seeking some celestial answer that never came.

“You get frustrated with the wind because you want to hit the ball in a certain direction and they want to go everywhere except where you want them to go,” Jankovic said in explaining her frustration. “And then, it’s physical because you have to move your feet a lot more. You have to be alert.”

The swirl sent a Jankovic backhand beyond the baseline as Kanepi broke for 5-3 in the second set. Serving for the match, Kanepi got tight and dropped serve for the first time when Jankovic stepped forward and smacked a backhand return winner down the line.

“That wasn’t because of the wind,” Kanepi confided afterward. “It was because of the head. Most of us start to think too much when we serve for it.”

The breeze blew the bottom of Jankovic’s purple dress up to her waist revealing her red
sports shorts. She held for 5-all then broke for 6-5, but Kanepi broke right back and hammered her way through the wind and Jankovic in the breaker.

Kanepi took the court with a 1-8 career record against top five players. She sealed her fourth career win over a top 10 player with two of those coming against Jankovic on hard court and received a congratulatory text from her father moments after stepping off court.

“He said ‘Well done. It was amazing,’ ” Kanepi said in summing up the sentiments of surviving her first appearance on the largest  — and windiest  — Grand Slam stage in the game.

Rich Pagliaro is the editor of TennisNow.com.

It was one of the most eye-popping points of this Flushing Meadows fortnight. Istomin left a long black skid mark across the court and Nadal applauded in appreciation for his opponent’s efforts.

Then the top-seeded Spaniard took off the gloves, elevated his intensity even higher and reeled off six straight points to post a highly-entertaining 6-2, 7-6(5), 7-5 victory to roll into the US Open third round.

There’s the physical demands of playing Nadal compounded by the sheer demoralizing fact that even after you give all you can give and hurl your body around the court with abandon, Nadal responds with even great intensity and concentration.

“He fought a good point. He played a great point,” Nadal said of Istomin’s efforts. “I had to win that point three times before, but he did well. Finally, he ws fast going for the drop shot and he pass me. Just a tough point for me…But I think I stayed very well mentally in that moment. I was playing with big calm and big concentration. And finally, I was a little bit lucky for sure. (It) is impossible to come back from 5-1, I had a little bit lucky. It was a very important moment of the match.”

It was Nadal’s 16th consecutive Grand Slam victory and sets up a third-round meeting with Gilles Simon, who topped 29th-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Nadal has beaten the 42nd-ranked Frenchman in three of their four meetings, including a 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 win in the 2009 Australian Open quarterfinals.

The Nadal serve was a key stroke tonight. He struggled at times on serve in Cincinnati, but saved all seven break points he faced tonight and smacked a 134 mph serve, the fastest serve he’s hit at the US Open.

Asked how he’s found his service rhythm, Nadal replied: “Well, (Uncle) Toni arrives and everything under control.”

“Seriously, I don’t know,” Nadal added. “That’s pretty strange because I wasn’t serving very well the previous days. I started to serve well one or two days before the competition. But the week of practice, I wasn’t serving well, no?”

A slight grip change seems to have remedied that issue.

“I changed a little bit the grip, like five or six days ago, because I felt when I played against the wind I didn’t have free points,” Nadal said. “So I needed that. So I tried to play the serve a little more aggressive. For the moment, it’s working really well so I am going to try to keep playing like this. And sure, serve is like big confidence for my game.”

Rich Pagliaro is the editor of TennisNow.com.

Enter Beatrice Capra.

If you haven’t heard of her, don’t sweat it as she’s ranked 317 in the world. But with her first Top 20 win against the 18^th seed Aravane Rezai, 7-5 2-6 6-3, has put the 18 year-old right in Oudin territory.

And that suits the Maryland native just alright.

“I really look up to Melanie,” said Capra, who is playing in her first US Open.  “I watched all of her matches last year, and I was just so happy for her.  You know, it was really inspiring to me because I played her a year before, and then she was getting to the quarters of a Grand Slam.  It was just unbelievable, and I was so happy for her.

“You know, I think she’s pushed all of the Americans to do better.  I mean, for sure I talk to Melanie a lot, and I will for sure ask anything about Maria Sharapova.”

Although she may be seeking Sharapova’s advice, that may have to wait, because Capra may play the 14^th seed Russian pending the results against Iveta Benesova laster tonight.

And that’s alright because right now, Capra is the talk on the Open. She was born to an Italian family and her father emigrated to America. “He’s from Monza,” Capra said, “and he came over to start his business, which it’s called the Tenax Corporation.  It’s an Italian company, so he started it in America.  While he was there in Maryland, my mom taught tennis lessons.  He wanted to take tennis lessons, so they met up and here I am.”

Her last answer got a round of laughs from the press conference and much like Oudin this young lady is very engaging as she moves up the ranks.

She trains at Chris Everett’s Tennis Academy and earned a wildcard into this tournament. As such, she has a tremendous confidence in the last 12 months.

“A year ago today I was actually playing the juniors here,”   I’ve been playing mostly juniors tournaments the entire year and concentrating on that.  I’ve played a couple of pro circuit events and done okay, but it’s been mostly juniors.”

“I played a couple of WTA events this year, and lost first round in the quallies in all of them.  So, I mean, this is definitely the best I’ve done so far.”

She played a very strong defensive game today, but feels she needs to be more aggressive if she’s going to move forward.

Of course all of this may end on Saturday when she faces Sharapova or Benesova, but right now she’s enjoying it.

“Well, yeah.  I mean, I always wanted to play in one of the Grand Slams,” she said.  “You know, I would be watching the Tennis Channel leading up.  It’s just like, you know, I always wanted that.

“Whenever I want something, you know, I do my best to get it.  You know, every day I would be like, I want this, I want this, and I just can’t, you know, believe that it’s happening.”

Turely, this Capra is living a Wonderful Life.

So today when she dropped the first set to Jamilla Groth, 4-6, you had to wonder if the good Maria was back or the bad Maria, who struggled since coming back from shoulder surgery, was still around.

“I think she came out today and really swung and didn’t give me much time to do anything out there,” Sharapova said after taking the next two sets, 6-3 6-1. “She served really well in the first set.  I wasn’t returning that well, giving her a lot of looks, you know, on second serves.

“Against a player like that, who kind of plays the 1‑2 punch type of tennis, you know, it’s quite difficult to get a rhythm in the beginning.

“You know, I just hung in there.  Between the first and second set, I knew that it wasn’t over.  In tennis you have either two or three sets to play.  So I still knew I had my chances.”

Sharapova then dominated and cruised to the win. She needs to send a message as a potential Quarterfinal with No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki looms early next week.

But first she needs to continue to finish her matches strong. Next up is Iveta Benesova in the second round and as of right now, she is still trying to find her form in this Open.

“Based on my results in the past,” she said, “I’ve been in different situations coming into a Grand Slam playing really well in the beginning, playing well throughout, or starting quite slow and then finding my game throughout.

“So it depends.  It really depends on the tournament, the situation, your opponent, really getting through matches.  Days like this where your opponent was playing really well, you really have to find, you know, ways to hang in there and ways to fight.  And at the end of the day, just hope you give yourself another opportunity.”

Sharapova actually looks the strongest since she had shoulder surgery back in Oct. 2008. When she came back last year, her serve looked weak as she was recovering from the injury. But now, she’s fully healthy and time to turn the page.

“Yeah, last year with my whole game, I was just trying to find, you know, where my feet were on the ground, just trying to find my position, see how I could handle playing a lot of matches under different circumstances,” she said. “You know, this year, you know, a whole year with the tournaments and experience, it feels really good to be healthy coming in, just playing and not worrying about, uhm, how physically you feel.”

In 2010, Sharapova took two smaller tournaments the first was in February in Memphis and then right before Roland Garros in Strasberg. But these smaller tourneys are not what she’s looking for. Not with three Grand Slams under her belt, yet none since the surgery.

“Experience helps,” she said.  “But, I don’t know, it’s really at the end of the day about going out there and doing it and finding the mental strength, the physical strength, you know, challenging yourself to go out there and be better every day.”

And today Groth learned that from Sharapova and now Benesova is in her the way of the Great Maria Comeback.