Both Christina McHale and Irina Falconi lost their matches today – McHale to Maria Kirilenko, 2-6 3-6 and Falconi to Sabine Lisicki 0-6 1-6 – but there first few matches give hope for the future of American tennis.

“I had two really good wins my first two matches,” said McHale after her match today.  “This one, it’s disappointing.  But, yeah, I think I just kind of have to take the positives from it and keep working hard and, yeah, keep going.”

Added Falconi: “I am just going to take this week and the next week as a huge stage on my career, hopefully what can translate into a follow-up fall season. Next week I go to Quebec City for a tour event and hopefully do some damage there as well. There is nothing but positives to take out of this week.”

Both girls showed their inexperience today. Neither of them was attacking the ball like they did on Wednesday and even admitted to playing tentative.

“I was too passive today,” McHale said.  “I think the other day I took my chances when I had them.  But [Kirilenko] was playing well, too, so it made it difficult today.”

And then there were the bright lights of Ashe, where she admitted she was a little nervous playing under the lights in front of the sold out crowd.

“I think it didn’t really help me, my nerves, tonight,” McHale added.  “I never really felt as comfortable as I wanted to feel on the court.”

Yet, it will be interesting to see how both girls handle their first success of the Open.  Melanie Oudin melted under the pressure after her run two years ago and hasn’t made any noise since.

But Oudin could be considered a special situation. Both McHale and Falconi didn’t get the celebrity treatment like Ouidin did and the press didn’t start look into their personal lives.

Plus Oudin seemed to enjoy the celebrity spotlight, whereas both of these girls seems to care more about winning than stardom.

So it will be interesting to see how both do in the fall and then at the Australian Open come 2012. But it also important to remember they are both very young with McHale only 19 while Falconi can get a drink in bar…well barely. And it will take time for both players, so don’t get excited if one or both makes a quarterfinals and expect to see the second coming on Chris Everett.

Rather this is more like the baseball minor leagues where the two girls are honing their skills. Some success here will help them, but until they learn to be winning at a consistent level in high profile tournaments, they will remain prospects.

But all prospects have upside and this past week we may have just seen the future.

Results – Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Singles – First Round
(1) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (Q) Stéphanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) 61 61
Jill Craybas (USA) d. (2) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 63 36 76(3)
(3) Lucie Safarova (CZE) d. Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 75 63
(WC) Valérie Tétreault (CAN) d. (4) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 63 36 62
(5) Melanie Oudin (USA) d. Alison Riske (USA) 62 76(3)
Stéphanie Dubois (CAN) d. (7) Olga Govortsova (BLR) 64 26 75
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) d. (Q) Irina Falconi (USA) 64 75
Mirjana Lucic (CRO) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 06 61 61
(Q) Tamira Paszek (AUT) d. Marina Erakovic (NZL) 60 64
(Q) Alexa Glatch (USA) d. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 64 62

Doubles – First Round
Osterloh/Tatishvili (USA/GEO) d. (3) Hlavackova/Krajicek (CZE/NED) 63 61
Oudin/Zalameda (USA/USA) d. Bovina/Dekmeijere (RUS/LAT) 36 62 1210 (Match TB)
Arvidsson/Larsson (SWE/SWE) d. Lee-Waters/Moulton-Levy (USA/USA) 62 61

Order of Play – Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Court Bell (from 11.00hrs)
1. Lucie Safarova vs. Johanna Larsson
2. Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs. Julia Goerges (NB 12.00hrs)
3. Arvidsson/Larsson vs. Gullickson/Spears (after suitable rest)
4. Dubois/Tétreault vs. Craybas/Goerges (after suitable rest)
5. Marion Bartoli vs. Rebecca Marino (NB 19.00hrs)
6. Anna Tatishvili vs. Melanie Oudin

Court Banque Nationale (from 14.00hrs)
1. Borwell/Kops-Jones vs. Foretz Gacon/Woerle

Results – Monday, September 13, 2010
Singles – First Round
(6) Julia Goerges (GER) d. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) 63 62
(8) Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) d. Michaella Krajicek (NED) 62 60
Johanna Larsson (SWE) d. Shenay Perry (USA) 76(3) 63
Christina McHale (USA) d. Lilia Osterloh (USA) 61 46 64
Anna Tatishvili (GEO) d. Alicia Molik (AUS) 36 62 62
(WC) Rebecca Marino (CAN) d. (WC) Heidi El Tabakh (CAN) 76(6) 76(3)

Doubles – First Round
(1) Mattek-Sands/Zahlavova Strycova (USA/CZE) d. Molik/Pelletier (AUS/CAN) 63 76(8)
(2) Gullickson/Spears (USA/USA) d. Cirstea/Safarova (ROU/CZE) 76(4) 64

Singles Qualifying – Final Round
Alexa Glatch (USA) d. (1) Anne Keothavong (GBR) 26 62 61
(7) Stéphanie Foretz Gacon (FRA) d. Heather Watson (GBR) 61 61
(8) Tamira Paszek (AUT) d. Julie Ditty (USA) 75 76(7)
Irina Falconi (USA) d. Abigail Spears (USA) 57 75 76(4)

Order of Play – Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Court Bell (from 11.00hrs)
1. Alison Riske vs. Melanie Oudin
2. Jill Craybas vs. Aravane Rezai (NB 12.00hrs)
3. Lucie Safarova vs. Varvara Lepchenko
4. Arvidsson/Larsson vs. Lee-Waters/Moulton-Levy
5. Valérie Tétreault vs. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (NB 16.00hrs)
6. Marion Bartoli vs. Stéphanie Foretz Gaçon (NB 19.00hrs)
7. Olga Govortsova vs. Stéphanie Dubois

Court Banque Nationale (from 11.00hrs)
1. Alexa Glatch vs. Sabine Lisicki
2. Irina Falconi vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands
3. Mirjana Lucic vs. Sorana Cirstea
4. Tamira Paszek vs. Marina Erakovic
5. Bovina/Dekmeijere vs. Oudin/Zalameda
6. Osterloh/Tatishvili vs. Hlavackova/Krajicek

New York, NY-USA

August 30-September 12, 2010

$22,668,000/Grand Slam

Hard/Outdoors

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Singles – Second Round

(1) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Chang Kai-Chen (TPE) 60 60

(4) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (Q) Mirjana Lucic (CRO) 64 36 62

(7) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) d. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 61 76(5)

Peng Shuai (CHN) d. (9) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 26 61 64

(11) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) d. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 62 63

(14) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Iveta Benesova (CZE) 61 62

(15) Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 64 75

(WC) Beatrice Capra (USA) d. (18) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 75 26 63

Patty Schnyder (SUI) d. (22) María José Martínez Sánchez (ESP) 76(2) 64

(23) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) d. Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) 46 75 60

(25) Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 76(5) 61

(31) Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. (Q) Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) 62 64

Andrea Petkovic (GER) d. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 36 63 75

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) 62 57 76(7)

Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) d. (Q) Tamira Paszek (AUT) 63 63

(Q) Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) d. Urszula Radwanska (POL) 62 75

Doubles – First Round

(1) Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) d. Parra Santonja/Voracova (ESP/CZE) 46 61 62

(4) Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) d. Kvitova/Voegele (CZE/SUI) 61 62

(5) Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) d. Kondratieva/Uhlirova (RUS/CZE) 61 62

(6) King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ) d. Kostanic Tosic/Oprandi (CRO/ITA) 63 60

(7) Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) d. Daniilidou/Pironkova (GRE/BUL) 62 61

(8) Medina Garrigues/Yan (ESP/CHN) d. Schnyder/Szavay (SUI/HUN) 61 64

(9) Black/Rodionova (ZIM/AUS) d. Brianti/U.Radwanska (ITA/POL) 62 63

(11) Kleybanova/Makarova (RUS/RUS) d. Dushevina/Mirza (RUS/IND) 67(6) 62 76(3)

(13) Niculescu/Peer (ROU/ISR) d. Krajicek/Pelletier (NED/CAN) 76(4) 64

Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) d. Rezai/Wickmayer (FRA/BEL) 64 61

Hercog/Martic (SLO/CRO) d. Molik/Schiavone (AUS/ITA) 76(4) 63

Gallovits/Jans (ROU/POL) d. Grandin/Spears (RSA/USA) 57 63 61

Bacsinszky/Garbin (SUI/ITA) d. Keothavong/Sevastova (GBR/LAT) 16 63 62

Cibulkova/Pavlyuchenkova (SVK/RUS) d. (WC) Herring/Min (USA/USA) 61 64

(WC) Hampton/Oudin (USA/USA) d. (WC) Craybas/Stephens (USA/USA) 75 60

(WC) Gullickson/Gullickson (USA/USA) d. (WC) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) 62 63

Wozniak is the second highest seed after Sabine Lisicki had to withdraw from the tournament after getting injured at the US Open.

Also advancing No.4 seed Lucie Safarova beat another French-Canadian, Valérie Tétreault, 6-2, 6-2 and Bethany Mattek-Sands, who reached the finals in Quebec last year beat fellow American Vania King, 6-3, 6-3.

The quarters will all take place on Friday, with top seed Nadia Petrova facing Melinda Czink, Wozniak taking on Alla Kudryavtseva, Safarova taking on Mattek-Sands and Julia Goerges playing Lilia Osterloh.