Fresh Digital Group Announces Release of ESPN InPlay

• ESPN InPlay is a mobile website, accessible from any tablet or smartphone, which allows users to follow along with ESPN’s coverage of the US Open in real time, with scores and trivia.

• ESPN InPlay users have the opportunity, by answering trivia questions, to win daily prizes, or 2013 US Open tickets.

NEW YORK, NY 8/27/2012–Fresh Digital Group announces the release of ESPN InPlay, an interactive mobile website that allows its users to follow along with ESPN’s coverage of US Open games, and answer predictive trivia questions for the opportunity to win daily prizes. the product’s benefits) to (name the primary purchasers or consumers of the product).

The website can be accessed at espninplay.com from any smartphone or tablet, and can be played any time during ESPN coverage of the US Open.
We created the product in order to capitalize on the growing role of mobile in consumer habits, and to offer tennis fans an opportunity to enjoy the game on their mobile devices in a unique and fun way.

US Open 2012: Order of play for Saturday September 1

Saturday’s order of play at the US Open can be found at the link below.

Link: Order of Play.

Djokovic, Roddick and del Potro reach US Open third round

US Open–New York

Defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the US Open with ease on Friday, crushing Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-2, 6-1, 6-2.

Winning 90 percent of his first serve points, Djokovic outclassed his No. 112th ranked opponent by striking 29 winners to 14 unforced errors.

Attempting to win his 6th career grand slam title, Djokovic will next face either Julien Benneteau or Dennis Novikov.

Progressing under the radar as usual, No. 4 seed David Ferrer carved up another lower ranked foe to reach the third round of a major. Taking apart Igor Sijsling 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(12), Ferrer hit six aces and broke serve on four occasions, while losing his delivery once.

The Spaniard will take on Lleyton Hewitt or Gilles Muller for a place in round of 16.

Elsewhere, Richard Gasquet and NCCA winner Steve Johnson advanced in three and four sets, respectively.

Gasquet dusted Bradley Klahn, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 and Johnson eliminated Ernests Gulbis 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-4.

Other winners on the day included, Juan Martin del Potro, Janko Tipsarevic, Leonardo Mayer, Lleyton Hewitt, Stanislas Wawrinka and Alexandr Dolgopolov.

American Andy Roddick staved off retirement during the night session, cruising past Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. Roddick will next face Fabio Fognini for a place in the fourth-round.

US Open 2012: Day 5 Preview

by: Tom Cochrane

A day after Kim Clijsters’ second career came to an end, American veteran Andy Roddick announced that this year’s US Open would be his last ever tournament. That announcement should add plenty of spice to the already intriguing clash today between the former world number one and US Open champion and Australian rising star Bernard Tomic.

Day 4 Recap

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the biggest casualty on Day 4 at Flushing Meadows, the fifth-seeded Frenchman upset by the Slovakian Klizan in 4 sets. Mardy Fish looked set to join Tsonga in exiting the tournament before fighting back from 2 sets to love down to defeat Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko. Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych cruised to respective victories, while there were also wins for the Spanish trio of Lopez, Verdasco and Almagro, American Sam Querrey and Canada’s Milos Raonic.

Croat Marin Cilic, backing up his first round win where he came back from 2 sets to love down, did the same in round 2 against Daniel Brands, while veteran James Blake enjoyed an upset win over Marcel Granollers. In the women’s tournament, Angelique Kerber beat Venus Williams in a thrilling 3-setter, as Agnieszka Radwanska also prevailed in 3 sets. Moving through in straight sets with far less difficulty were fellow seeds Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Kirilenko and French Open finalist Sara Errani.

Matches of the Day – Day 5

1. Andy Roddick vs. Bernard Tomic

Young Australian prodigy Bernard Tomic announced himself at Grand Slam level last year by making the Australian Open round of 16 and the Wimbledon quarter-finals, but after a bright start to 2012 the teenager has been in patchy form. Tomic normally plays his best on the big stage, so I’m sure he’s primed for a big performance in this clash, but of course the retiring Andy Roddick will want to extend his career by at least another few matches.

Roddick has a clear advantage in the service department, but Tomic is probably more inventive and consistent from the back of the court. I think this will go to a fifth set, and I’ll back the crowd to ride Roddick home. Roddick in 5.

2. Victoria Azarenka vs. Jie Zheng

The Chinese seed Jie Zheng is a tricky opponent, possessing a solid game from the back of the court. But the top seeded Azarenka is looking to reassert herself as the best player in the women’s game – a position which has been under review following Serena William’s mid-season renaissance.

Azarenka’s less than ideal results in Paris and London can be explained in part by the fact that clay and grass are not her favourite surfaces, but back on her preferred hard-courts the Belarusian will be looking to make a serious run for the title. She’s been impressive so far in New York, and I think she will move through to the round of 16 with relative ease. Azarenka in 2.

3. Varvara Lepchenko vs. Sam Stosur

The naturalised American Lepchenko grabbed the attention of the tennis world with a strong performance at Roland Garros earlier this year, but this encounter against the defending US Open champion Sam Stosur may well be too much for Lepchenko to handle.

The fast, high-bouncing Flushing Meadows courts suit Stosur’s game to a tee, and the Australian has shown no signs of any pressure in defending her title in the opening 2 rounds, cruising to wins in convincing fashion. I’m predicting another relatively straightforward win for the Australian. Stosur in 2.

4. Li Na vs. Laura Robson

After winning last year’s French Open, Li Na endured something of a form slump. The ninth seed has turned that around in recent months, removing her husband from his role as her coach and subsequently being one of the standout players on the WTA Tour during the North American swing.

This match against rising star Robson should be intriguing. Robson showed a steely resolve to upset Kim Clijsters in the previous round, but I suspect the young Brit will find it hard to back up the best win of her career against her far more experienced opponent. Li in 2.

5. Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Ryan Harrison

Ask many astute tennis observers which player has the biggest chance of breaking up the dominance of the “Big 4” in the men’s game and the name which is most frequently mentioned in Juan Martin Del Potro. The 2009 US Open champion has the power game to bring down any of the big names, as he demonstrated by beating Nadal and Federer in New York in ’09 and as he again showed in pushing Federer to the brink and defeating Djokovic during this year’s Olympics.

Rising star Ryan Harrison has yet to achieve a breakout Grand Slam result, but the American is rapidly improving and I sense he is on the verge of a run to the second week of a major. But with Del Potro in ominous form and back at the scene of his greatest triumph, I think Harrison will need to wait until 2013 to progress to the second week of a Grand Slam.

Put your house on:French Open champion Maria Sharapova to comprehensively defeat American Mallory Burdette.

Upset alert:American Brian Baker has a chance of upsetting Serbian star Janko Tipsarevic, while Ukrainian seed Alexandr Dolgopolov will need to be at his best to avoid being bounced by Marcos Baghdatis.

Likely to go the distance:TheTomic-Roddick clash (previewed above) should go the distance, while I think Tomic’s countryman Lleyton Hewitt will be too strong for Gilles Muller down the stretch.

That’s it for today. Enjoy the tennis and I’ll be back with another serve tomorrow.

Grounds Pass: The Outer Court guide to the 2012 US Open (Day 5)

by: Jack Han

Exciting day yesterday – Zhang and Chuang pulled the upset and took out Clijsters/Flipkens 6-3 6-4; hoped you were on hand to see that.  Chuang Chia-Jung asked Kim to pose for a picture after the match as a souvenir, a testament of how well-liked and respected the Belgian is in the locker room.  You’ll be missed, Kimmie.  (She plays mixed doubles with Bob Bryan today – 4^th match on Court 17)

Today isUpset Alert Day.  Here are my picks for the matches to check out:

(11) Marion Bartoli vs Kristina Mladenovic (Court 11, 11AM start)

This is an all-French matchup as well as a potential shocker.  Mladenovic, just 19 and coming off of a doubles title at the Roger’s Cup, fits in the baseline basher mold in stark contrast to Bartoli and her unorthodox game.  Start your day here; watch the girls trade sets, and perhaps get a few more autographs from the sizable French pro contingent on hand (can’t miss them).

(13) Richard Gasquet vs Bradley Klahn (Court 17, second day session match)

Klahn, despite only being in the second round, has already won 4 matches at the Open (3 in the qualies and 1 main draw match).  The former Stanford #1 has plenty of tools to challenge Gasquet.  If he rides the wave of crowd support out on court 17, there might be yet another potential upset here.

(14) Alexandr Dolgopolov vs Marcos Baghdatis (Court 17, third day session match)

Watching Dolgo is a ton of fun – he doesn’t take himself too seriously on the court and will hit shots at 6-6 in the tiebreak you wouldn’t dare attempt even in practice.  This flair has brought him the 14^th seeding in New York, but has also led him to being down 2 sets to love in his first round match.  Baghdatis plays his best on hard courts and can wow the crowd with his shotmaking as well.  Look for his backhand down the line at critical moments in the match.  Another upset alert.

(19) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Benoit Paire (Court 13, third day session match)

If you need to shake out your legs and don’t want to stay on Court 17 to watch Clijsters and Bob Bryan play doubles, walk down to Court 13 and catch the end of this match.  Paire took out Grigor Dimitrov in 4 sets 2 days ago, while Kohlschreiber did the same against Michael Llodra.  Over 5 sets, Kohlschreiber is the heavy favorite, but with these two, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get on a given day.

About the Author: Jack Han is a business lecturer, entrepreneur, 4.5 level player and occasional tennis writer living in Montreal, Canada.  Check out his personal blog at bcomconfidential.wordpress.com.

Follow him on Twitter at @KSplayersClub or on Instagram @SoireeCulturelle

US Open 2012: Order of play Friday August 31

Friday’s order of play at the US Open can be found at the link below.

Link: Order of Play

Andy Roddick to retire after US Open

American Andy Roddick announced on Thursday at the National Tennis Center that he will retire after the US Open.

Turning 30 earlier this week, Roddick told the media that he’s happy with his decision. Roddick will next face Bernard Tomic in the second round on Friday evening.

Roddick, who won the US Open in 2003, was ranked No. 1 in the world and also captured the Davis Cup for his country.

Raonic advances to third round at US Open

Becomes first male Canadian to reach round of 32 in New York since 1988

Toronto, August 30, 2012 – Milos Raonic (Thornhill, Ont.) has advanced into the third round at the US Open with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu on Thursday.

In much better form than his opening match, in which Raonic was required to mount a comeback down a set and a break to Colombian Santiago Giraldo, the 21-year-old needed two hours and 10 minutes to clinch the win. He was able to rely on his strong serve, which tapped out at 141 mph, as he blasted 30 aces while only giving up five free points due to double faults. He also allowed his opponent just one break point opportunity throughout the duel, which Mathieu was unable to capture.

Tightly contested through all three sets, Raonic secured the only two breaks of the entire match at the 5-5 mark in the first set and the 2-2 mark in the second set. In the third set, Mathieu’s service games were impenetrable, as the former world No. 12 only gave up one point on serve through the first 12 games. Raonic was able to squash any comeback attempts in the tiebreaker though, as he came out ahead to reach the third round in New York for the first time in his career.

With the triumph, he also becomes the first male Canadian to advance this deep at the final Slam of the year since Martin Laurendeau took it a step further by reaching the fourth round in 1988. The No. 15 seed’s next opponent will be the winner of the match between American James Blake and No. 24 seed Marcel Granollers of Spain, who are currently playing on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Raonic defeated Blake in their only prior meeting in 2011 at San Jose, en route to his first ATP World Tour title, while he has never before played Granollers. Raonic will be aiming to advance to the fourth round at a Slam for the second time in his career, and the first since the 2011 Australian Open.

Tsonga upset at US Open; Federer, Fish, Sock prevail

US Open—New York

No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tumbled out of the US Open on Thursday, losing in four sets to unheralded Slovak Martin Klizan, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Reaching the quarters last year, Tsonga showed the ill affects of a summer that featured a knee injury in Toronto.

Slated in a quarter with Andy Murray, Klizan will next face either Jeremy Chardy or Matthew Ebden for a place in the round of 16.

Elsewhere, the American contingent was represented in fine fashion when Mardy Fish overcame a two sets to love deficit against Nikolay Davydenko and Jack Sock reached his first third round at a major by dismissing Flavio Cipolla in straight sets.

Overcoming his Russian opponent 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, Fish hit 16 winners and 46 winners to advance to the third round.

Teenager Sock was ultra impressive on the day, taking down the Italian veteran 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

Slamming 15 aces to zero for his opponent, Sock made sure to dictate play from the baseline, while exposing his opponent’s slice backhand.

Sock will next face Nicolas Almagro, who needed five sets to dismiss Philipp Petzchner.

Elsewhere, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, Milos Raonic, Gilles Simon, Sam Querrey, James Blake, Fernando Verdasco, Kei Nishikori and Feliciano Lopez also reached the third round.

Top seed Roger Federer ended the day’s play with a comprehensive defeat of Bjorn Phau, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

Grounds Pass: The Outer Court guide to the 2012 US Open (Day 4)

by: Jack Han

Got a great Day 4 on queue on the outer courts.  Let’s take a look at my picks:

(13) Dominika Cibulkova vs Bojana Jovanovski (Court 13, 11AM start)

Cibulkova could very easily be a show-court-only player at smaller tournaments.  Instead you can watch her take the ball early from just a few feet away out on Court 13.  This match won’t last 2 hours, but it’s a nice one to wake up to at Flushing Meadows.

Clijsters/Flipkens vs Chuang/Zhang (Court  4, second day session match)

Yes, I’m getting you to watch some women’s doubles today.  Just not any regular match, though.  Here’s one of your last chances to see Kim Clijsters in action.  She is playing with fellow Belgian and buddy Kirsten Flipkens.  Across the net (and I do hope you’ll cheer for them too) are two good friends of mine on the tour: Zhang Shuai from China and Chuang Chia-Jung from Taiwan.  Both are history makers and solid doubles players.  Zhang was the lowest ranked player EVER to defeat a world #1 (ranked #226 in the world, she beat Safina 7-5 7-6 in Beijing back in 2009) and Chuang, a doubles specialist, was the first Taiwanese player to reach multiple slam finals (AO and USO 2007).

Flavio Cipolla vs Jack Sock (Court 17, second match day session)

I could very well have picked Cilic vs Brands on Court 13 instead, but this match will feature a bit more variety instead of north-south power hitting.  Cipolla and Sock are both baseliners, but the Italian prefers to feed off of his opponent’s pace and move the ball around with his slice backhand.  Even though he is more of a clay courter, look from him to give Sock a ton of trouble with his foot speed and angles.

(15) Milos Raonic vs Paul-Henri Mathieu (Court 17, third match day session)

Raonic struggled mightily in his first round win against Girardo, going down 2 sets to one and hitting 15 double-faults.  All indications point to him raising his game in a big way today.  Mathieu will not go down without a fight, though.  The former junior #1 has been off the tour most of last year due to a severe knee injury, and will be extremely motivated to make the most of his chance at the Open.

Jurgen Zopp vs (6) Tomas Berdych (Court 17, third match day session)

I remember walking around the grounds at the Roger’s Cup in 2005, and hearing the loud ‘pop’ on Berdych’s forehand from 3 courts away.  Don’t miss the chance of seeing it up close late afternoon today.  Zopp is an unknown quality to me, so the actual match could go either way, which may not be a bad thing.

About the Author: Jack Han is a business lecturer, entrepreneur, 4.5 level player and occasional tennis writer living in Montreal, Canada.  Check out his personal blog at bcomconfidential.wordpress.com.

Follow him on Twitter at @KSplayersClub or on Instagram @SoireeCulturelle

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