US Open Tennis 2011: Recapping Monday's Results

In the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Monday, the favorites largely reigned supreme, but one American wasn't so lucky. He was knocked out of the tournament by the same man who has proven to be Roger Federer's nemesis this year.

Novak Djokovic and Alexandr Dolgopolov gave tennis fans a thrilling first set, Serena Williams continued her dominance in Grand Slam singles play, world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki hung around a bit longer and Andrea Petkovic showed why she's a favorite in this year's tournament.

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The biggest story of this tournament is the return of Serena Williams to prominence. Sidelined by injuries the last year, she's fallen to No. 28 in the world.

But Williams is largely considered the favorite in this year's U.S. Open because it's hard to see a watered-down women's field challenging her when she's healthy. The winner of 13 Grand Slam singles titles, another win is certainly not out of the question for Williams, who was impressive on Monday.

Men's Results

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic found himself in the middle of a great battle in the first set against Alexandr Dolgopolov on Monday, toiling through 76 minutes to finally win the set. Djokovic won the set, 7-6, and survived an eye-opening tiebreak, 16-14. No, that's not a misprint. However, it was clear Djokovic's capture of the first set took a toll on Dolgopolov. He was never the same after that, with Djokovic winning, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The most competitive match of the day was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. American Mardy Fish, who has quickly risen in the ranks to No. 8 after a resurgent year. Tsonga got off to a good start, winning the first set, but Fish came right back, winning the next two sets. However, Tsonga distanced himself as Fish began to wear down. By the fifth set, Fish was clearly spent, and Tsonga took advantage, 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

And Serbian Janko Tipsarevic moved onto the quarterfinals to face fellow Serb Djokovic after defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 6-2. Tipsarevic took over late in the third set and rolled through the fourth set from there on out. He hit 20 aces, including the final point of the match, and was benefited when Ferrero began to wear down later in the match.

Women's Results

Williams got off to a fast start, winning the first three games of the first set. At that point, her opponent, No. 16 Ana Ivanovic, seemed outmatched, not to mention lacking interest. But Ivanovic stormed back after that, and it took some disciplined play from Williams to hold her off, 6-3, 6-4.

After Svetlana Kuznetsova surprised Wozniacki in the first set, 7-6 (8-6), Wozniacki took over from there on out and for once looked like the dominant player you'd expect the No. 1 player in the world to look like. Wozniacki, constantly picked as a flameout in Grand Slams, showed something on Monday, and could be the surprise of this tournament.

Petkovic played as expected on Monday, exhibiting a power hitting game and strong returns, and there's no doubt she's one of the favorites to win the tournament this year. She won rather easily, 6-1, 6-4, and gets set for a match-up with Wozniacki in the semifinals. I didn't think Wozniacki had a chance to beat Petkovic coming into the U.S. Open, but she very well could now. I liked what I saw from her in the fourth round.

Recap

The favorites on the men's and women's sides, Djokovic and Williams, took care of business on Monday. Tsonga gave us another reason to be excited about this tournament by setting up a potential quarterfinals match-up with Federer. And Wozniacki is making things interesting now after a solid victory. As far as the big picture, however, I still see Djokovic and Williams winning this year's U.S. Open.