One of the big three (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) was finally tested today. Novak Djokovic needed all five sets to beat Tommy Robredo of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

He has problems throughout the match with an upset stomach, and then he tweaked both his right hip muscle and his right ankle. [...]

Just how dominant have the Williams sisters been so far? They have combined to spend a grand total of 8:36 on court — just 57 minutes more than Jelena Jankovic did in her four matches.

Also they have won 96 games and lost just 29. Other contenders Jankovic (38) and Safina (32) have lost that [...]

A lot of people probably think that tennis is sliding in popularity at the expense of team sports. That may be so, but you can’t tell from walking around here. The total attendence for each of the first six days was more than 60,000 — a feat achieved just seven times in U.S. Open history [...]

Aug. 31 has been a day for two of the most memorable matches in the past two tournaments.

Last year, it was Novak Djokovic beating Radek Stepinak 6-7, 7-6, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 in four hours, 44 minutes, just two games short of the maximum allowed.

In 2006, it was Andre Agassi beating a cramping No. [...]

Now’s a good day to have the TV package where you can watch feeds from multiple courts. On Ashe, I expect Federer to get pushed by Radek Stepanek, who beat the No. 2 seed earlier this season. And you never know with Roddick, who looked very beatable in the second round.

On Armstrong, there’s Marion Bartoli, [...]

The Jelena Jankovic-Jie Zheng match was not exactly a serving clinic. The players held serve just 10 out of 24 times. A big problem was that neither player could win on their second serves (combined 29 for 76), and yet neither could make a first serve.

It made for some exciting tennis with long rallies, not [...]

The USTA held a press conference this morning with Billie Jean King and head officers about the tournament’s “Green initiative.”

They plan on recycling 500,000 plastic bottles, 20,000 cans; use 90 percent post-consumer waste for the 2.4 million napkins; give away the 70,000 tenis balls and 20-25,000 tennis ball cans; and use wind power to supply [...]

Amazing moment from Marat Safin’s five-set win over Vincent Spadea this afternoon. Serving at 4-5, up two sets to one, Safin was called for a conventional foot fault on the first point. Later it was deuce, and Safin was called for another foot fault — this time from the linesman on the opposite end of [...]

California resident Sam Querrey is in the midst of a nice upset, taking the first two sets off No. 22 seed Tomas Berdych. Querrey lost 6-1, 6-2 to Berdych earlier this year in Miami, though the 6-foot-6 pro has had success lately, winning his first career title in Las Vegas and reaching the semis in [...]

Li Na of China, after upsetting No. 24 Shahar Peer of Israel, had one of the funniest press conferences I’ve heard in a while. Apparently, Andre Agassi was a real role model for her. Here’s what she said (I chose not to clean up the language. Hopefully that’s the right decision).

“I’m so young and I [...]