郑洁、彭帅挺进美国网球公开赛第二轮

There were no major surprises after the first round on Wednesday, with all seeded players going through to the next stage. There was also good news for Chinese players. Both Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie won their respective opening round matches.

Zheng Jie faced Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany. Zheng held her own in the face of her much higher ranked opponent, thanks in no small part to accurate serving: She made 76% of her 1st serves and won on 84% winning of them. Zheng Jie took the first set 6-3. The second set was pretty much a repeat of the first, final score 6-3 6-2.

Zheng Jie, 21st seed, said, "Before the match I know she was good at serving, and was a very attacking player. So before the match I knew I had to pay more attention to serving and receiving. I succeeded in this during the match."

Another Chinese player Peng Shuai also successfully entered the next round, but things weren't quite so easy for her. Peng didn't get off to a great start against her opponent Jarmila Groth of Slovakia, losing her serve in the first game.

But Peng would quickly turn things around and dominate from there. Her strong baseline skills and high-quality serves gave her opponent no chance. She took the first set 6-2. The second set saw Peng hold her nerve and take it 6-3.

Peng Shuai said, "I've played her before, so I know her style. I think my performance today was good from the beginning to the end."

How far will Sharapova go?

Whether Maria Sharapova is able to lift the famed silver cup for the second time in this year's US Open is still a major question.

Sharapova has managed to work her way back into top form after taking 9 months out with a shoulder injury. Although she made a stylish return when she walloped Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3 6-0 to reach the second round, the match was by no means a comfortable one.

The powerful serves that her fans are used to weren't quite there, and she also committed many more unforced errors than usual. The former US Open champion also made several double faults. All of this has raised doubts over how far the Russian will be able to go in the US Open.

Safina suffers 1st round scare

Dinara Safina barely looked like the world number one after her opening performance against little-known Australian Olivia Rogowska. Safina blew four set points as she misfired shots all over the place. Safina would lose the first set on the tie-breaker.

The Russian pulled rank in the second set to take it 6-2 but the jitters again returned during the decider. She racked up a jaw-dropping 11 double faults and 48 unforced errors in the whole game. Safina trailed 3-0 in the deciding set, and her appearance in New York looked set to be a fleeting one. But the world number one managed to save face by subduing the plucky challenge of the 167th-ranked Rogowska after two hours 35 minutes of see-saw action.