Day Five of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadow, New York has seen the defeat of three prominent homegrown players in quick succession.
The 32nd-seed Todd Martin has been unable to repeat past heroics. New Yorker James Blake made a name for himself in defeat, and Justin Gimelsltob also lost.
Martin is almost legendary for his endurance and amazing comebacks at the Open. He touched hand with almost everyone on Arthur Ashe Stadium after coming from two sets down to defeat Carlos Moya of Spain last year en-route to the semi-final. But the former finalist hasn't been able to repeat his victory this year, losing to another Spaniard Tommy Robredo in four sets. Blake is a relative unknown, a wild-carded players from Yonkers. But he gave the four-seeded Lleton Hewitt from Australia a huge fright before suffering heat exhaustion, and lost in fifth set 6-0.
Gimelstob had been itching for a fight after an opponent spat at him in the previous round, but he had no answer to the thunderbolts delivered by Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic who won through in straight sets. The Croat enjoys the pace of the city. "It's action city," he says. "It never sleeps. Like 300 kilometers an hour every day, everything is so quick. But it's good for three weeks. After, is too much, you know."