I would love to say something intelligent about the match, but a whirlwind storm hit my viewing area. The 20 minutes was enough to take down power in a huge swath of area where I live. I had expected my satellite to go down, and watch the match on ESPN 3, but with no power, no such luck.
Suffice it to say that Mardy Fish continues to do well, and beat a tough John Isner in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6.
Currently, they are playing the finals of a qualifying match for the US Open qualifying rounds (looks like putting the winner of this in the main draw would be just too generous). This is being held at the Atlanta site, much after the men’s final, and thus in somewhat better temperature (though it still seems humid).
This year, one of the wildcard qualifiers (yes, even the qualies of the US Open has wildcards) will be the winner of this event between Blake Strode and Cecil Mamiit. Mamiit took the first set 6-2, but Strode took the second 6-4. They appear to be at the level of good college players. Indeed, Strode used to play at University of Arkansas.
Cecil Mamiit appears to have been on the pro tour, ranked as high as 72, but currently ranked around 400. I’m not sure what the rules are for entering this competition, but clearly, although it’s open to everyone, it doesn’t seem closed to many.