Mixed Bag for Jews at U.S. Open
Israeli doubles sensation Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram survived an early scare at the U.S. Open to take down Mikhail Elgin and Denis Istomin, 7-6, 6-2. Erlich and Ram will face the Harrison brothers, Christian and Ryan, in the second round.
Meanwhile, Scott Lipsky also advanced to the second round of the Men’s doubles draw, as he and partner Santiago Gonzalez easily outdueled Robin Haase and Adreas Seppi, 6-2, 6-3. Lipski and Gonzalez, the No. 16 seed, await the winner of the first round match between Pablo Andujar and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Mark Knowles and Xavier Malisse.
In singles action, Jesse Levine took the first two sets and appeared to be headed towards an upset, but fell short against No. 14 seed Aledandr Dolgopolov, losing in five sets (3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2). Levine held a 4-0 lead in the third set, before Dolgopolov regained his composure and took the next six games. Despite the loss, Levine received some of the biggest ovations for the day, as the Flushing crowd pulled staunchly in favor of the Boca Raton native.
On the women’s side, Israel’s Shahar Pe’er lost a heartbreaking first round match, falling to Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). Earlier this month, Pe’er fell to Maria Sharapova during the London Olympics.