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Year 101 US Open
The early rounds were mostly a snoozefest, with some exceptions. Solitris Papadias had his earliest exit yet in the third round, a five-set defeat to Davide de Laurentiis. Then at the bottom of the draw the significant upsets were all concentrated in one section. (7) Oleg Urazov pretty much guaranteed a disappointing year in a loss to up-and-coming American Joss Fraikes in four sets, while (32) George Voronets outlasted 16-seed Ale Ballok. Voronets would go on to defeat Fraikes in another five-setter in the fourth round, leaving 7 of the Top 8 in the quarterfinals ... as well as the very last seed in the field. Quite bizarre. There were some close calls on some of the other players, but ultimately the favorites made their way through.
Voronets' demise finally occurred against Renke Cananis, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. Four sets were required for Polychroniadis against Jochen Weigle, and for Xanthos to beat Toni Bardales. Ene Caballero was not so fortunate, meeting up with Faille and losing in straight sets. All of the suprisers having been dispensed with, a very pro forma last couple of rounds commenced. Ben Faille knocked out Themis Xanthos and Leon Polychroniadis got rid of Cananis once again, both matches lasting four sets. It would be the only set Faille would lose in the tournament; 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) was the scoreline for the championship match. Three sets, but about as close as it gets without being extended further. All in all, the US Open was a victory for the status quo.
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