Liguori: We Saw A Little Bit Of Everything On Day 4 Of The US Open
By Ann Liguori
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Thursday's day session had a little bit of everything.
There was a drone. A player collapsed from heat exhaustion. Another female seed was ousted in the longest women's match in US Open history, and a fan favorite bowed out in his last US Open.
First the drone, which flew from the east into the southwest corner of Louis Armstrong Stadium during the Flavia Pennetta vs. Monica Niculescu match. Apparently the drone crashed in an area where there were no spectators, and there were no injuries. According to a USTA release, the NYPD responded and is conducting an ongoing investigation.
What a problem this could become at sporting events -- or any public event -- as drones are so available and accessible, and very easy to control remotely.
Johanna Konta of Great Britian, relatively unknown until this point, ousted ninth seed and Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 in three hours and 23 minutes, the longest women's match in US Open history.
While Konta bounced around the court with relative ease in the third and final set, the extreme heat and humidity continued to take its toll on many players. A record 12 guys have retired from matches in this championship so far. Thursday, Jack Sock collapsed on court during the fourth set of his match against Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium.
Sock was leading the match two sets to one, but you could tell he started cramping in the third set. And in the fourth, at 1-2, he froze at the baseline and could hardly move. A trainer came on the court and the 22-year-old collapsed in the trainer's arms. Sock was helped off the court. Bememans moved on to the third round.
"Playing in the US Open is the biggest and most important moment of the season for me, so having to retire from my match today is extremely disappointing," said Sock in a statement. "I want to thank everyone for their support and can't wait to be back next year. I feel better already and look forward to playing Davis Cup."
2001 US Open champ Lleyton Hewitt said goodbye to this championship for good after losing to fellow Aussie Bernard Tomic, but not without showing the typical Hewitt blood and guts. The 34-year-old dropped the first two sets 3-6, 2-6. He took sets three and four -- 6-3, 7-5 -- but dropped the fifth 5-7 to lose the match. Hewitt was a former No. 1 ranked player and played in his 15th US Open in 16 years.
Hewitt's last championship, he said, will be the 2016 Australian Open, and he'll then become Australia's Davis Cup captain.
And to top off the evening action, yet another seed in the women's draw was ousted. Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out in the second round by Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic in three sets. Cetkovska is ranked 149th in the world. Only three of the top 10 seeds in the women's draw remain!