Day Is a Breeze for the Top Seeds

Interesting imagery has a way of emerging on these eclectic weather days at the U.S. Open.

“Felt like the Leaning Tower of Pisa out there sometimes,” reported Taylor Dent.

Slender Maria Sharapova of Russia joked about the wind blowing her into the Unisphere, an enormous metal globe sculpture adjacent to the grounds.

“I said it’s better I had a piece of cake yesterday or I would have been in that globe somewhere. I’m glad I gained a few pounds,” she said, laughing.

There was wind all day, rain at night and the constant companion of humidity on Wednesday. Rain was predicted all three days of the tournament and held off until nightfall, pushing back the second-round match between second-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain and wild-card entry Scoville Jenkins of Atlanta.

Nadal won, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, after the two did not take the court until 10:10 p.m. in New York.

Earlier, the top women had little trouble in the second round. Top-seeded Sharapova defeated Dally Randriantefy of Madagascar, 6-1, 6-0, in 49 minutes. No. 4 Kim Clijsters of Belgium beat Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia, 7-5, 6-0, No. 8 Serena Williams defeated Catalina Castano of Colombia, 6-2, 6-2, and No. 10 Venus Williams beat Maria Kirilenko of Russia, 6-1, 6-3.

Serena Williams said she would donate $100 for every ace she hits the rest of the year to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

“I can only imagine what it must have been like in New Orleans, especially looking at all the footage, all the rain, all this horrible stuff,” she said. “I thought it would be just a halfway decent gesture.”

Former U.S. Open champion and No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia was efficient against clay-court specialist Albert Costa of Spain, winning, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round. This was Costa’s first hard-court tournament since the Australian Open in January.

Dent had a considerably more difficult time against Lars Burgsmuller of Germany in the first round, toiling almost 2 1/2 hours before winning, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Kevin Kim of Newport Coast still has yet to win a singles match at the Open. Swiss qualifier Michael Lammer, ranked 282, defeated Kim, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Recently, U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe took issue with Dent’s fitness level.

“I don’t really react too much to what Patrick McEnroe and Jim Courier says. They kind of see what they want to see sometimes,” Dent said. “I’ve had discussions with a few people why I lose matches. They seem to be the expert on my tennis, seeing me play one or two matches a year. I find that a bit humorous.”

Fitness seemed the issue of the day. Serena Williams admitted she was “a little bit” out of shape at Wimbledon. But ...

“Quite frankly, I’m tired of people saying I put tennis third and last in my life,” she said. “If I did, I wouldn’t be here playing. I wouldn’t be practicing. I could be at the beach.... I could be drinking lemonade with my legs crossed in the sun on the beach.

“I’m not doing that. I’m playing tennis every day. I’m not in Saint-Tropez.”

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Rick Leach, 40, of Laguna Beach said this will be his last U.S. Open, but he has not decided whether he will retire from the pro tour. Leach and his doubles partner, Ashley Fisher of Australia, were the second-to-last team to get in the draw. “That’s why I have gray hair now,” he said, smiling.

Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Todd Perry of Australia, seeded ninth, defeated Leach and Fisher, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (3), in the first round. But Leach isn’t done in New York -- he has mixed doubles left.