Fish’s rally goes swimmingly

Mardy Fish was down two sets to none, but in this years’ U.S. Open, that hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing. Fish became the 10th man in the tournament to win a fivesetter after trailing 20, beating Nikolay Davydenko 46, 67 (4), 62, 61, 62, and will meet Gilles Simon in the third round.

“It’s a big stage to win on, period,” Fish said after the 3hour, 26minute match. But to be able to come back like that against a great player who has been to the semifinals twice here … it’s hard to do [fivesetters] early in a tournament. You sort of want to stay away from the longer matches to give yourself some room to try and go as far as you can.”

It was just the second time in Fish’s career he won a match after trailing by two sets. It’s a great sign for Fish, who missed the French Open earlier this year with what was later revealed to be arrhythmia. He had an operation to cure the irregular heartbeat, but has felt and played better since then.

Serena Williams cruised into the third round by beating Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in straight sets, 62, 64.

Williams will meet Ekaterina Makarova in the third round.

Jack Sock, a 19yearold from Nebraska, advanced to the third round with a 62, 62, 64 victory over Flavio Cipola, an Italian claycourt specialist.

James Blake, who is unseeded, took out No. 23 Marcel Granollers of Spain, 61, 64, 62 to advance to the third round. Blake had lost in the first round in each of the past two Grand Slams. — Additional reporting

by Marc Berman