Andy Roddick and Ernest Golbis have a lot in common.

They share the same birthday, Aug. 30, they both have a big serve and a big forehand. They both wanted to win their second round match at the U.S. Open on Friday night.

The difference being Roddick turned 26 on Saturday, Golbis 20.

After losing the first set, 6-3, in under 30 minutes, and slamming his racket into the ground half way through the second, it appeared Roddick was well on his way to ceding his crown to the next generation of big-serve tennis.

Or maybe the release of aggression was just what he needed to wake him up to the calling. Holding off Golbis' charge toward a two-set lead, Roddick reversed his fortunes in the second half of the set, breaking Golbis' serve twice to take the set and level the playing field.

It's a classic reversal of fortune that is characteristic of champions: coming back when a set down to summon the mental fortitude to overcome.

After failing to convert on two opportunities, Roddick found himself in the fourth set receiving serve for the match. In a climatic finish with Golbis putting a forehand into the net, Roddick clinched a hard-fought win, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5.

At 1:34 a.m. New York time, Andy Roddick proved to the world, and probably himself, that this old pro was not ready for retirement.

(Photo: AP/Elise Amendola)

Wild card Asia Muhammad may have lost in the first round of the U.S. Open, but not before her 15 minutes in the sun.

Aravane Rezai, a French-born player of Iranian descent ranked 74 on the WTA tour, defeated Muhammad  6-2, 6-4 on Monday.

But an interesting report in the NYTimes chronicles Asia's beginnings at Agassi's Boys & Girls Club in Las Vegas.

"Eight years ago, Asia's father Ron Holmes took his children to the corner of Washington and Martin Luther King in Las Vegas, eyeing the basketball program for his sons. Asia’s cousin, Jasmine Muhammad, was already in Agassi’s tennis program, in the process of hitting her way to Howard University.

"Asia hit a few balls at a tryout clinic; that was good enough. A couple of years later, she was on her way to being nationally ranked as a 13-year-old, to a slew of tournament victories and by March, still an amateur, to the final of a $50,000 tournament in Las Vegas."

While not the best start at the Open, chances are we'll be seeing a lot more from this talented 17-year-old in the future.

(Photo: NYTimes.com/Marilynn Yee)

TV Schedule

As usual,  CBS and USA will own the Open. USA network's extensive coverage is great if you subscribe to anything other than basic cable. Otherwise you're stuck with some semi-final action and the main quarterfinals and finals on CBS. Can't complain too much, though. The way things are going with TV and tennis, we're lucky to have any coverage at all.

USOpen.org Radio

During the 2008 US Open, USOpen.org Radio provides continuous live coverage, including a daily talk show, live match calls, and player interviews.

IBM SlamTracker

The US Open SlamTracker offers live scores and an interactive draw in a convenient micro-site package. For following matches at work or in conjunction with US Open Radio, this is the next best thing to watching the Open live. Visit USOpen.org and select "Interactive Draw" on right rail.

Live @ the Open

Click and tune in LIVE at the top of every hour from 11am to 7pm Eastern time for a five-minute recap of scores, expert analysis, interviews, features from around the ground and more on "Live @ the Open presented by American Express." The show originates from various locations around the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Latest News

For a more traditional approach, this page offers capsules of the day's action plus links to extended articles showcasing results from the daily rounds.

Mobile Texts

Get real-time information from the US Open on your mobile phone. Enter your phone number to get access to the US Open mobile site which has news, schedule, live scores and player updates. Subscribe to mobile alerts for SMS messages tailored to your interests whether breaking news, TV schedule updates or specific details on players.

NYTimes.com US Open Blog

New York Times reporters and editors will be following every serve, volley and replay challenge of the 2008 United States Open. They will provide updates, insights, links, analysis and scenes from Flushing Meadows through the close of the tournament..

A talented group of young Americans along with several international players have been awarded main draw wild card entries into the 2008 US Open.

USTA Girls’ 18s National Champion Gail Brodksy (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Jamea Jackson (Bradenton, Fla.), Asia Muhammad (Las Vegas), Melanie Oudin (Roswell, Ga.), Ahsha Rolle (Miami Shores, Fla.), CoCo Vandeweghe (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Frenchwomen Séverine Bremond and an Australian player to be named have been awarded women’s singles main draw wild card entries.

Amer Delic (Jacksonville, Fla.), Brendan Evans (Key Biscayne, Fla.), Scoville Jenkins (Atlanta), Austin Krajicek (Bryan, Texas), Jesse Levine (Boca Raton, Fla.), and Sam Warburg (Sacramento, Calif.), along with two international players, Carsten Ball (Australia) and Laurent Recouderc (France), have been awarded men’s singles.

Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn $1.5 million with the ability to earn an additional $1 million in bonus prize money (for a total $2.5 million potential payout) based on their performance in the Olympus US Open Series. In addition, both US Open singles champions will receive a new 2009 Lexus IS-F automobile.

There's a new king in town.

22-year-old Rafael Nadal put an end to Roger Federer's 237-week run as No. 1 to claim the top spot in tennis.

It's been a three-year goal for the Spaniard, who has a child-like gaiety off the courts, and a focused intensity on the courts.  His all-out athletic style harkens back to the bull fighting days of Spain's yesteryear, transforming the tennis courts to a life-and-death arena where a battle waits to be won.

Coming off a Roland Garros win, a four-hour marathon victory over Federer at Wimbeldon and a freshly minted gold medal from the Olympics, Rafael Nadal is definitely the man of the hour in the 2008 US Open.

The hardcourts in New York, however, have not been kind to Nadal in his career – as he has never advanced past the quarterfinals and lost in the fourth round to buddy David Ferrer in 2008 after suffering from an injury to his left knee.

"I'm not so concerned about the way he hits ball, it's the way he moves and body type he has,'' said Paul Annacone, the men's head coach for Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association. "He's a big, huge, strong athlete, but there's a lot of muscle mass to carry around. Like Boris Becker, he's big and he's doing all that stopping and starting, pounding side to side.

"The guys that reach that level the most efficiently and easily tend to have the longevity. That's Roger and Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, to an extent. Rafa can play at really high levels. But it takes more out of him to do so. I'd say he is incrementally more vulnerable than someone like a Federer."

Nadal has proved this year he is a threat on all surfaces. Now he needs to prove he has the athletic and mental ability to remain at No. 1.

Photo: (Clive Brunskill/Getty)

While the top-ten players were busy slugging it out in Beijing (except for Andy Roddick, of course), 19-year-old Juan Martin del Potro was busy state side racking up the wins.

Del Potro won his fourth straight tournament Sunday, beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-3 to take the Legg Mason Tennis Classic championship. The No. 19 player in the world has won his last 19 matches since June 25.

“I feel confidence,” del Potro said. “Because when I go to the court, and the other players know I beat 19 players in a row and nobody can beat me, it is good for me.”

In addition to the $80k pay out from the Legg Mason win, del Potro ousted Andy Roddick in the Countrywide Classic, won the Austrian Open and took the Mercedes Cup along with a SLK 350 to increase his year-to-date prize money to $679, 890.

Not bad for not yet 20.

Del Potro could add one more title before the U.S. Open late this month. He said he will fly to New Haven, Conn., on Monday, then make a decision on whether he will play in the Pilot Pen Tennis event.

Either way, del Potro's white-hot winning streak makes him one to watch at the 2008 US Open.

Photo: (AP Photo/Daniel Maurer)