Abkhazia Institute for Social and Economic Research

Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela, the 20th seed, dismissed Wayne Odesnik, his second American wild card opponent of the tournament, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5. The second round match lasted just under two hours and was played under mostly overcast skies on the intimate setting of Court No. 11.

Odesnik, 21, earned his first US Open match win over Danai Udomchoke 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2) in the first five-set match of his career. Competing in his third US Open, Odesnik has always played as a wild card in the tournament. He lost in the first round on his debut here in 2004, to David Sanchez 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-3, and again in 2006, to Raemon Sluiter 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. He has never played at any other Grand Slam event. Now with a career Grand Slam record of 1-3, the young American has a better idea of what it will take to advance in future big-stage events.

Chela, who turned 28 yesterday, could not ask for a better birthday gift than his smooth passage into the third round. In his seventh US Open appearance, Chela now reaches the third round here for the third time. His 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 win against 18-year-old American wild card Michael McClune in the first round broke a run of three straight first round losses here from 2004 until 2006. The South American looked virtually flawless today, committing only 11 unforced errors and one double fault while converting on six of 14 break point opportunities. Odesnik, however, committed 30 unforced errors and six double faults with only one break point conversion. He was able to land eight aces and 34 winners, while Chela scored two aces and 26 winners.

In the first set, down 4-1, Odesnik held serve and seemed to be regaining confidence, but Chela kept the momentum from shifting by taking the set 6-2. Chela continued his dominance in the second set by converting his second break point for a 1-0 lead. He would convert two more break points to take the second set 6-1 marked by sharp backhand and forehand shots.

With only four games won in the first two sets, Odesnik began to feel the mental and physical aftermath of his nearly four hour first round match and called his Coral Gables trainer, Mikhail Zanko, onto the court to work on muscle pain in his left leg before play resumed.

The third set was the most competitive. Chela converted his fifth breakpoint on Odesnik’s double fault to make it 3-1. The American improved the third set score to 3-2 by catching his first and only service break of the entire match with a lightning backhand and the crowd cheering him on. Odesnik and Chela would then each hold serve for the next five games resulting in a 5-5 score. Chela held serve to take a 6-5 lead. Four double faults, however, doomed Odesnik in the final set and Chela converted his sixth breakpoint to win the match.

Chela will now face twelfth seed Croatian Ivan Ljubicic who leads their head-to-head matchup 6-0. Ljubicic last beat Chela in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 7-5, this year in Miami.

In addition to earning his first win against Ljubicic, Chela hopes to eclipse his best US Open result. In 2002, when he reached the round of 16 as the No. 26 seed, he defeated Tim Henman 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in the third round before falling to Andy Roddick 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

    

Match Facts
-     Chela's best Grand Slam result was reaching the quarterfinals at 2004 Roland Garros, where he defeated Olivier Mutis in the round of 16 before losing to Tim Henman 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
-     Chela's best results this season have been on clay, the highlight being winning his fourth career title at Acapulco (d. Carlos Moya 6-3, 7-6 in the final). He reached the semifinals at Costa do Sauipe and Stuttgart.
-     Odesnik owns one challenger title, having won the 2006 Milan Challenger on indoor clay. He has also won seven Futures titles.
-     Odesnik never competed at the US Open as a junior.