Former NFL and CFL quarterback Doug Flutie, basketball great David “the Admiral” Robinson, soccer player Mia Hamm, and two–time U.S. Open singles champion Andre Agassi were recognized.
Doug Flutie’s foundation for autism focuses on family assistance, research, and funding initiatives for children with autism. The David Robinson Foundation provides supplies for needy infants and food for the hungry.
The Mia Hamm foundation raises funds and awareness for families needing marrow or cord blood transplants, and supports opportunities for young women in sports.
Andre Agassi’s foundation focuses on better education in public schools.
Agassi was the main honoree of the evening and gave a short speech about his K–12 College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, which saw the graduation of its first class on June 12 this year.
All of the graduates are moving on to college, he said. The Agassi Foundation has raised over $75 million over 15 years for public education improvements.
After Agassi shared a quote from one of his school’s graduates about the risks that young students face today, he closed his speech by saying, “I believe every child is at risk of excellence, and I believe we are all at risk to help them achieve it.”
Ending the ceremony was Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas who sang “America the Beautiful” to a New York marine honor guard presentation of the flags.
Venus Survives Dushevina
Following the opening ceremony was the match between third–ranked Venus Williams and 47th–ranked Russian Vera Dushevina.
It was a difficult match for Venus, who committed 53 unforced errors and 10 double faults, but hung on to win the match 6–7, 7–5, 6–3.
Venus struggled against Dushevina in the first set after she strained her knee early on in the match, losing a tiebreak 7–5.
Three points away from losing the match in the second set, Venus rallied back. She then pushed ahead to win 7–5 with some monster serves in the final game, including one at 119 mph.
After a poor start in the third set down 0–3, Dushevina rallied to test Venus’s resolve. But the veteran proved too powerful for the 22-year-old Dushevina, and won the match after two hours and 43 minutes of hard-fought play.
Venus will move on to face fellow American Bethanie Mattek–Sands in the second round.
Serena and Federer
Highlights from opening play earlier in the day included top-seeded Roger Federer’s rollover of 18-year-old wildcard Devin Britton 6–1, 6–3, 7–5, and second-seeded Serena Williams’s easy win over compatriot Alexa Glatch 6–4, 6–1.
Despite his dominance in the 88-minute match, Federer did have some hang-ups with Britton, being down a break in the second and third sets. “I didn’t drop a set [but it was a] tricky match for me, playing a guy who’s got absolutely nothing to lose obviously,” the Swiss said.
“My goal was to not get crushed,” NCAA champion Britton conceded, “and make it interesting for a little while.”
Glatch had a similar outlook as Britton in facing defending champion Serena Williams. “You just try not to think about the occasion,” Glatch said. “You try to pretend it’s any other court and you’re playing against any other opponent. But it’s very hard to do, especially when it’s your first time out there in the biggest stadium there is.”
She only lasted just over 60 minutes against the champion, who is shooting for her second-straight U.S. Open title and third grand slam of the year, having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
In other opening day action, Belgian Kim Clijsters brushed aside Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine 6–1, 6–1. She made a strong statement that she isn’t out of the mix e even though she is fresh off a two-year hiatus after starting a family. She has only played in two tournaments this year.
“[I was] a little more nervous than usual,” the 2005 U.S. Open champion said after her first-round win.
“Driving up here this morning, just seeing the court, the memories came back. It’s a very special court to me and I really enjoyed it.”
