US Open: Men's 1st Round

The men's seeds did not have a good first round, but the eight losses were actually fairly normal when compared to the other slams. Here are the unfortunate eight:

7) Berdych lost to Llodra 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.  Berdych's high hopes have been dashed and his upward momentum halted but Llodra has really been in form recently.
15) Ljubicic lost to Harrison 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.  The future of American tennis is strong!  Ljubicic has not had a good season since winning Indian Wells.
16) Baghdatis lost to Clement 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.  This really was a stunner considering how well the Cypriot played this summer.
24) Gulbis lost to Chardy 6-2, 7-6, 6-4.  Though Chardy has been in form, this is another head scratcher.  Gulbis can't seem to put it together consistently.
27) Gonzalez retired 2 sets down to Dodig.  You wonder if Gonzalez will contemplate retirement after having trouble coming from injury.
28) Stepanek lost to Benneteau 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.  Not really surprising seeing the Stepanek is coming back from injury and Benneteau is in form.  Several of the French are playing very well right now.
30) Monaco lost to Polansky 6-2, 7-6, 6-3.  Yet another player struggling to return from injury.  This sets up well for *drum roll* James Blake.
32) Hewitt lost to Mathieu 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1.  Another French involved in an upset.  Not sure where Hewitt goes from here; perhaps he was looking ahead to Federer.

Overall, the top 50 went 33-15 with Del Potro and Tsonga out. Gonzalez's loss drops him currently to #46 but he'll likely drop a couple more spots.  Nothing real drastic yet though Robredo could fall as many as eight spots to #49 if he doesn't keep winning.  The virtual rankings have been updated.

Top 50 players successfully defending 2nd round appearances from 2009: David Ferrer (ESP), Mikhail Youzhny (RUS), Jurgen Melzer (AUT), and Thomaz Bellucci (BRA). Each successive win will now add to their points.
Top 50 players failing to defend 2nd round points: Viktor Troicki (SRB) (l. to Djokovic).

I am going to be busy this weekend and am not sure when I'll be able to post again.  I will try and keep the virtual rankings as up to speed as possible though.