Ideal weather conditions made the US Open qualifying even more attractive than usual on August 24th. The folding of the Hamlet Cup tournament (which relocated to New Haven after years of being played on Long Island during the week of Open qualifying) also may have played a role in the above average attendance for Wednesday's play. The Open isn't quite in full swing during the qualies, with its concession stands and sponsor booths shuttered until the main event gets underway, but fans who took advantage of the free admission did get a sneak peak at the fairly spectacular new fountain display outside the main entrance to Arthur Ashe Stadium. Another new addition this year: in progress score updates during changeovers on several of the outer court scoreboards. This was welcome indeed with a whopping 64 first round matches to track, featuring the usual array of hard-working journeymen, up-and-coming starlets, and veterans looking to work their way back to the Top 100.

The best atmosphere of the day could arguably be found on Court 13 during 18th-seeded Shikha Uberoi's battle with Yulia Beygelzmier. Uberoi made a name for herself at Flushing Meadows last year, stealing her share of the spotlight in an entertaining loss to Venus Williams. The charismatic 22-year-old has since made a citizenship switch, now representing India instead of the United States. That decision may have cost Uberoi an otherwise likely wild card into the main draw this year, but it did nothing to diminish the crowd's enthusiasm on Wednesday. Beygelzimer had a small, vocal support group, but the vast majority of the cheers were for Shikha Uberoi, whose sister Neha won her own first round qualifying match the previous day.

As style contrasts go, you couldn't ask for much better than this matchup. Uberoi was all manic energy, frequently pumping her fist, pantomiming correct strokes, and bouncing around like she had ants in her pants. Beygelzimer, meanwhile, was a study in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Before every serve, the Ukranian would blow on her fingers, rub her hand on her skirt, and bounce the ball as many as twelve times. Contrast could also be found in their games, with Beygelzimer's steady baseline work pitted against Uberoi's incessant net rushing. The deadly accuracy of Beygelzimer's passing shots was good for a 6-0, 5-3 lead, but Uberoi was undaunted. After holding for 4-5 in the second, Uberoi turned to a particularly enthusiastic section of the audience and grinned from ear to ear, bathing in their cries of "c'mon, Shikha!"

The daring approach and lunging backhand volley winner Uberoi executed to open Game 10 set the tone as she quickly broke Beygelzimer to even the set. After playing so well to put herself on the verge of victory, Yulia Beygelzimer came unraveled. Complaining on multiple occasions about fans allegedly distracting her during points, she dropped Game 11 and faced a set point at 30-40 in Game 12. Set point saw Uberoi scramble to track down a short ball, whipping a forehand past Beygelzimer to break serve and take the set 7-5. The smiling Indian whirled around and threw a fist into the air, celebrating as the large-by-qualifying-standards crowd roared its approval.

Uberoi carried her momentum into the third set, breaking for a 3-1 lead and toughing out a long service hold for 5-2. Still showing flashes of the form that saw her nearly upset Jennifer Capriati last year at Roland Garros, Beygelzimer held to 3-5. Uberoi's spirited display of aggressive tennis was rewarded in the end, however. As a final Beygelzimer groundstroke sailed over the baseline, Uberoi jumped into the air, wildly pumping her fist. She had completed the comeback of the day, rallying for a 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 win. Shikha quickly made her way over to her father, getting a big hug before sticking around to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and thank the fans who'd urged her on to victory.

A less raucous scene played out on Court 6, where comely Spanish veteran Maria Sanchez Lorenzo put together a comeback bid of her own. It's been a mostly dismal year for Sanchez Lorenzo. Even her upset victory over defending champion Anastasia Myskina at the French Open was bittersweet, as a low-key Sanchez Lorenzo acknowledged the awkward circumstances (badly off-form Myskina's mind was clearly on her seriously ill mother). Faring no better of late has been Jane O'Donoghue. The once-promising Brit pleased her compatriots with a first round win at Wimbledon, but it was her only main draw victory of the 2005 season on the WTA Tour.

O'Donoghue took a 6-3 opening set off Sanchez Lorenzo before spraying unforced errors and succumbing to mounting frustration. Whacking the court with her racquet and screaming things like "hit the shot!" and "ai-yi-yi!", O'Donoghue lost nine consecutive games to trail 3-6, 6-0, 3-0. Sporting an orange top with yellow trim that looked vaguely like an early 1980's Houston Astros jersey, Sanchez Lorenzo also wore a look of steely determination. Her serve began to break down, however, and she more or less handed O'Donoghue the next three games to even up the deciding set.

Finding the range on her imposing two-fisted strokes, Sanchez Lorenzo held for a 4-3 lead and battled her way to triple break point in Game 8. O'Donoghue promptly coughed up a double fault and dejectedly lobbed a ball high into the air. Sanchez Lorenzo closed it out from there, raising a clenched fist after an errant O'Donoghue backhand made the 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 result official. While far from her best, Sanchez Lorenzo showed considerable determination (which would come into play again on Thursday, as she battled back from a double break deficit in the final set to defeat Olga Savchuk 4-6, 6-4, 7-6).

Over on the men's side, journeyman's journeyman Zack Fleishman took advantage of the qualifying wild card sent his way by the USTA. The big, awkward hitch in Fleishman's very unconventional forehand wouldn't seem well suited to the relatively quick US Open hard courts, but the Californian nevertheless sprinted to a 6-1, 5-4 lead over Argentina's Nicolas Todero. Fleishman largely choked away his first opportunity to serve for the win, though, and Todero guided a forehand winner down the line to break for 5-5 in the second set.

Just as quickly as he'd gotten the momentum on the side, Todero handed it back. A double fault took him to 15-40 and a badly shanked backhand on break point left him on the verge of elimination again at 5-6. Fleishman's second attempt to serve it out was a protracted doozy. Zack twice saved break points with big serves, but was facing a third when Todero ripped a passing shot. It looked good enough to force a tiebreak, but Fleishman made a desperate stab volley attempt. The ball popped almost straight into the air, crept over the net, then bounced back over to Fleishman's side before Todero could reach it!

To his credit, Todero bounced back from that bit of bad luck, earning a fourth break point. Fleishman once again made his way to net, pulling off a half-volley drop shot for a clean winner and a sixth deuce. A service winner took Fleishman to match point. He missed his next serve, but Todero's return of the second serve landed squarely in the net. It wasn't the most convincing of finishes, but Zack Fleishman certainly provided some entertainment in the late stages of his 6-1, 7-5 victory.

It was, by and large, a good day for the American men. Alex Bogomolov, Jr. was among those looking to join Fleishman in the second round. "Bogie" may be best known as the husband of WTA glamour girl Ashley Harkleroad, but he's had his own share of memorable moments at the Open. Bogomolov squandered match points in an absolutely epic fourth set tiebreak against Martin Verkerk two years ago on the Grandstand, but he was on the winning end of a similar battle on Wednesday. A capacity crowd had Court 10 rocking as Bogomolov laced a winning pass down the line on match point to eke out a 13-11 second set 'breaker over # 12 seed Alexander Waske. After an incredibly brief handshake, the jubilant Moscow-born American struck a muscle pose worthy of Hulk Hogan. Waske appeared less than amused and exchanged a few words with the chair umpire after the match.

World TeamTennis fans would have noted an interesting coincidence on Wednesday afternoon. Brian Vahaly of the New York Buzz was competing on Court 7 at the same time Buzz teammate Evie Dominikovic toiled next door at Court 6. Both fell in the opening round, unlike former Buzz member Viktoriya Kutuzova. Making the most of a rare opportunity to face an opponent younger than herself, the Ukranian (who just turned 17) gave diminutive 15-year-old wild card Madison Brengle a blink-and-you'd-miss-it 6-1, 6-2 whupping. Her trademark "whoosh" exhale in full effect, Kutuzova was absolutely smoking the ball. It would ultimately be a very good week for Viktoriya, who went on to qualify for her first US Open main draw without the loss of a set.

A ubiquitous series of billboards dotting the subway station and boardwalk leading into the National Tennis Center asked spectators where Andy Roddick's "mojo" has gone. Fans of Cara Black's singles game may have a similar question. The reigning two-time Wimbledon doubles champion now appears utterly lost without a partner on the court. Once ranked as high as # 31 in the world in singles, Black missed one routine volley after another in the third set of her loss to Chanelle Scheepers. "Thanks for watching," Scheepers said, well, sheepishly when some friends congratulated her. The 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win said more about Cara's singles distress than Chanelle's prowess.

Tara Snyder is another veteran who has fallen from her former perch in the world's Top 35, but the Kansas native was in considerably more encouraging form. A serious left knee injury caused the notoriously feisty Snyder to miss nearly a full year, but the 28-year-old has strung together a number of wins on the challenger circuit this summer. As boyfriend (and former ATP doubles specialist) Brent Haygarth looked on, Snyder authored an authoritative showing from the baseline in a surprisingly handy 6-3, 6-2 win over 14th seeded Marie-Eve Pelletier.

After Snyder headed back to the locker room, Haygarth did some scounting on her next opponent, watching the last few games of Lubomira Kurhajcova's 6-3, 6-2 win over Hanna Nooni. After going an absurdly long stretch (early first set to late second set) without winning a game, Nooni let out a blood-curdling scream when she finally got on the board at 1-4 in the second. In the second set alone, the Swede managed to throw her racquet three times and punch herself in the head, all while sporting a look of perpetual disgust.

Fellow blonde Henrieta Nagyova felt a different kind of disgust as she struggled out on Court 8. In an oddly alphabetical twist, Nagyova drew Kyra Nagy as her first round opponent. Nagyova called for the trainer after dropping the opening set 6-2, but it had nothing to do with the bulky brace on her right knee. The sniffling Slovakian was feeling under the weather and needed something to settle her stomach. The magic elixir Nagyova got from the trainer lasted long enough for "Henya" to snare a 6-4 win of the second set, but her health deteriorated in the third. Nagyova was still moving fairly well during the rallies, but between points was bending over at the waist and looking nauseous.

After losing a pitched six-deuce battle to fall behind 0-4 in the final set, Nagyova shook her head sadly and asked, "Can I have the physio?" The trainer returned, but appeared to tell Henrieta that there was nothing she could do for her. Nagyova soldiered back out for another game, fighting from 40-0 to deuce before sending a lunging forehand into the net to trail 0-5. Informing the umpire that she could no longer continue, Nagyova shook hands with Nagy, headed back to her chair, and furiously slammed her racquet. The 6-2, 4-6, 5-0 scoreline was an odd way for Nagy to advance to the second round, but her Hungarian support squad didn't seem to mind. After watching countrywoman Zsofia Gubacsi endure a lackluster 6-3, 6-2 loss to Alice Canepa earlier in the day, they'd take any win they could get.

Health problems, real or imagined, plagued another Slovakian in the final match of Wednesday evening. The very petite Katarina Kachlikova scored a 7-5 opening set win over sturdily built Varvara Lepchenko of Uzbekistan, but Lepchenko struck back, winning a comprehensive second set tiebreak 7 points to 1. After breaking serve to open the third and final set, Kachlikova called for the trainer and refused to continue until one appeared. With a bit of a chill settling in at ten minutes past 8 o'clock, Lepchenko wrapped a towel around her shoulders and waited along with the fans.

The trainer finally arrived and ended up poking around Kachlikova's mouth with a flashlight. The scene became even more bizarre when a doctor who looked like Adam West (TV's Batman) joined the examination, applying a stethoscope to Kachlikova's chest. The impromptu physical went on for about five minutes, a delay which appeared to impact Lepchenko more than Kachlikova.

By the time Kachlikova's lead advanced to 3-2, tournament referee Brian Earley had arrived on the scene, engaging the trainer and doctor in a long discussion about the unusual medical timeout. He seemed satisfied with their version of events, but one had to wonder what exactly was up with Kachlikova. She'd spend changeovers rubbing a bag of ice all over her neck and face, but looked fresh as a daisy whenever the ball was in play. Completely losing control of her forehand, Lepchenko won only one point in the last three games. Kachlikova advanced by a 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 count and did a lot of shrugging when the doc and trainer checked up on her immediately following the match.