NEW YORK, Aug 31: Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek rolled to straight-set victories to move into the third round at the US Open on Wednesday, fighting not only their opponents but sticky, 85-degree Fahrenheit (29-degree Celsius) weather on the hottest day at the tournament so far. ”That’s why we train several hours a day in humid, hot conditions so we can be ready for whatever awaits you on court,” the second-seeded Djokovic said after a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium over 76th-ranked Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain.
In the biggest upset of the day, seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas fell in the second round to 128th-ranked Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Ending the four-hour match with a forehand winner that just caught the baseline, Stricker raised his hands and flopped on his back to celebrate his first-ever victory over a top-10 player in only his third Grand Slam appearance. Tsitsipas, a Grand Slam finalist at the Australian Open and French Open, has still never advanced beyond the third round at Flushing Meadows. The Greek is the second-highest seed to go down on the men’s side after No. 4 Holger Rune of Denmark lost to 63rd-ranked Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.
Earlier, Coco Gauff cruised into the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva.
The sixth-seeded American approached the net 18 times, winning 15 of those points, and she credited that newfound net game after struggling to beat German Laura Siegemund in three sets in the first round. Dominic Thiem, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, retired soon after dropping a first-set tiebreaker to American Ben Shelton, and French wild card Benjamin Bonzi defeated 28th-seeded Christopher Eubanks 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7), ending the hopes of an American who made a surprising run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina advanced to the third round in a walkover when Australian Ajla Tomljanovic withdrew before the match; 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova beat Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-3, 6-3; and 15th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland downed British qualifier Yuriko Lily Miyazaki 6-3, 6-3.
In the night session on Ashe, No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe faces Sebastian Ofner, followed by Caroline Wozniacki against 11th-seeded Petra Kvitova.
Wozniacki beats Petra Kvitova
Wozniacki clearly made the right choice to come out of retirement and try her hand at this tennis thing again, making it to the third round at Flushing Meadows by beating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 7-5, 7-6 (5) in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night.“This couldn’t be better. It’s a dream come true. If you had asked me three years ago,” Wozniacki said, “I would have said I’ll never be back here, playing on this court.” (PTI)
