New York (AFP) – Novak Djokovic overcame an early scare to reach the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka prepared to step up her title bid. Djokovic, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, recovered from going a set down against American qualifier Zachary Svajda to complete a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win on the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court.
The 38-year-old Serbian legend had not played since his semi-final exit at Wimbledon in July before arriving in New York, skipping most of the North American hardcourt swing. Djokovic said that while not at his best, he is hoping to play himself into form as the tournament progresses. “That’s what I’m hoping, the deeper I go into the tournament the better I feel about my game,” he said. “Obviously a bit different for me the last couple of years body-wise. I get the wear and tear quicker than I used to do.”
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Djokovic’s victory sees him into the third round at the US Open for a record-equalling 19th time, where he will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who defeated Argentina’s Francisco Comesana 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (0/7), 7-6 (7/4). Norrie is one of only two British men left in the draw after fifth-seeded compatriot Jack Draper withdrew due to injury earlier Wednesday. Draper reached the semi-finals in New York last year but missed warm-up events in Cincinnati and Toronto this year while nursing a bone bruise in his left arm. Draper’s second round opponent, Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, was given a walkover into the third round.
The withdrawal of Draper clears Jannik Sinner’s path towards defending his title. Sinner was due to face Draper in the quarter-finals. In other men’s action on Wednesday, Norwegian 12th seed Casper Ruud, the 2022 US Open finalist, exited to Belgium’s Raphael Collignon, losing 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Fourth seed Taylor Fritz advanced safely, beating South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 6-4, while American compatriot Frances Tiafoe, seeded 17, also progressed with a four-set defeat of qualifier Martin Damm. Tiafoe won 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5. Later Wednesday, Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz looks to keep his campaign rolling with a night game against Italy’s Mattia Bellucci.
In the women’s draw meanwhile, world number one Sabalenka also faces a night game, taking on Russia’s Polina Kudermetova on Arthur Ashe. In other matches on Wednesday, Britain’s Emma Raducanu continued her solid start to the tournament after dispatching Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen in straight sets, winning 6-2, 6-1. Tjen had become the first Indonesian player to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam in 21 years and followed that up with a first round upset of 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova. But she was beaten comfortably by Raducanu, who is aiming to recapture the US Open title she won as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021. Raducanu will face ninth seed Elena Rybakina in the next round.
While Tjen headed for the exit, another player from Southeast Asia, the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala, also saw her tournament come to an end. Eala, the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam singles match with her defeat of 14th seed Clara Tauson on Sunday, was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Spain’s Cristina Bucsa. Fourth seed Jessica Pegula is also into the third round after beating Russian Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3. There was a win too for veteran Victoria Azarenka, the 36-year-old two-time Australian Open champion from Belarus, who defeated Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3.
© 2024 AFP
