New York (AFP) – Coco Gauff sailed into the last 16 of the US Open on Saturday with a routine win over Magdalena Frech as men’s reigning champion Jannik Sinner prepared to ramp up his title bid. Gauff swept past Polish 28th seed Frech 6-3, 6-1 in her most polished display of the tournament to boost her hopes of collecting a second US Open title and third Grand Slam overall.
After battling to a tearful victory in the previous round, a much more composed Gauff dispatched Frech with relative ease on the main Arthur Ashe Stadium showcourt. “I thought today I played well,” said Gauff, through to the last 16 in New York for the fourth year in a row. “It’s been an emotional week, but I think I needed those tough moments to move forward. I was putting so much pressure on myself. I think today showed I was really having fun out there.”
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Gauff could face a blockbuster showdown with former world number one Naomi Osaka in the next round if the Japanese star gets past Australian 15th seed Daria Kasatkina later on Saturday. World number two Iga Swiatek opens the night session on Arthur Ashe against Russian 29th seed Anna Kalinskaya. Karolina Muchova won an all-Czech encounter with Linda Noskova as she came from a set down to prevail 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-2.
Men’s 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti advanced when Italian compatriot Flavio Cobolli retired with an arm injury while trailing 6-3, 6-2, 2-0. “I didn’t want to finish like that, especially against Flavio. He’s probably one of my best friends on tour,” said Musetti after making the US Open last 16 for the first time. Musetti, a potential quarter-final opponent for world number one Sinner, will next play the unseeded Zizou Bergs or Jaume Munar.
Sinner takes a 23-match Grand Slam winning streak on hard courts into his third-round tie with Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. Shapovalov won their only previous meeting in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open. “Long time that I haven’t faced him, so let’s see. It’s going to be a new challenge again,” said Sinner. “He has huge, huge potential. He has shown this over and over again. So I have to be very careful.”
Alexander Zverev meets Felix Auger-Aliassime under the lights on Louis Armstrong Stadium, with US 14th seed Tommy Paul up against Alexander Bublik, who is on a 10-match winning run. Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong will attempt to prolong his Flushing Meadows fairytale as he takes on 15th seed Andrey Rublev. The 21-year-old Wong this week became the first player from Hong Kong ever to win a Grand Slam singles match in the Open era.
© 2024 AFP
