Serena Williams on Thursday continued her hunt for a record seventh US Open title with a straight-sets win, as Andy Murray crashed out in the second round at Flushing Meadows.
Williams, the third seed, dispatched unseeded Russian Margarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-4 under the roof of a near-empty Arthur Ashe Stadium on a wet New York evening.
The 38-year-old closed out the first set with ease, before a slight wobble in the second when she was broken twice by Gasparyan.
Photo: AP
“I’m just happy to get through it and try to focus on the next round,” said Williams, who is to take on 2017 champion Sloane Stephens, who easily overcame Belarusian Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-2.
Williams is seeking a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title at a spectator-free Billie Jean King US National Tennis Center.
A victory next week would also see her break away from Chris Evert, on six titles, as the most decorated female US Open champion of the modern era.
Williams’ fellow American Sofia Kenin, the second seed, continued her impressive form this year with a straightforward 6-4, 6-3 victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez to progress.
The reigning Australian Open champion is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows as she bids for her second Grand Slam title of the year, and of her career.
“I feel like I found a groove. I’m really focused on every shot,” said the Moscow-born player, who is to take on 27th seed Ons Jabeur.
Tsvetana Pironkova, returning after a lengthy time away from the game following the birth of her son, advanced at the expense of Garbine Muguruza.
The unseeded Bulgarian knocked out the Spanish 10th seed 7-5, 6-3 in 1 hour, 21 minutes.
“Coming from three years of absence on the tour, you always have your doubts. Right now my results actually make me really happy, because it shows that I did the right things preparing for this comeback,” Pironkova said.
In the men’s singles, Andy Murray slumped to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 defeat against a dominant Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The 15th-seeded Canadian smashed 24 aces and 52 winners in a one-sided affair that saw Briton Murray muster just two and nine respectively.
“I just felt like everything was coming in, my toss, my rhythm. Everything was going well through the whole match,” Auger-Aliassime said.
Earlier, second seed Dominic Thiem celebrated his 27th birthday with a straight-sets win over India’s Sumit Nagal.
The Austrian triumphed 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 against Nagal, who became the first Indian man since 2013 to reach the second round of a Grand Slam.
Thiem is to play 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic for a place in the fourth round after the Croatian advanced in four sets against Slovakia’s Norbert Gombos.
“He’s one of the big champions of the last decade,” Thiem said of Cilic. “It’s not a guy I want to face in the third round.”
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