Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday stormed into the third round of the US Open with a blistering straight-sets victory, while Novak Djokovic overcame an early scare to advance.
Alcaraz, who could meet Djokovic in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows if the draw follows the seedings, blew away Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in just 1 hour, 36 minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium main court.
The 22-year-old Spanish second seed unfurled a stream of 32 winners in a dominant display against world No. 65 Bellucci, whose best performance in a Grand Slam came with a run to the third round at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Photo: EPA
“I played great to be honest, from the beginning until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, who is to face another Italian, 32nd seed Luciano Darderi, in the next round.
“The less time I spend on court the better for me, to go to bed early,” he said.
Serbian legend Djokovic kept his dream of a record 25th Grand Slam singles title alive after a four-set defeat of qualifier Zachary Svajda of the US.
Djokovic though was forced to dig deep after losing the first set before claiming a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win.
Djokovic, 38, 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.
Djokovic’s victory sees him into the third round at the US Open for a record-equaling 19th time, where he is to 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).
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 his 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.
In the women’s singles, defending champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the next round after dispatching unseeded Russian Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
Sabalenka started slowly, but after taking the first set on a tiebreak, asserted her control to pull away in the second. The Belarusian is to play Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the third round.
“The first set was super tight, super aggressive. I was glad I was able to handle that pressure and put it back to her. In the second set I felt much better in the return game,” she said.
Latvian 25th seed Jelena Ostapenko was upset 7-5, 6-1 by Taylor Townsend before unleashing a furious on-court tirade at the American.
Townsend said Ostapenko accused her of lacking “class” during her rant.
“She told me I have no education, no class, and to see what happens if we play each other outside of the US,” Townsend said. “It was unfortunate, but, you know, it’s something I can put on my Tiktok.”
Ostapenko on Instagram said that she had been angered by Townsend’s failure to acknowledge a net cord in her favor during the match.
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.
Raducanu is to face ninth seed Elena Rybakina in the next round.
While Tjen headed for the exit, another player from Southeast Asia, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, 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.
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
ELEVEN STRIKEOUTS: Blake Snell allowed two singles and two walks against the Rockies as he ended a personal three-game skid with his first win since Aug. 16 Blake Snell on Wednesday struck out a season-high 11 in six innings, while Mookie Betts hit a grand slam in the eighth as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 9-0 for their fourth straight win. Helped by their third series sweep of the Rockies this MLB season, the Dodgers increased their National League West lead to three games over the San Diego Padres, who lost 2-1 at home to the Cincinnati Reds. Betts went four for five with five RBIs, capped by his seventh career slam on a 3-0 pitch from reliever Anthony Molina to make it 8-0. Andy Pages and
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
RSS