NEW YORK (Reuters) -World number one Novak Djokovic sailed into the third round of the U.S. Open and moved a step closer to achieving a calendar year Grand Slam while 2019 women’s champion Bianca Andreescu extended her unbeaten run at Flushing Meadows to nine matches.
Djokovic beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-2 6-3 6-2 and the top seed said he had found his groove after dropping a set in his first round victory over the unheralded Holger Rune.
“I’m very pleased with the level of my tennis. All is going in the right direction,” said Djokovic, who meets Kei Nishikori in the next round.
Canada’s Andreescu, who has never lost a main draw match at Flushing Meadows, was down a break four times against American Lauren Davis but won the crucial points to register a 6-4 6-4 victory.
“I feel like I have a commitment now to keep it straight sets every match, which adds a bit of pressure on my shoulders,” Andreescu said. “Honestly tennis is super chaotic and I never try to play three sets.”
Her compatriot Denis Shapovalov was in fine form as he defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6(7) 6-3 6-0 in a match that quickly unravelled for the Spaniard, who beat Shapovalov at last year’s French Open.
“I obviously definitely wanted to get my revenge,” Shapovalov joked.
Last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev needed only 74 minutes to thrash Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1 6-0 6-3, wrapping up the match with three consecutive aces.
Women’s top seed Ash Barty saw off Danish 18-year-old Clara Tauson 6-1 7-5 while fourth seed Karolina Pliskova saved a match point to beat American Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(7) with a tournament record 24 aces.
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Highlights of the fourth day at the U.S. Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, at Flushing Meadows on Thursday (times in GMT):
0400 PLISKOVA AVOIDS UPSET
Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova overcame local favourite Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(7) to move into the third round where she will play Ajla Tomljanovic.
0330 SHAPOVALOV, TOMLJANOVIC THROUGH IN STRAIGHT SETS
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov beat Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6(7) 6-3 6-0 to move into the third round while Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic overcame Croatian 30th seed Petra Martic 7-6(6) 6-4.
0151 BROOKSBY OUTLASTS FRITZ IN BATTLE OF AMERICANS
American 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby, ranked 99th in the world, came from behind to beat compatriot Taylor Fritz 6-7(7) 7-6(10) 7-5 6-2 in a four-hour contest to book his place in the third round for the first time.
0056 DJOKOVIC MAKES SHORT WORK OF GRIEKSPOOR
Top seed Novak Djokovic’s bid for a calendar year Grand Slam and 21st major remained on track with a routine 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory over unseeded Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands.
0045 ANDREESCU SENDS LOCAL HOPE DAVIS OUT
Canadian sixth seed Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 champion, rolled to a 6-4 6-4 victory over American Lauren Davis.
0010 SINNER WINS, NISHIKORI FIGHTS OFF MCDONALD
Italian Jannik Sinner moved into the third round for the first time with a 6-3 7-6(2) 6-7(6) 6-4 win over unseeded American Zachary Svajda. Former finalist Kei Nishikori scored a 7-6(3) 6-3 6-7(5) 2-6 6-3 win over American Mackenzie McDonald, a player who had beaten the Japanese world number 56 at the Washington Open last month.
2210 SEPPI UPSETS HURKACZ, MONFILS OVERCOMES JOHNSON
Italian world number 89 Andreas Seppi upset 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz 2-6 6-4 6-4 7-6(6) to move into the third round for the first time since 2015. Frenchman Gael Monfils scored a 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-4 win over American Steve Johnson.
2105 BATTLING BERRETTINI THROUGH
Italian Matteo Berrettini was made to work hard by Frenchman Corentin Moutet, but the sixth seed overcame a second-set wobble and 58 unforced errors to score a 7-6(2) 4-6 6-4 6-3 win.
In the third round, Berrettini will face Belarusian Ilya Ivashka, who won the Winston-Salem warm-up event last month.
2050 FLAWLESS KERBER DOWNS KALININA
Former champion and 16th seed Angelique Kerber of Germany secured a 6-3 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, a player who had upset the German in straight sets in the first round at Roland Garros in May.
1921 ZVEREV BLASTS PAST RAMOS-VINOLAS
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev continued his hunt for a maiden Grand Slam title with a 6-1 6-0 6-3 win over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, extending his winning streak to 13.
The German, seeded fourth, fired 11 aces and won 93% of points on first serve.
1857 KVITOVA TOO GOOD FOR KRISTYNA PLISKOVA
Petra Kvitova, the 10th seed, powered past fellow Czech Kristyna Pliskova with a 7-6(4) 6-2 victory.
Russian Varvara Gracheva stunned 24th seed Paula Badosa 6-4 6-4 while compatriot and French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 5-7 6-2.
1814 SWIATEK SURVIVES FERRO SCARE
Seventh seed Iga Swiatek surrendered the opening set and came through a tight second to beat Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro 3-6 7-6(3) 6-0, while 28th seed Anett Kontaveit overcame Swiss Jil Teichmann 6-4 6-1.
1743 BARTY OUTCLASSES TAUSON
Top seed Ash Barty of Australia hardly broke sweat as she beat tournament debutant Clara Tauson 6-1 7-5. British teenager Emma Raducanu also advanced in style with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Zhang Shuai and Maria Sakkari downed Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-2.
1720 BENCIC POWERS INTO NEXT ROUND
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, the 11th seed, made short work of Martina Trevisan, beating the Italian 6-3 6-1 in 71 minutes.
Both players sent down 16 winners, but Trevisan won 48% of her first-serve points and made more than double the number of unforced errors Bencic did.
1615 PLAY UNDERWAY IN NEW YORK
Play got underway at Flushing Meadows after a delayed start, with top seed Ash Barty taking on Denmark’s Clara Tauson at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
(Compiled by Simon Jennings, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Anuron Kumar Mitra and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond/Peter Rutherford)
