Wednesday on the U.S. Open began with the anticipated as Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek confidently superior to the third spherical however the day took a shocking flip afterward, as Casper Ruud and Petra Kvitova have been unexpectedly eradicated from the event.
There have been loads of cheers rolling throughout the sprawling Billie Jean King National Tennis Center all day with Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe shifting on, as hopes of a homegrown winner continued to construct.
But whereas outcomes adopted the shape guide for a lot of the day on the yr’s last Grand Slam, shocks sprung up because the solar went down.
The greatest shock was delivered by Zhang Zhizhen, who shocked final yr’s runner-up and world quantity 5 Ruud 6-4 5-7 6-2 0-6 6-2 to turned the primary Chinese man to beat a top-five participant because the introduction of the ATP rankings in 1973.
At nearly the identical time Caroline Wozniacki was claiming the largest win of her comeback – a 7-5 7-6(5) victory over eleventh seed Kvitova.
Earlier, Swiss younger gun Dominic Stricker delivered a shock by grinding out a 7-5 6-7(2) 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 6-3 win over Greek seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas for his first top-10 win.
Djokovic was prevented from enjoying in final yr’s U.S. Open because of being unvaccinated towards COVID-19 however has seemed proper at residence on Arthur Ashe Stadium courtroom.
A nine-times finalist at Flushing Meadows, the Serb was in ruthless type as he rolled to a second straight dominating win, brushing apart Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4 6-1 6-1.
Djokovic stays on track for a fourth U.S. Open title that might pull him stage with Margaret Court’s report haul of 24 Grand Slams.
So thrilled
Swiatek has additionally impressed however the defending champion was made to work for a 6-3 6-4 win over Australian spark plug Daria Saville, who’s combating her method again to health from damage that has seen her rating tumble to quantity 322.
Wozniacki, twice a finalist at Flushing Meadows, was again on the stage she has graced so many instances towards a well-known foe in entrance of an adoring crowd beneath the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights.
Having retired in 2020 to boost a household and enjoying in simply her third occasion since her return, Wozniacki turned again the clock to come back out on prime within the battle of 33-year-old Grand Slam champions.
The final time Wozniacki beat a prime 20 ranked participant was on the 2018 WTA Finals when she took down then world quantity 5 Kvitova and their fifteenth profession assembly ended with the identical final result.
“I’m just so thrilled to have an opportunity to play out on Arthur Ashe Stadium,” stated Wozniacki. “Three years in the past when you’d requested me, I did not assume I used to be ever going to play on a type of courts once more within the U.S. Open, particularly an evening session.
“It just feels pretty incredible to be out there and winning a match like that.”
Sixth seed Gauff warmed up the house crowd early when {the teenager} beat Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-3, earlier than handing the baton to the U.S. males.
It has been 20 years and 78 Grand Slams since Andy Roddick gained the 2003 U.S. Open and hopes of an American man ending that drought have fallen largely on the shoulders of Tiafoe and Fritz.
Tiafoe didn’t shrink beneath the night highlight, the tenth seed downing Austrian Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-1 6-4, earlier than ninth seeded Fritz cruised previous Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas 6-1 6-2 6-2.
They have been joined within the subsequent spherical by Tommy Paul however solely after the 14th seed battled again from two units right down to get previous Russian Roman Safiullin 3-6 2-6 6-2 6-4 6-3.
Another American Ben Shelton additionally made it to the third spherical when Dominic Thiem retired with an undisclosed sickness.
Thiem left the courtroom after dropping the primary set tie-break however when the Austrian returned he doubled over on the internet and commenced gagging, calling for the physician and forfeiting the match.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
