Third-round matches at the US Open continued tonight, with the focus on the men’s draw.
World number 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner defeated Denis Shapovalov.
World number 3, Sasha Zverev, ended another Grand Slam without a trophy after being eliminated by Felix Auger Aliassime.
In the women’s draw, world number 2 Iga Swiatek came back from a deficit to win against Anna Kalinskaya, and Coco Gauff maintained her momentum to face Naomi Osaka in the next round.
Jannik Sinner (1) – Denis Shapovalov (27) 7:5, 4:6, 3:6, 3:6
The defending champion recorded his 24th consecutive Grand Slam win in an attempt to retain his title in New York.
Even a difficult first set against an opponent who had defeated him in 2022 did not prevent him from becoming one of the youngest player to reach at least 20 wins in each of the four Grand Slams (after Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic).
“I am not a machine, you know.
I also have difficulties sometimes,” said Sinner, who lost to Kecndi in the first round of the 2021 Australian Open, in their only previous meeting.
“Every match is very hard.
Every challenge is very hard.
Some players have more qualities or potential, and he is one of them.
I just tried to stay there mentally.”
Sasha Zverev (3) – Felix Auger-Aliassime (25) 6:4, 6:7 (7), 4:6, 4:6
World number three, Alexander Zverev, still seeking his first Grand Slam title, ended his tournament in disappointment.
The Canadian came back from a set deficit and defeated the German.
Unlike Sinner and Swiatek, who found a way to recover, Zverev lost his composure as the match slipped away throwing his racket in frustration while his opponent turned the match around.
Zverev entered the match leading 2:6 in head-to-head record but was again eliminated in a frustrating manner.
Other matches:
Alexander Bublik (23, Kazakhstan) – Tommy Paul (14, USA) 6:7 (5), 7:6 (4), 3:6, 7:6 (4), 1:6
Lorenzo Musetti (10, Italy) – Flavio Cobolli (24, Italy) 3:6, 2:6, 0:2
Andrey Rublev (15, Russia) – Cheuk Lam Coleman Wong (Hong Kong) 6:2, 4:6, 3:6, 6:4, 3:6
Women
Coco Gauff (3, USA) – Magdalena Frech (28, Poland) 3:6, 1:6
After working hard against Ayla Tomljanovic in the first round and improving her performance with a win over Donna Vekic in the second round, Gauff crushed Frech without conditions, bringing her head-to-head record to 3:0.
The American broke five times and closed the match in one hour and fourteen minutes.
The organizers could not have scripted a better scenario for the American audience: in the round of sixteen, Gauff will face Naomi Osaka, in a match between two former charismatic champions, six years after their unforgettable first meeting at Flushing Meadows.
In 2019, reigning champion Osaka defeated 15-year-old Gauff 3:6, 0:6.
Afterwards, she consoled and encouraged her to speak to the audience a sports gesture that won over the spectators.
“It could be a kind of cool déjà vu, but I hope the result is different,” said Gauff.
Iga Swiatek (2, Poland) – Anna Kalinskaya (29, Russia) 6:7 (2), 4:6
The Wimbledon champion came back from a 5:1 deficit in the first set on the way to a difficult but encouraging victory.
“I am happy I returned to the match and continued finding solutions and solving problems,” said the Polish player.
“Definitely, it was not an easy match.
” Swiatek was far from her peak in a match full of errors including nine breaks and 67 unforced errors shared by both players.
Still, Swiatek rose in crucial moments, saved four set points in the first set, and broke at the end of the second to record her 20th win at a Grand Slam tournament this season equaling reigning world number 1, Aryna Sabalenka.
She will face world number 13, Ekaterina Alexandrova, in the round of sixteen.
The Wimbledon champion, who also recently won the Cincinnati tournament, suffered only two losses in her last 23 matches.
Other matches:
Amanda Anisimova (8, USA) – Jacqueline Cristian (Romania) 4:6, 6:4, 2:6
Beatriz Haddad Maia (22, Brazil) – Maria Sakkari (Greece) 2:6, 1:6
Daria Kasatkina (15, Australia) – Naomi Osaka (23, Japan) 6:0, 4:6, 6:3
Linda Noskova (21, Czech Republic) – Karolina Muchova (11, Czech Republic) 6:7 (5), 6:4, 6:2