A summary of Wednesday’s action at the US Open on Day 3.
IMAGE: Nick Kyrgios plays a forehand against France’s Benjamin Bonzi in their men’s singles second round match at the US Open on Wednesday. Photograph: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios powered past Benjamin Bonzi to reach the third round of the US Open with a hard fought 7-6(3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over the Frenchman on Wednesday.
The big-serving 23rd seed struck 30 aces and broke Bonzi for a fourth time on match point to end the punishing match under the lights at Louis Amrstrong Stadium.
“His level today was incredible, I was not expecting an absolute war,” Kyrgios said in an on-court interview.
“That could have gone either way. He was up a break early in the fourth but I played some really risky tennis late in the fourth set to win. I’m just happy to get through.”
In their first career meeting, the pair exchanged breaks in the first set before Kyrgios captured it in a tie-break and broke early in the second to cruise to a 2-0 lead.
Bonzi responded by taking the third set and went up a break in the fourth before Kyrgios stepped up his game, breaking his serve for a fourth time to set up a third round meeting with American JJ Wolf, who battled past Alejandro Tabilo 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 earlier in the day.
Murray overcomes Nava to make third round
IMAGE: Andy Murray reacts after beating Emelio Nava of the United States. Photograph: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Former world number one Andy Murray survived an early scare to beat American wildcard Emilio Nava 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 to move into the third round of a Grand Slam for only the second time in five years.
Murray’s victory also marked the first time since 2016 that he had reached the third round at Flushing Meadows, where he won his maiden Grand Slam title a decade ago.
The Scot has been attempting to revive his career since hip surgeries threatened to bring it to a premature end and the 35-year-old has shown glimpses of getting back to his best in the first two rounds, dropping only one set so far.
“Physically this is the best I’ve felt in years… I’m getting closer to where I want to be. Hopefully I can have a deep run here,” Murray said in an on-court interview.
Nava is ranked 203 in the world but the 20-year-old, who knocked out John Millman in the first round, showed he belonged further up the ladder with his confident shot-making, winning the big points to take a gruelling first set in 84 minutes.
Murray struggled with his first serve but is always happy to graft in Grand Slams, and broke the inexperienced Nava twice in the second set to level the match after the American made several unforced errors.
That fuelled Murray as he suddenly found his range on serve, tearing through the third set as Nava failed to sustain his levels from the opener and began to fade, giving the resolute Scot the advantage.
With Nava on the ropes, Murray was ruthless with two early breaks to go 4-0 up. Nava nearly got on the board in the fifth game but Murray stood firm to break again before serving out the set.
Murray will next meet 13th seed Matteo Berrettini, who beat him in the final of the Stuttgart Open in June.
The Italian also dropped the opening set before fighting back to beat Hugo Grenier 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-6(7).
No. 3 seed Sakkari sent packing by Wang Xiyu
IMAGE: China’s Wang Xiyu waves to the crowd after shocking Greece’s No. 3 women’s seed Maria Sakkari. Photograph: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Greek third seed Maria Sakkari became the biggest casualty in the women’s draw at the US Open when she fell to a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 defeat to unseeded Chinese Wang Xiyu in an adsorbing second-round contest.
Sakkari, a semi-finalist in New York last year, took charge in the early stages and marched into a one-set lead before being let down by a series of unforced errors as Wang claimed her first career victory over a top-10 player.
Despite Sakkari’s superior experience, Wang’s heavy hitting from the baseline came to the fore in the second set as she took a 5-3 lead before clinching it after a double-fault from Sakkari.
Both players matched each other in the decider but it was Wang who raised her game in the key moments, breaking Sakkari at 6-5 to take the win and reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Sakkari’s defeat capped a difficult couple of days for Greek tennis following the shock first-round exit of men’s fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at the hands of Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan.
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