Djokovic and Swiatek roll, Tsitsipas falls in scorching, sticky U.S. Open second spherical

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek rolled to straight-set victories to maneuver into the third spherical on the U.S. Open on Wednesday, preventing not solely their opponents however sticky, 85-degree Fahrenheit climate on the most popular day on the event up to now.

“That’s why we train several hours a day in humid, hot conditions so we can be ready for whatever awaits you on court,” the second-seeded Djokovic mentioned after a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium over 76th-ranked Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain.

“I still have the hunger,” mentioned the 36-year-old from Serbia who owns 23 Grand Slam titles. “I still got it.”

Swiatek, the top-seeded defending champion from Poland, had solely barely extra hassle in her 6-3, 6-4 victory over 322nd-ranked Australian Daria Saville in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Swiatek has by no means misplaced in a serious to a participant exterior the highest 100.

In the largest upset of the day, seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas fell within the second spherical to 128th-ranked Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Ending the four-hour match with a forehand winner that simply caught the baseline, Stricker raised his arms and flopped on his again to rejoice his first-ever victory over a top-10 participant in solely his third Grand Slam look.

“I’m just super happy right now,” Stricker advised the Grandstand crowd. “I came out and felt good from the first set on. … I just kept playing high-level tennis.”

Tsitsipas, a Grand Slam finalist on the Australian Open and French Open, has nonetheless by no means superior past the third spherical at Flushing Meadows. The Greek is the second-highest seed to go down on the lads’s aspect after No. 4 Holger Rune of Denmark misplaced to 63rd-ranked Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena. Aslan Karatsev of Russia went on to beat Baena on Wednesday in 4 units.

Earlier, Coco Gauff cruised into the third spherical with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva.

The sixth-seeded American approached the online 18 instances, profitable 15 of these factors, and she or he credited that newfound web recreation after struggling to beat German Laura Siegemund in three units within the first spherical.

“I learned to be aggressive,” the 19-year-old Gauff mentioned in her on-court interview. “I did well making her play off her back foot.”

Gauff subsequent faces Thirty second-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium, who got here again to beat American Danielle Collins 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-1.

Elsewhere, Dominic Thiem, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, consulted medics and retired quickly after dropping a first-set tiebreaker to American Ben Shelton, and French wild card Benjamin Bonzi defeated Twenty eighth-seeded Christopher Eubanks 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7), ending the hopes of an American who made a shocking run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina superior to the third spherical after Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia withdrew. Tomljanovic, who was sidelined practically all this season by a knee harm after beating Serena Williams final yr within the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion’s ultimate match.

Lin Zhu of China defeated 18th-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-3; American Taylor Townsend beat Nineteenth-seeded Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 (1), 7-5; Tenth-seeded Karolina Muchova beat Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-3, 6-3; and Fifteenth-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland downed British qualifier Yuriko Lily Miyazaki 6-3, 6-3.