NEW YORK:
Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the third spherical of the US Open with a blistering straight-sets victory on Wednesday as Novak Djokovic overcame an early scare to advance.
Alcaraz, who might meet Djokovic within the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows if the draw follows the seedings, blew away Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in only one hour 36 minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium major court docket.
The 22-year-old Spanish second seed unfurled a stream of 32 winners in a dominant show towards the Sixty fifth-ranked Bellucci, whose greatest efficiency in a Grand Slam got here with a run to the third spherical at Wimbledon earlier this yr.
“I performed nice to be trustworthy, from the start till the final ball,” mentioned Alcaraz, who will face one other Italian, thirty second seed Luciano Darderi, within the subsequent spherical.
“The much less time I spend on court docket the higher for me, to go to mattress early,” he added.
Elsewhere Wednesday, Serbian legend Djokovic stored his dream of a report twenty fifth Grand Slam singles title alive after a four-set defeat of American qualifier Zachary Svajda.
Djokovic although was pressured to dig deep after shedding the primary set earlier than claiming a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win.
Djokovic, 38, mentioned that whereas not at his greatest, he’s hoping to play himself into type because the match progresses.
“That is what I am hoping, the deeper I’m going into the match the higher I really feel about my recreation,” he mentioned.
Djokovic’s victory sees him into the third spherical on the US Open for a record-equalling nineteenth time, the place he’ll face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who defeated Argentina’s Francisco Comesana 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (0/7), 7-6 (7/4).
In different males’s motion on Wednesday, Norwegian twelfth seed Casper Ruud, the 2022 US Open finalist, exited to Belgium’s Raphael Collignon, shedding 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Fourth seed Taylor Fritz superior safely, beating South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 6-4, whereas American compatriot Frances Tiafoe, seeded 17, additionally progressed with a four-set defeat of qualifier Martin Damm. Tiafoe gained 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5.
Within the girls’s draw, in the meantime, defending champion and world primary Aryna Sabalenka moved into the subsequent spherical with a workmanlike show to dispatch unseeded Russian Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
Sabalenka began slowly however after taking the primary set on a tie-break, asserted her management to drag away within the second. The Belarusian will play Canada’s Leylah Fernandez within the third spherical.
“The primary set was super-tight, super-aggressive. I used to be glad I used to be in a position to deal with that strain and put it again to her. Within the second set I felt significantly better within the return recreation.”
Elsewhere Wednesday’s Latvia’s twenty fifth seed Jelena Ostapenko was upset 7-5, 6-1 by Taylor Townsend earlier than unleashing a livid on-court tirade on the American.
Townsend mentioned Ostapenko accused her of missing “class” throughout her rant.
“She instructed me I’ve no schooling, no class, and to see what occurs if we play one another exterior of the US,” Townsend mentioned. “It was unlucky, however, you realize, it is one thing I can placed on my Tiktok.”
Ostapenko mentioned on Instagram she had been angered by Townsend’s failure to acknowledge a web twine in her favour through the match.
In different matches, Britain’s Emma Raducanu continued her strong begin to the match after dispatching Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen in straight units, successful 6-2, 6-1.
Tjen had develop into the primary Indonesian participant to succeed in the primary draw of a Grand Slam in 21 years and adopted that up with a primary spherical upset of twenty fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova.
However she was overwhelmed comfortably by Raducanu, who’s aiming to recapture the US Open title she gained as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021. Raducanu will face ninth seed Elena Rybakina within the subsequent spherical.
Whereas Tjen headed for the exit, one other participant from Southeast Asia, the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala, additionally noticed her match come to an finish.
Eala, the primary participant from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam singles match along with her defeat of 14th seed Clara Tauson on Sunday, was overwhelmed 6-4, 6-3 by Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula can also be into the third spherical after beating Russian Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3. There was a win too for veteran Victoria Azarenka, the 36-year-old two-time Australian Open champion from Belarus, who defeated Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3.
