Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev advanced to the men’s singles third round at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, but it took a bit more work than expected to do so.
The No. 1 and No. 5 seeds each dropped a set in their respective matchups with Kyle Edmund and Brandon Nakashima.
Djokovic rebounded from losing a first-set tiebreak to sweep three sets in a row to set up a third-round meeting with Jan-Lennard Struff.
Zverev also dropped a set through a tiebreak, but like Djokovic, he did not let that faze him and finished off Nakashima in the third and fourth sets.
Other seeded players in the women’s draw were not as fortunate as Kvitova, as four players were upset on Wednesday, including No.1 seed Karolina Pliskova.
Top Men’s Results
No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. Kyle Edmund, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Maxime Cressy 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 Alexander Zverev def. Brandon Nakashima, 7-5, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3, 6-1
No. 7 David Goffin def. Lloyd Harris, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Mikhail Kukushkin def. No. 13 Cristian Garin, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5
No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta def. Mitchell Krueger, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina def. No. 24 Hubert Hurkacz, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
No. 26 Filip Krajinovic def. Marcos Giron, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
No. 28 Jan-Lennard Struff def. Michael Mmoh, 6-2, 6-2, 7-5
No. 32 Adrian Mannarino def. Jack Sock, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, 6-2
Djokovic rebounded in fine fashion after dropping the first-set tiebreak to Edmund.
The men’s singles top seed took control of the match in the second set through a 6-3 win and then allowed his opponent to win six games in the final two sets.
After Nakashima leveled the match at one set apiece, Zverev took over by outscoring the American 12-4.
In the fourth set, the No. 5 seed finished off the victory by taking four consecutive games, including a pair of breaks off Nakashima’s serve.
Krajinovic produced 33 winners compared to 21 out of Marcos Giron, and he was more active at the net than others. The No. 26 seed won 19 of his 24 net points.
Struff was impeccable on his serve. He allowed Michael Mmoh a single break-point opportunity that he did not convert.
The German’s next matchup will not be as easy, as he squares off with Djokovic with a spot in the fourth round on the line.
No. 13 Cristian Garin and No. 24 Hubert Hurkacz were the only two seeds sent home in the men’s draw Wednesday.
Top Women’s Results
Caroline Garcia def. No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)
No. 4 Naomi Osaka def. Camila Giorgi, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 Petra Kvitova def. Kateryna Kozlova, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
No. 8 Petra Martic def. Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-3, 6-4
Shelby Rogers def. No. 11 Elena Rybakina, 7-5, 6-1
Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. No. 12 Marketa Vondrousova, 6-1, 6-2
Ann Li def. No. 13 Alison Riske, 6-0, 6-3
No. 14 Anett Kontaveit def. Kaja Juvan, 6-4, 6-1
No. 17 Angelique Kerber def. Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
No. 23 Yulia Putintseva def. Vera Lapko, 6-3, 6-3
No. 24 Magda Linette def. Danka Kovinic, 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4)
No. 28 Jennifer Brady def. Catherine Bellis, 6-1, 6-2
Varvara Gracheva def. No. 30 Kristina Mladenovic, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-0
The US Open’s No 1 seed, Karolina Pliskova, is out of the tournament after a 6-1, 7-6 (2) defeat to France’s Caroline Garcia in the second round.
Pliskova summoned a single winner in an abysmal first-set performance, trailing 5-0 and losing the set 6-1. The world No 3 and top US Open seed in the absence of Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep, fought back from a break down in the second set, and had set points to level the match in the 10th game – but Garcia found a crucial ace to set up a tie-break which she won 7-6.
Naomi Osaka, the 2018 champion, needed only 70 minutes to dispense of Camila Giorgi in the second round 6-1, 6-2 to set up a 3rd round tie against Marta Kostyuk
Kvitova followed a similar pattern as Djokovic and Zverev, as she was not at her best in the opening set. The No. 6 seed was pushed to a first-set tiebreak and struggled to break Kozlova’s serve. Kvitova went 3-of-10 on break-point opportunities.
No. 12 Marketa Vondrousova had nothing working for her against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and Kristina Mladenovic stumbled versus Varvara Gracheva after winning the first set in dominant fashion.
No. 11 Elena Rybakina and No. 13 Alison Riske both fell in straight sets to grow the list of eliminated seeds in the women’s draw.
Only seven of the 16 seeds in the top half of the women’s bracket have moved to the third round as of Wednesday afternoon.
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