Defending champions Sabalenka, Alcaraz storm into US Open third round

NEW YORK – Carlos Alcaraz got off to a sluggish start but stormed home, and Aryna Sabalenka was in control all the way as the defending champions led a stream of contenders into the third round of the US Open on Sept 2.

Spain’s Alcaraz, seeded second in his first tournament since a wrist injury forced him to the sidelines in April, started slowly but finished in convincing fashion in a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over 72nd-ranked Jaime Faria of Portugal.

Alcaraz won his seventh Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January, but arrived in New York an unknown quantity after a wrist injury forced a four-month layoff that saw him miss Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

He dispelled doubts with a straight-sets first-round victory over Russian Roman Safiullin, but took some time to find his range against the big-serving Faria, who claimed the first break of the match for a 4-3 lead in the first when Alcaraz flubbed a forehand.

He made the break stand up to take the set, but Alcaraz stepped up his intensity and Faria folded under the pressure.

“Tough match for me,” Alcaraz said, adding that after failing to convert an early break point, he briefly lost his composure.

“After that, I was in a rush. I didn’t take time, I wasn’t patient and that obviously cost me the break,” he said.

“I tried to stay calm... think good things are going to happen again.”

Meanwhile, a ruthless Sabalenka took the next step on the road to a rare US Open three-peat with a 6-1, 6-1 rout of 160th-ranked Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko that lasted just 53 minutes.

Sabalenka, without a title since her impressive Indian Wells-Miami double in March, delivered 24 winners, showcasing her power from the baseline and an effective touch at the net.

The Belarusian dropped just four points on serve in the opening set and was broken just once to give Iatcenko her only game of the second set. Sabalenka responded by winning the next three to secure the win.

Having sealed her 15th straight win at Flushing Meadows, Sabalenka told reporters she felt mentally “way stronger than I was in the middle of the season” and also felt better physically.

“I’m happy with my level. I’ve been working really hard, but I feel like I’m moving away from trying to be perfect on court.

“I know that you cannot be perfect, and I’m just trying to work with what I have right now,” added Sabalenka, who will play 92nd-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan in the third round.

American world No. 3 Jessica Pegula and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev also raced into the third round.

Russia’s Medvedev beat US wildcard Sebastian Gorzny 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 at Louis Armstrong Stadium, firing 14 aces and saving the lone break point he faced. But he was distracted briefly when a pair of small birds perched on the net and he was forced to replay a point he thought he had won.

“I saw them straight away and I thought the point would stop straight away and we didn’t,” Medvedev said. “And the moment I hit the winner, we stop. I was not happy with the decision.”

Pegula needed just 56 minutes to dismantle 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-1 in the first match at Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a meeting with the 2021 Canadian runner-up Leylah Fernandez.

“To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn’t always happen. So I think I’m just going to take that one and run,” said Pegula, the runner-up in 2024.

Eighth seed Ben Shelton had a more difficult time, beating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, as he relied on the energy of the home crowd to power through.

The Montreal winner has emerged as one of the brightest hopes of ending a 23-year US men’s Major drought in a diminished field missing injured Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

Compatriot Frances Tiafoe also claimed a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 victory over Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto.

It was not all good news for the Americans, however, as the 2017 champion Sloane Stephens exited against Ukraine’s 11th seed Marta Kostyuk in a 6-1, 7-5 defeat.

World No. 7 Karolina Muchova stormed into the third round with a crushing 6-1, 6-0 victory over Britain’s Katie Boulter.

Rain forced the meeting to be moved to the roofed Louis Armstrong Stadium and the two-time US Open semi-finalist was ruthless from start to finish.

The world No. 62 briefly threatened to make a contest of it, breaking in Muchova’s first service game, but she struggled to find any rhythm after that.

Muchova recovered immediately and took full advantage of Boulter’s unforced errors, 15 of which came in the first set alone, to take the opener.

The second followed much the same script, with the Czech continuing to dictate play while Boulter failed to hold serve throughout the match, allowing Muchova to secure the win in under an hour.

“I was happy about my composure. We changed courts to this one with the roof, so of course I’m really happy with the way I adapted,” Muchova said on court.

Muchova, who claimed the mixed doubles title in New York with compatriot Jakub Mensik, will next face the winner of the all-American clash between Emma Navarro and Caty McNally. REUTERS, AFP