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Images from Day 3 of the 2023 US Open, at Flushing Meadows, New York.
Novak Djokovic overcame some minor early issues to cruise past Spain's Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday, as he continues his hunt for a 24th Grand Slam title.
More accustomed to the bright lights of the New York night session, the Serbian star instead absorbed the muggy midday August heat, firing off 35 winners to set up a meeting with compatriot Laslo Djere in the third round.
A handful of unforced errors were all that separated Djokovic and his unseeded opponent in the first set, as the three-time champion overcame early inaccuracy on his first serve and converted a break-point chance in the fourth game.
The Spaniard lost his resolve in the second set, kicking the ball frustration after a botched overhead smash in the second game, and Djokovic broke in the third and fifth games.
Zapata Miralles helped the 36-year-old break again in the seventh game with a double fault and a clumsy error.
Djokovic saved four break-points early in the final set, where he fell and rolled onto his hip in the third game, taking his time getting up off the court as he showed his age for a fleeting moment.
But if he were rattled he scarcely showed it, winning the final five games before closing out the match with a forehand winner.
The Serb is already assured of retaking the world number one spot when the rankings are updated after the tournament after winning his opening match.
He beat his next opponent Djere in their only prior meeting at Belgrade last year.
Stricker stuns Tsitsipas in five-set thriller
Swiss Dominic Stricker secured the biggest win of his career with a thrilling 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-3 upset of Greek seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the third round.
Playing in his first US Open main draw, world number 128 Stricker used a massive serve, booming forehand and solid net play during a gruelling four-hour encounter in which he broke the Australian Open finalist six times for his first top-10 win.
For Tsitsipas, who won an ATP 250 title in Los Cabos in early August but then went a combined 1-2 at Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati, the loss marked another early US Open exit after falling in the first round last year.
Tsitsipas had a chance to serve for the match while leading 5-3 in the fourth set but Stricker stepped up with the break en route to forcing a decider where he consolidated an early break with a hold to love for a 3-0 lead that sent him on his way.
"I was down 3-5 and then I came back in the fourth set. I don't know how, but I did it somehow and then I kept playing very high level tennis. I am a bit speechless but it is a great day," said the 21-year-old Stricker.
"Such a great day for me, such a great win," Stricker added. "It gives me a lot of confidence and I think it is great to see from my team. We are working hard every day and it is so great to do that."
Wozniacki's dream comeback continues!
Caroline Wozniacki claimed the biggest win of her comeback and a spot in the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as the Dane's Grand Slam adventure continued with an 7-5, 7-6(5) upset of 11th seed Petra Kvitova.
Twice a finalist at Flushing Meadows, Wozniacki was back on the stage she has graced so many times against a familiar foe in front of an adoring crowd under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights.
Having retired in 2020 to raise a family and playing in just her third event since returning to action Wozniacki turned back the clock to come out on top in the battle of 33-year-old Grand Slam champions.
The last time Wozniacki beat a top 20 ranked opponent was at the 2018 WTA Finals when she took down then world number five Kvitova.
Five years later, their 15th meeting ended with the same outcome.
The match did not start well for Wozniacki as Kvitova broke her to open the contest. But the Dane hit back immediately with a break of her own and then clinched the first set with another break.
Kvitova was never going to outwork the Dane, who endeared herself to New Yorkers by returning to the city to run the marathon, but the Czech had other weapons including a willingness to go for the big shot.
Wozniacki showed that she still possesses some firepower and used it to blast back-to-back aces to secure a decisive break to seal the first set.
The play remained just as tight in the second with Kvitova serving to stay in the contest at 5-5, fighting off two match points to send the set to a tie-break.
But Wozniacki would not be denied, clinching the tie-break 7-5 when the Czech's desperate forehand sailed long.
China's Zhang stuns Ruud
Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese man to beat a top-five opponent since the ATP rankings were introduced in 1973 by stunning last year's runner-up Casper Ruud 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 in the US Open second round on Wednesday.
Zhang, ranked 67th in the world, had come through another five-setter to beat American J J Wolf in his opener and showed similar resolve against world number five Ruud en route to securing the biggest victory of his career.
"Last year at the US Open, I can say it was a bad memory. But this year is a little bit different," said Zhang, who squandered seven match points in his 2022 opener before losing to Tim van Rijthoven in five sets.
The 26-year-old, who will play Australian Rinky Hijikata in the third round, has a number of tennis 'firsts' for China where the sport has largely been dominated by women in the modern era.
In May, he became the first man from his country to win a main draw match at the French Open in 86 years when his Serbian opponent Dusan Lajovic retired due to illness.
After beating Argentine Agustin Tirante in the second round at Roland Garros he was then dumped out of the tournament by Ruud, so Wednesday's victory comes as sweet revenge.
Last October, Zhang became the first Chinese man to break into the top 100 in the world rankings and he also became the first to reach the quarter-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament at the Madrid Open this year.
Swiatek tames feisty Saville
World number one Iga Swiatek also moved into the third round but not without a fight, taming feisty Daria Saville, who had warned she had the game to make the defending champion uncomfortable.
After a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Sweden's Rebecca Peterson in her opening match, Swiatek did not look as at ease as she was made to work for a 6-3, 6-4 win over the 322nd-ranked Australian spark plug.
Saville had also impressed in her opener, sweeping past 17-year-old American Clervie Ngounoue 6-0, 6-2 but the four-time Grand Slam winner represented a major step up in quality she could not match.
Believing she could get into Swiatek's head and possessed the type of game that could give her opponent trouble, Saville did just that in an uneven opening set.
Saville, who has only once before beaten a world number one, seven years ago against Angelique Kerber, got the match off to the best possible start breaking Swiatek at the first opportunity.
But Swiatek would immediately break back when the Australian gifted her the first of six double faults in the opening set.
They traded breaks a second time before Swiatek would get her third of the set and hold serve for a 1-0 lead.
The two players continued to swap breaks in the second before the Pole went in front to stay with another break at 3-2.
But Saville would not wave the white flag, fist pumping after every big point, urging the Louis Armstrong crowd to get behind her.
For Swiatek the win was another step towards defending her US Open crown and keeping the number one world ranking.
Despite having won four titles already this season, including the French Open for a third time, Swiatek's hold on the number one spot is under threat from Aryna Sabalenka, who is seeded second for the season's final Grand Slam.
In order to remain in top spot Swiatek must go one round further than the Belarusian in Flushing Meadows.
Gauff downs fellow-teen Andreeva
American sixth seed Coco Gauff delivered a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Russia's Mirra Andreeva in a battle of teenage talents to reach the third round.
Gauff, whose lead-up to the year's final Grand Slam included hardcourt titles in Washington and Cincinnati, converted four of her five break-point opportunities and surrendered her serve just once during the 76-minute match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
For home favourite Gauff, it was a much more routine day at the office considering she had to dig deep to secure a comeback win in an opening match that left her frustrated with the amount of time her opponent, Laura Siegemund, took between points.
Andreeva, 16, has relished the Grand Slam stage in her debut season on tour having reached the third round at the French Open and fourth round at Wimbledon but was not able to conjure up similar magic in New York.
The 19-year-old Gauff quickly settled into a rhythm after dropping serve in the opening game and during one stretch won 12 consecutive points to open up a 4-1 lead before relying on her serve to close out the set.
Gauff continued to show solid movement and shot selection in the second set where she feasted on Andreeva's serve, twice breaking the Russian to love to build a 5-2 lead before closing out the match with a hold to love.
Up next for Gauff will be a clash with Belgian 32nd seed Elise Mertens, who was a 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-1 winner over American Danielle Collins in a match that lasted nearly three hours.
