Images from the US Open men's singles second round matches, at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Wednesday.
Germany's Alexander Zverev fought through to the US Open's third round on Wednesday, dispatching Alexandre Muller 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-1 on a sweltering Louis Armstrong Stadium court.
The big-serving fourth seed blasted 15 aces and employed a drop-shot finesse at the net to preserve his hopes of capturing a career-first major after a runner-up finish at Roland Garros.
Zverev proved too much for world No. 77 Muller, who committed 41 unforced errors and battled through an apparent leg injury in brutal temperatures and high humidity at Flushing Meadows.
The German came out firing after a shaky round-one performance, breaking Muller's serve in the first game before ultimately claiming the back-and-forth first set.
Clutching his upper right leg, Muller left the court for a lengthy medical time-out between sets but returned with a vengeance.
The resilient Frenchman stood two points from taking the second set but the world No. 4 fought back to take the final five points of a tiebreak, blasting a line-hugging backhand for the winner.
Zverev cruised through the third set, closing out the match with a final ace.
"(I played) much better than in the first round. I thought at some point (Muller) also played some very good tennis, especially in the second set," Zverev said.
"The second set tie-breaker was high-level. I was down 5-2 and him serving but I didn't feel like I did much wrong. I'm happy to have turned that around and then ran away with it in the third set."
The win sets up a clash in the next round with Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry, whom Zverev beat in four sets at Roland Garros last year but who played a four-hour, five-set match in brutal heat on Wednesday.
"I'm happy to be through in three sets because I think weather and conditions were obviously very difficult today. Very hot, very humid," Zverev said.
"The less time I spend on the court, the better it is."
Rublev fights back from two sets down to beat Rinderknech
A tenacious Andrey Rublev survived a marathon encounter, battling back from two sets down to beat Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 and move into the third round.
Few would have expected Frenchman Rinderknech to trouble four-times US Open quarter-finalist Rublev, who had a 2-0 winning record against the world number 56, with one of those wins coming in this tournament last year.
The Russian took his time to get going in sweltering conditions on Court 17, and was put under serious pressure early on by Rinderknech as he broke to take a 2-1 lead in the first set.
Rublev, who has struggled to keep his temper under control at times on tour, fought back to level the set at 4-4 but his serve was broken in the next game and he repeatedly smashed his racket into the ground in frustration.
In a gruelling second set that lasted more than 80 minutes, Rublev edged ahead 3-1 but Rinderknech broke back in a game that featured a remarkable 37-shot rally which left the Frenchman lying flat on his back and gasping for air.
Rinderknech went on to clinch the second set but the effort appeared to take a toll on him, and his performance tailed off significantly in contrast to the opening two sets, where he fired 37 winners compared to just 18 in the final three sets.
Sixth seed Rublev gleefully took advantage and tapped into all of his experience to secure victory with four hours and six minutes on the clock, setting up a meeting with Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic.
Tiafoe in third round after Shevchenko retires
Big-hitting Frances Tiafoe boost American hopes at the Open by booking a ticket into the third round in convincing fashion.
He was leading 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 when Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko retired.
Tiafoe, who reached the New York semi-finals in 2022 and this year was a runner-up in his final tune-up event, was in complete control when Shevchenko, who had the trainer out after the second set, suddenly called it a day.
"Happy to get it done. Hate to win it that way but overall I thought I actually played pretty well today," Tiafoe said after a stress-free victory during which he changed shirts five times.
Tiafoe broke Shevchenko to take the first set and grabbed a 5-1 double-break lead in the second before serving out the one-sided match.
