NEW YORK, Aug 28 — Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the third round of the US Open with a straight-sets victory yesterday as Novak Djokovic overcame an early scare to advance.
Alcaraz, who could face Djokovic in the semi-finals if the draw holds, swept aside Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in just one hour 36 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I played great to be honest, from the beginning until the last ball,” said the 22-year-old Spaniard, who will next meet 32nd seed Luciano Darderi of Italy. “The less time I spend on court the better for me, to go to bed early.”
Djokovic, chasing a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, dropped the first set against American qualifier Zachary Svajda before recovering to win 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. The 38-year-old Serbian will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the next round.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, 12th seed Casper Ruud — a finalist in New York in 2022 — was upset by Belgium’s Raphael Collignon in five sets. Fourth seed Taylor Fritz and 17th seed Frances Tiafoe both progressed with four-set wins.
In the women’s draw, world number one and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Russia’s Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and will face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez next.
Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko was beaten 7-5, 6-1 by Taylor Townsend before launching a furious on-court tirade, with Townsend later claiming Ostapenko accused her of lacking “class.”
Britain’s Emma Raducanu continued her solid form, dismissing Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-1 to set up a clash with ninth seed Elena Rybakina. Tjen had made history as the first Indonesian in the main draw of a Slam in 21 years.
The Philippines’ Alexandra Eala, who earlier recorded a historic win over 14th seed Clara Tauson, exited with a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula beat Russia’s Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3, while 36-year-old Victoria Azarenka ousted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3. — AFP