Djokovic marches on in his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title and American players shine on a hot day three in New York.
Defending champion Coco Gauff and 12th seed Taylor Fritz capped a terrific day at Flushing Meadows for the home hopes as several Americans moved on to the third round of the US Open tennis championship.
Gauff cleaned up early mistakes to beat unseeded German Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-0, setting up a meeting with 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina of Ukraine following her victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night.
“It was a tricky match. I mean, she’s not someone that sometimes you play and you feel great after,” said Gauff. “It was just about execution.”
In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic kept his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title on track after fellow Serb Laslo Djere retired injured while trailing 6-4 6-4 2-0 in their second-round match.
The world 109, who pushed his countryman to five sets in New York last year, had required a medical time-out to treat an injury just before dropping the second set.
The 37-year-old Djokovic had himself required a visit from the trainer for what appeared to be a side strain after sealing the first set.
“It’s not what we want to see when there’s a retirement. Laslo had an injury which took him off the tour for some time and he’s been struggling to come back,” said Djokovic.
“He’s such a good player in these conditions and the second set should have been his, he was 4-2 up.
“I don’t know if [my] winning the second set probably put more burden on him.”
It was the 90th win at the US Open for Djokovic, making him the first man to reach that total at all four Grand Slams. He will next meet Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, whom he defeated at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, with both matches going to four sets.
American stars shine
Later, at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, Fritz closed out the action with a convincing 6-3 7-6(1) 6-1 defeat of Italian Matteo Berrettini. He was delighted with his level after a nervy opener against Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
“I came in really focused. I felt like I was just locked in every point, something I was kind of upset with myself about my first-round match,” Fritz said.
“I was just ready to go. Matteo is an extremely good player, a super tough second round. So I came in extra locked in.”
Advertisement
Big-hitting Frances Tiafoe and former finalist Madison Keys did their bit to boost the American charge earlier in the day.
Tiafoe, who reached the New York semifinals in 2022 and was a runner-up in his final tune-up event this year, was in complete control when Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko retired at 6-4 6-1 1-0.
“Happy to get it done. [I] 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.
He next plays 21-year-old compatriot, Ben Shelton, who electrified the home crowds last year with a run to the semifinals, and had no problem getting past Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-4 6-4 at the Grandstand.
The left-handed Shelton sent over 17 aces and walloped Bautista Agut with 60 winners, feeding off the energy of the boisterous home crowd amid stifling heat.
Meanwhile, Madison Keys, making her 13th main-draw appearance at the US Open, beat Australia’s Maya Joint 6-4 6-0, striking first when she converted on her third break-point opportunity for a 4-3 lead en route to wrapping up the opening set on her serve.
The 29-year-old American opened the second with another break and sprinted to the finish line in 62 minutes.
