|
 [August 31, 2023]
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul
and Coco Gauff all advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open on
Wednesday to keep home hopes alive that an American player will be
crowned champion at Flushing Meadows.
Tiafoe, who reached the semi-finals last year, breezed past
Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-1 6-4 under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium,
the 10th seed meeting little resistance from the 58th ranked
Austrian in their first career meeting.
Tiafoe did not drop serve in the match and sealed victory when he
broke Ofner for a fifth time after the Austrian's forehand went
wide.
Next up for Tiafoe is Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who beat Fabian
Marozsan 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-1 earlier in the day.
"It's going to be tough... but I'm ready for him," Tiafoe said.
No American man has hoisted the trophy at Flushing Meadows since
Andy Roddick two decades ago, while Sloane Stephens was the last
U.S. woman to win the title in 2017.
"Me and Taylor are in the top 10, Tommy is knocking on the door. We
all grew up together and know each other so well so I think American
tennis is in a great place," Tiafoe said.
"Hopefully we all keep going and stop that streak of Andy Roddick in
'03."
Fritz dropped only five games in his demolition of Peruvian Juan
Pablo Varillas to ease into the third round and match his best
result at the Grand Slam.
"We've all been hearing about who's going to be the next American
(after) Andy Roddick 20 years ago our entire careers. We all want it
so bad," said Fritz, who won 6-1 6-2 6-2.
"Hopefully it'll be one of us soon."
Earlier, Paul showed great heart to roar back from two sets down for
the first time in his career to defeat Roman Safiullin 3-6 2-6 6-2
6-4 6-3.
When the match was over, the 14th seed from New Jersey raced over to
hug and give a shirt to a young fan who had cheered him on
throughout the more than three-hour contest.
Paul will have his hands full on Friday when he faces Alejandro
Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard has been sharp during the summer
hardcourt swing and won his first two matches in straight sets.
On the women's side, sixth seed Gauff delivered a convincing 6-3 6-2
win over Russia's Mirra Andreeva in a battle of teenage talents.
[to top of second column] |
Aug 30, 2023; Flushing, NY, USA; Taylor
Fritz of the United States hits a backhand against Juan Pablo
Varillas of Peru (not pictured) on day three of the 2023 U.S. Open
tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Gauff, whose lead-up to the year's final Grand Slam
included hard court 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.
The 19-year-old said she took a more aggressive approach into her
second meeting with Andreeva after having to rally back to beat the
Russian in three sets at this year's French Open.
"She's the type of player if you give her something she's going to
take advantage and today I think I did well making her play off her
back foot," Gauff said of the 16-year-old.
"But Mirra, I think she has a great future ahead of her, I've been
in her position before ... she's going to be back on this stage many
more times in the future."
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.
Up next is 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.
Another U.S. player heading for the exit was Wimbledon
quarter-finalist Chris Eubanks, the 28th seed falling 7-6(6) 2-6 6-2
7-6(7) to wildcard Benjamin Bonzi of France.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, Frank Pingue in Toronto
and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis, Peter
Rutherford)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
