Defending champions Djokovic, Gauff advance at steamy US Open

AFP | New York

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Defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the US Open on Wednesday after Laslo Djere retired in the third set. Despite his victory, Djokovic acknowledged he needs to improve to secure his fifth title on the hard courts of New York.

Djokovic was leading 6-4, 6-4, 2-0 when Djere withdrew from the match, which had been a tough battle, with both players requiring medical attention on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"It's not what we want to see," Djokovic said. "He's a great player in these conditions, and the second set should have been his as he was up 4-2. Winning that set probably added pressure on him."

This win marked Djokovic's 90th match victory at the US Open, making him the first man to achieve 90 wins at all four Grand Slam tournaments. However, it was a hard-fought contest until Djere's retirement.

Djokovic secured the first break of the match to win the first set 6-4 after a tense hour, after which he sought treatment for his right side. Djere, the only player to take a set off Djokovic at last year's US Open, broke Djokovic's serve in the second set and led 4-2 but couldn’t convert two more break points. Djokovic won the next six games, with Djere receiving treatment on his abdomen before Djokovic closed out the second set.

"It was a tough fight—over two hours for two sets," Djokovic said. "I served terribly. Without my serve, I had to grind and rely on my baseline game."

The Serbian superstar, fresh from his emotional triumph at the Paris Olympics, will next face Australian Alexei Popyrin, whom he has already defeated at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.

On the women’s side, defending champion Coco Gauff overcame struggles with her serve to defeat 37-year-old Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-0. It was an inconsistent performance from 20-year-old Gauff, who has had an erratic season since winning her first major in New York. Despite putting just 44% of her first serves in play and committing nine double faults, Gauff won the last seven games to seal the victory.

"I think I played well overall," Gauff said. "If I had served better, the first set would have been much easier."

Djokovic and Gauff avoided the worst of the steamy conditions that led tournament organizers to implement the extreme weather rule, allowing mid-match breaks. Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up to Gauff, handled the heat well, dispatching Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 6-1 in an hour.

“I told myself to stay focused from the first point to the last and not drag it out,” Sabalenka said.

Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany also advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 victory over France’s Alexandre Muller, expressing relief at finishing in three sets given the tough conditions.

“I’m happy to be done in three sets and get some rest,” Zverev said, noting the heat was challenging.

Zverev will next face Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry, who battled past compatriot Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, despite issues with over-hydration that led to vomiting during the match.

“It’s dangerous not only for the players but also for the public,” Etcheverry noted after the grueling four-hour match.

Sixth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev and Czech Jiri Lehecka also battled through five sets to secure a third-round meeting. Rublev, a four-time US Open quarter-finalist, defeated France’s Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, while Lehecka outlasted American Mitchell Krueger 6-7 (5/7), 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

Elsewhere, seventh-seeded Paris Olympics gold medallist Zheng Qinwen rallied from a set down for the second straight match to defeat Russian Erika Andreeva 6-7 (3/7), 6-1, 6-2. However, eighth-seeded Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova became the tournament’s biggest upset victim so far, falling 6-4, 7-5 to Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.