That’s all for today. Thanks as always for following along with us and be sure to join us again for more live coverage from Flushing Meadows.
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Novak Djokovic [2] beats Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4 6-1 6-1!
Djokovic is through to the round of 32 after a straightforward win over Zapata Miralles in two hours flat on Ashe. The first set was a tight phyiscal affair with only the one break to separate them, but Djokovic’s pressure overwhelmed the Spaniard from there. The 23-time major champion advances to an all-Serbian third-rounder on Friday against the No 32 seed Laslo Djere. It will be their first all-time meeting.
“[The crowd] is what gives me strength,” Djokovic says in his on-court interview. “That’s what gives me motivation at 36 years of age, 20 years of coming to New York. I still have the hunger, I still have the desire to play my best tennis on this court.”
Iga Swiatek [1] beats Daria Saville 6-3 6-4!
The defending champion is through to third round after pounding a 97mph service winner on match point to finish off Saville after 94 minutes. She advances to face the Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan, who came from behind to defeat the homestanding Lauren Davis earlier on Court 12.
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Saville holds, forcing Swiatek to serve for the match at 6-3 5-4. Already, it’s hard not to fantasise about her facing Sabalenka in the final, though Elena Rybakina – and others – will have something to say about that.
Cerundolo F, seeded 20, trails the resurgent Vesely 7-6 3-1 – he’s another it’s great to see back – while Djokovic, 2-0 up on Zapata Miralles, is serving at 1-1 in the third.
Swiatek now leads Saville 6-3 5-3, Saville serving to stay in the match.
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Next on Grandstand: Victoria Azarenka [18] v Zhu Lin.
As for Tsitsipas, as he improves and gains experience, somehow, he’s getting further away from taking that elusive first major. I say somehow, I mean everyone else is progressing faster and I don’t think he’s the scope to do anything about it.
Stricker is disquietingly composed in his interview, saying he’s really happy but needs to recover in time for the next round. He doesn’t know how he came back in set four from 5-3 down, but kept “playing high-level tennis” and now feels “a bit speechless”. He’ll take a lot of confidence from the win, he and his team work hard every day, and he believes in himself. What a match that was, and what a performance.
Dominic Stricker beats Stefanos Tsitsipas [7] 7-5 (2)6-7 (5)6-7 7-6(6) 6-3!
Amazing amazing amazing! Stricker not only beats the number seven seed but comes from 2-1 down so to do, punishing yet another forehand down the line to secure the match! He meets Bonzi or Eubanks next, and we may well have found ourselves another superstar. Twenty-one years old!
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Tsitsipas forces break-back point … so a serve out wide, a clean-up forehand, and we’re back at deuce. Oh and Swiatek breaks Saville again for a 6-3 4-2 lead.
Tsitsipas races to 0-30, but a big serve closes the gap. An ace down the middle makes 30-all, and Stricker is two points away!
Tsitsipas holds for 3-5 and here, after four hours on court, comes Stricker to serve for the match. Can he handle the pressure?
Eubanks levels at a set apiece with Bonzi, taking the second 6-2; Muchova beats Frech 6-3 6-3; Djokovic takes the second set off Zapata Miralles 6-1; and during change of ends, Stricker, prior to the biggest moments of his life, sings along to Whitney. What a guy.
Leading 4-1 in the decider, Stricker makes double-break point … but misses his backhand return, sent wide – just. From there, Tsitsipas closes out while, on Armstrong, Saville breaks Swiatek back and doesn’t she enjoy the moment. She trails 3-6 2-2 and in the time it takes me to type that, Stricker blazes through a service game to lead 5-2 in the fifth! He’s a game away, and is showing no signs of nerves whatsoever!
Djokovic breaks Zapata Miralles, consolidates, and makes 0-40, eventually securing the double break to 30 with a forehand winner into the corner for 6-4 4-1. Stricker meanwhile, consolidates easily, nips off for a slash, and is having the time of his life.
Swiatek breaks Saville for 6-3 1-0, while Stricker holds and takes Tsitsipas to deuce on serve, then making advantage, he chases down a drop and and guides a backhand winner down the line! At 2-0 in the fifth, he’s four holds away from hooking a monster!
Naturally, Swiatek serves out for a 6-3 first set; Muchova now leads Frech 6-3 3-1.
LOOK AT DOMINIC STRICKER! He earns another set point, on his own delivery … and clobbers down an unreturnable beauty! He wins the third breaker of the match having lost the previous two, and we’re going all the way! Already, this is a remember the name performance.
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Tistipas mini-breaks back, so Stricker hammers an ace down the T for 5-5 then takes the next point too, meaning he’s one away from the set. So once more he unfurls that forehand DTL and it was there for him, but he hits it too hard. On Armstrong, meanwhile, Swiatek breaks Saville again and is now 15-all serving for the set.
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Oh and while I was looking elsewhere, Saville breaks Swiatek back and is now serving at 3-4 in the first.
Djokovic holds comfortably for a 6-4 set; Stricker takes a mini-break for 4-2. His forehand, cross especially, is a thing of beauty.
Bonzi takes the first set off Eubanks 8-6 in the breaker; Djokovic is serving for the set against Zapata Miralles; and Swiatek leads Saville 4-3 with a break.
Fantastic from Stricker, who unleashes forehands then comes in and hits as many volleys as he needs to to secure advantage. He’s absolutely loving it out there, and forces a third breaker – having lost the first two. Can he grab a decider?
Muchová takes the first set off Frech 6-3, while Tsitsipas slams down an ace for 30-0 at 6-5. He holds, then maked 15-30 on the Stricker serve, taking him two points away from round three…
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YES DOMINIC STRICKER! Tsitsipas goes long, he breaks through deuce, and will now serve to stay in the match at 4-5.
Stricker makes 15-40 but a big serve then an ace down the middle give Tsitsipas deuce.
Tsitsipas is nearly there, upping the power to break Stricker, and he’ll now serve at 5-3 in the fourth for a place in round three. On Armstrong, Swiatek has that forehand working and holds to love for 2-1 and on Ashe, Djokovic consolidates for 4-2 against Zapata Miralles.
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Zapata Miralles made a decent start, but Djokovic breaks him for 3-2; Saville serves a double to hand back the break she borrowed off Swiatek.
Just as I’m about to tell you Swiatek and Saville have started, I’m instead telling you Saville has broken the champ in game one. Not that long ago, Saville took a break from the game to get achilles surgery, pretty much the worst kind there is, so to see her duking it out with the best is great to see and must be a beautiful feeling for her. Oh, and on Grandstand, it seems Stricker took the break too early, and we’re back on serve in sset four, Tsitsipas leading by two sets to one.
Muchová has broken Frech already for 3-1; Sorribes Tormo leads Wang 7-5 0-1; and Eubanks leads Bonzi 4-3 on serve.
Djokovic and Zapata Miralles are under way on Ashe; on Armstrong, Swiatek and Saville are imminent.
One of my favourite matches and performances of the year was Karolína Muchová’s semi-final win over Aryna Sabalenka at Roland-Garros. I was surprised she then lost in round one at Wimbledon, though I’m a big fan of Jule Niemeier who beat her, and I’m looking frorward to seeing how she goes here. She leads Magdalena Frech 2-1 on serve in set one.
Respect to Dominic Stricker! He power-caresses a forehand return down the line, and that gives him a break in the opening game of the fourth set! He seems to have both temperament and shots; keep an eye out for him over the next few years.
Elise Mertens [32] beats Danielle Collins 3-6 7-6(7) 6-1!
That’s a tremendous win given how close she was to losing, but she’ll have to up it several levels to give Gauff an issue in the next round.
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Yup, Stricker nets at the net and Tsitsipas takes the breaker 7-5 to lead by two sets to one … and doesn’t he love it! It’s hard to see him losing from here, likewise Mertens who leads Collins 5-1 in the third.
On Ashe, Djokovic and Zapata Miralles are out while, on 17, Bonzi and Eubanks are 1-1 in the first.
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Tsitsipas isn’t always the best under pressure, on the backhand especially, but he again dominates the breaker, taking a 5-2 lead … but Stricker gives himself a outside chance with a fine forehand winner blazed cross-court for 3-5.
I missed Townsend’s celebration after beating Haddad Maia, but it was a belter, a long hug with her coach. She’s got a young son and recently went three months without seeing him, so the relief at having something to show for it, professionally and financially, must be colossal. Tsitsipas, by the way, has forced another breaker…
Mertens breaks Collins again and at 4-1 in the decider, this is almost over; Collins, remember, had match point not that long ago. BUR WHAT’S THIS?! Stricker has advantage at 6-5 in set three, which means he has set point against Tsitsipas! But Tsitsipas finds a first serve to save himself.
Mertens has broken Collins and leads 2-1 in their decider, while Tsitsipas has just levelled set three against Stricker at 5-5. Stricker has never been beyond round two of a Slam, but at 21 he looks to have a decent future – his temperament looks as solid as his forehand.
Next on Ashe: Bernabé Zapata Miralles v Novak Djokovic.
Gauff says that after playing Andreeva in Paris, she learnt to be aggressive against her, and has been in the position her opponent is now; she hopes the crowds will get behind her. It’s nice of her to be thinking about someone other than herself, noting that she no longer thinks every game is a matter of life and death – there are people on tour in their 30s – and it’s fine to lose if you learn something from the experience. To have a long career, she needs to enjoy what she does and she is at the moment, also explaining that coming from south Florida, she’s used to the heat. Nevertheless, she’s coming to the boil…
Coco Gauff [6] beats Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-2!
Andreeva didn’t play badly and will be much better for the experience of appearing on Ashe for the first time, likewise for the tousing she received. She meets Collins or Mertens next.
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Gauff breaks Andreeva for 6-3 5-2 and will now serve for the match…
Taylor Townsend beats Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6(1) 7-5!
That’s a superb performance from Townsend, one of the best of her career, and she meets Muchova or Frech next.
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Gauff is playing like she means it, attacking Andreeva whenever possible – and, as I type that, she runs around her backhand to punish a forehand winner down the line. At 6-3 4-2, it’s almost impossible to see her faltering.
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Townsend is absolutely ‘avin it, breaking Haddad Maia to 15 and noising up herself and the partisan crowd in the royal manner. At 7-6 6-5, she’ll shortly serve for the match.
Now then. Mertens hangs in there to take the tiebreak 9-7, meaning she and Collins will play a decider.
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Gauff saves a couple of break points, the first time she’s looked troubled in a while, then makes deuce on the Andreeva serve with a sensational winner from net to corner; Stricker sticks with Tsitsipas, leading 3-2 in the third, and Haddad Maia leads Townsend 5-4 in the second having lost the first.
…and goes long with a forehand cross-court! Mertens survives!
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Collins retrieves a mini-break, scores one for herself … and burns a match point by hitting a backhand long. no matter, she raises another on her own serve…
Stricker saves two break points, but then Tsitsipas punishes a forehand winner down the line and leads 2-1 in the third. The music at change of ends is very odd behaviour, can we not bear 90 seconds with nothing obvious going on?
Absolute sake. Sky flick over to Collins v Mertens – they’re playing second-set tiebreak – so we miss Gauff breaking Andreeva for a 6-3 2-1 lead.
Gauff makes a great volley on the stretch for 1-1 in set two while Haddad Maia might’ve found herself in the nick of time, breaking Townsend back to trail 6-7 3-3.
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Tsitsipas plays a really good tiebreak, taking it to two, and suddenly Stricker has some thinking to do. And on Armstrong, Collins is serving for a second-set breaker having taken the first against Mertens.
Belinda Bencic [15] beats Lily Miyazaki 6-3 6-3!
Miyazaki did her best to make a game of it, but Bencic was better in every department and meets Azarenka or Zhu next.
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Time’s up? Tsitsipas nabs the mini-break, makes 3-1 with a booming ace, then a huge serve/forehand combo take him to within three points of levelling the match.
At 5-6 40-15, Stricker balloons a lefty forehand long, but another well-constructed point means it’s a breaker. On Ashe, though, no such luck for Andreeva, who’s playing well now … but so is Gauff, who takes the first set 6-3 after a purple patch that saw her move from 0-1 to 4-1.
I’m going to focus on Tistsipas 5-7 5-5 Stricker for a bit, though, as we’re at the business end of their second set … and Stricker wins a net exchange for 15-30. Tsitsipas, though, responds with a big serve … then another, closing out from there, and he looks rejuvenated. On 17, meantime, Townsend now leads Haddad Maia by a set and break, my excitement at seeing the latter looking like a bunch of arse, and my accumulator facing the same fate.
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Bencic now leads Miyazaki 6-3 4-2; Andreeva is serving 2-5 down to Gauff; and Haddad Maia trails Townsend 6-7 1-1.
GB’s Henry Patten and Julian Cash have won their first-round men’s doubles match, beating William Blumberg and Steve Johnson 5 and 1. Why is this interesting, you may be thinking, but 1) Patten’s coach, Calv Betton, is our resident analyst and 2) It’s not every day your mate coaches his first win at a major.
After losing the opening game, Gauff has won four straight, and she’s a much better player than this time last year. She’s still got work to do on her forehand if she’s to win a major, but she looks like she believes, and with her talent, that’s a lot of the battle.
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Great stuff from Stricker, breaking Tsitsipas back in some style for a 7-2 2-3 lead; he’s playing really solidly. And so is Gauff, who takes advantage of a careless game from Andreeva and breaks to love, then secures her love-consolidation with a backhand winner cross-court.
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Aha, we’re now allowed to watch Andreeva v Gauff on a main channel, Gauff leading 2-1 with a break.
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While I was watching that, Gauff broke Andreeva back for 1-1, while Tsitsipas was busy breaking Sticker for 5-7 3-1.
Miyazaki is nearly gone, broken by Bencic in her first service game of set two, while Townsend takes her breaker with Haddad Maia, a fellow lefty, 7-1. And it reflects the play too – she hit 20 winners versus her opponent’s nine.
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Andreeva and Gauff are away, the former raising break point in game one … and Gauff nets a backhand! Andreeva does not wait to be asked! Elsewhere, Townsend leads Haddad Maia 3-0 in their first-set breaker and Collins has broken Mertens again; I’ve not a clue why that match is on a main Sky channel but Andreeva v Gauff isn’t.
Tsitsipas has treatment of some sort but can’t take a timeout once he’s called for help and used of some of what he’s allotted; Mertens has broken Collins back in set two, so trails 3-6 2-2, and Coach Calv’s boys have won their first set 7-5.
On Ashe, Gauff and Andreeva are warming up – if Bencic takes this first set, I’ll switch from this to that – but Miyazaki is making a fight of it, narrowly missing with a forehand cross-court that would’ve given her two break-back points. From there, though, Bencic cleans up a netted forehand return securing her a 6-3 advantage.
Tsitsipas lashes a glorious forehand winner down the line but Stricker makes 40-30, slams a serve down the T, and clears up with a colossal forehand! He leads Tsitsipas 7-5!
A love hold for Miyazaki, but Bencic will now serve for the set at 5-3; Haddad Maia holds for 5-5, and Stricker is two points from set one at 30-15.
And how often do we see this?! I nip off for a comfort break, return, and Stricker has broken for 6-5! He’ll serve for the set presently.
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How often have we seen this? With Stricker serving to stay in the set, Tsitsipas raises the first break point of it … which is quickly confiscated from him. Sticker then powers through deuce – well played him – while, on 17, haddad Maia is serving at 4-5.
Miyazaki, we learn, is a “data nerd” – she has a master’s in management of information technology, though she would’ve preferred to do maths, problem being it took longer. She holds again for 2-4.
Collins has, as the bookies expected, taken the first set off Collins 6-3 … and she’s just broken in game one of the second. Stricker, meanwhile, is pushing Tsitsipas, holding pretty easily – but at 4-5 he’ll now do so to stay in set one, which means a different kind of pressure.
When earlier, I said that Miiyazaki v Bencic was an interesting matchup, you may have assumed I was being parochial. But Bencic has proved remarkably adept at losing to opponents she should rinse, so I’m never confident backing her; she leads 3-1, Miyazaki having secured her first game in round two of a major.
I noticed that Matteo Berrettini said this after beating Humbert yesterday:
I’m rediscovering my mechanisms, I’m recognising the situations I’ve experienced in the past even if it must be said that the years go by and now I’m a different person with more experience behind me, for good and in the bad.
It’s worth considering how much pain sportsfolk go through to entertain us, and how minging it must be to be in your prime and injured.
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Haddad Maia and Townsend have both started well, and it’s 2-2 on serve, both knocking the cover off it; Tsitsipas leads Stricker 3-2 on serve.
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Bencic, the Olympic champ, is one of those players I’ve almost never seen play well ad she makes 0-30 after holding, then guides a nice backhand down the line when Miyazaki rallies to 40-30 for deuce. And from there, she proceeds to break, a big forehand opening the court for the putaway.
I’ve been looking forward to seeking how Haddad Maia does here because I think she’s got the game for the court and seems to have hit a peak. She also beat Sloane Stephens, the 2017 champ, in round one, but Townsend is another tricky adversary.
OK, I’m watching Miyazaki v Bencic, Townsend v Haddad Maia and Tsitsipas v Stricker.
On Grandstad, we have play, Tsitsipas holding for 1-0 against Stricker.
Regular readers will be almost as grateful as I am for Calv Betton’s insights. Well, the lad he coaches, Henry Patten, is about to play round one with doubles with his partner, Julian Cash, so good luck to them.
Collins leads Mertens 2-1 on serve, while Miyazaki and Bencic are about to get going.
New York’s legalisation of marijuana hasn’t gone unnnoticed by the players. “The smell, oh my gosh,” said Maria Sakkari; “The grass smells good,” offered Alexander Zverev. “Like Snoop Dogg’s living room. It’s everywhere, the whole place smells like weed!”
Miyazaki and Bencic are out too, so I’d expect to see the courts fill up pretty quickly … with players at least, because Armstrong is pretty sparsely populated for now.
Unusually, Mertens is seeded – 32, admittedly – but Collins is favourite, and she opens with a love hold.
We’re almost ready on Armstrong, Mertens winning the toss and electing to receive. Outside, the weather looks decent.
So the crowd got on Siegmund’s back, and she was hurt by that.
Laura Siegemund played a fantastic match against title favorite Coco Gauff last night but she got booed of the court for, imagine, at 36yo having to slowdown the pace of play between against a 19yo. Got a point penalty for that. She had things to say: pic.twitter.com/P3yoiffk3P
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) August 29, 2023
Talking of Coco Gauff, there was some aggravation during her first-round match – she thought Laura Siegmund was taking too long between points.
Coco Gauff ckecking the ref….. Real life experiences. pic.twitter.com/4RVe0NwuR0
— Kenny Akers (@KeneAkers) August 29, 2023
Rain stops play (starting)
Hopefully we’ll be away shortly but – they’re out on Armstrong, I think.
Preamble
Yo dudes, and welcome to the US Open 2023 – day three!
Hellsyeah! What a start we’ve got to today’s action! Opening proceedings on Ashe it’s Mirra Andreeva, the 16-year-old freak of nature, v Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old freak of nature! They actually met at Roland-Garros, Gauff coming from behind to win in three, and though hards might help the younger player, the old campaigner is not only in the form of her life but looks to have set a new base level for herself.
Following them, Bernabé Zapata Miralles has the unpleasant task of facing Novak Djokovic, while on Armstrong, Elise Mertens v Danielle Collins could be a decent contest and Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, is always a pleasure to watch.
Otherwise, Elena Rybakina meets Ajla Tomljanovic, back after nine months out injured, with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Karolína Muchová, Jelena Ostapenko and Christopher Eubanks also in actio, likewise a host of others. And if we’re picking out matchups, Taylor Townsend v Bea Haddad Maia and Lily Miyazaki v Belinda Bencic look tasty. Let’s go, dudes!
Play: 11am local, 4pm BST
