Wang Xiyu (CHN) d. [3] Maria Sakkari (GRE) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
Former junior No.1 Wang's improvement in 2022 has flown under the radar, but the Chinese 21-year-old burst out on the major stage with the first Top 10 win of her career.
Since April, Wang has compiled a 29-13 record to climb from No.150 to her present career-high of No.75. This stretch has included four finals -- three at ITF level, and the Valencia 125 in July -- before a semifinal run in Washington and a quarterfinal in Granby over the past month. By contrast, last year's semifinalist Sakkari came into the US Open with a meagre 1-3 record in her lead-up tournaments.
Wang's left-handed forehand was the star shot of the day, garnering her 26 of her 35 winners; a highly effective pattern that became very familiar was a heavy crosscourt to open the court followed by a searing down-the-line winner. But over the first two sets, her consistency and ability to deal with Sakkari's first serve were more questionable.
A moment to savor for Xiyu Wang!
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2022
She captures her first-career win over a top-10 player.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/UA0elD5QdF
In the second set, Wang twice went up a break, only for errors to creep in when ahead. Having served 11 aces in her first-round win over Diane Parry, Wang committed 12 double faults against Sakkari. In the end, she required a double fault from the Greek to get over the line in the second set.
But after falling behind 3-1 in the decider, Wang was supremely impressive as she ironed out her mistakes and gritted out a number of extended exchanges -- without sacrificing her easy power or bold shotmaking. Both players' levels rose as the match approached its climax, but Wang's greater control and aggression netted her two consecutive winners to reach match point in the final game. She converted for a 2-hour, 44-minute triumph when Sakkari sent a backhand wide.
In the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, Wang will face No.29 seed Alison Riske-Amritraj, who held off Camila Osorio in a challenging 3-hour, 10-minute affair, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6[5].
Riske-Amritraj held four match points at 6-5 in the third set, but Osorio swatted each of those away to pull into a decisive 10-point match-tiebreak. Riske-Amritraj regrouped, powered her way to a 5-1 lead in the breaker and held on from there, making the US Open third round for the first time since her run to the Round of 16 in 2013.
[5] Ons Jabeur (TUN) d. [WC] Elizabeth Mandlik (USA) 7-5, 6-2
Jabeur was the first victor of Day 3, reaching the third round of the US Open for the third year in a row with a 1-hour, 14-minute win.
It was rarely plain sailing against the impressive Mandlik, one of this summer's breakout talents. The 21-year-old had already gotten a taste of pushing a Top 10 player to the limit in San Jose a month ago, when she was barely edged out in the second round by Paula Badosa in a third-set tiebreak. Mandlik made a confident start, and her neat all-court technique effectively countered Jabeur's creativity in the first set, during which she won eight of 11 points at net.
No.144-ranked Mandlik twice went up a break and served for the set at 5-4 -- but at that point, Jabeur's experience told. A slew of backhand errors came off Mandlik's racquet to bring up break point, and the Wimbledon runner-up converted with a delightful dropshot-volley combination.
That was the start of a six-game run for Jabeur that took her to a 3-0 second-set lead. Mandlik made one last stand to break back, but a series of superb backhands put Jabeur in control again -- including her 23rd winner of the day, a perfectly angled pass, on her first match point.
Jabeur will next face No.31 seed Shelby Rogers, who booked her place in the third round of the US Open for the fifth time with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova. Jabeur owns a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Rogers.
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