The round of 16 of the US Open in the category was determined this Saturday, and they did it without surprise. With greater or lesser difficulties, all the favorites exceeded their promises and proved their progress in the second week of the competition.
Aryna Sabalenka was the first to play and was the hardest hit. She defeated French Clara Burel (ranked 62nd) 6-1 and 6-1 In an hour. “Very happy” with his “performance”, the world number 2 is comfortable in New York, where he reached the semifinals of the last two tournaments, and where he likes “the atmosphere” and “the public”.
Above all, he relied on his serve, which caused him problems in the second round.
“I’m glad I corrected it and served better“, he declared. “You have to be mentally strong, because it’s a two-week tournament and sometimes you don’t feel your best in some matches. It’s about mental strength,” added Sabalenka.
The Belarusian, winner of the Australian Open in January, will face Russian Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16world number 14, defeating Belgian Greet Minnen 6-3, 6-4.
The other classified of the day was the Americans Madison Keys (17th), who beat Russian Liudmila Samsonova (15th) by 5-7, 6-2 and 6-2, and Jessica Pegula (3rd), who beat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (26th) by 6-4, 4-6 and 6-2.
Keys, a 2017 finalist, and Pegula will meet on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.
It’s dawn, Ons Jabeur (5th), a finalist in 2022, again worked hard to beat Czech Marie Bouzkova (31st) by 5-7, 7-6 (7/5) and 6-3 in 2h56.
“It is very difficult. How many drop-offs do I have to do to get him to run“, commented the 29-year-old Tunisian, who will face the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (23rd in the ranking) in his attempt to reach the quarterfinals.
Jabeur, who remains in the hunt for a Grand Slam title after losing three finals, has been sick and physically weak since the start of the tournament.
In three matches at Flushing Meadows, he spent 7:06 on the court, played three sets twice, played three tie-breaks. and played a total of 91 games. In comparison, defending champion Iga Swiatek took 3 hours and 21 minutes to reach the round of 16, playing just 45 games.
Finally, Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova continued her impressive run by beating Ekaterina Alexandrova by 6-2 and 6-1 and advance to the fourth round of Flushing Meadows for the first time in five years.
The ninth-seeded Czech, who made his Grand Slam debut last month at the All England Club, has been under the radar in New York and goes into the clash with his Russian rival having dropped just seven games.
“I felt very good,” he declared. Vondrousova, who will face American hope Peyton Stearns in the next round.
THE WOMAN 1/8 FINAL
TOP OF THE FRAME
Iga Swiatek (Pol/1)-Jelena Ostapenko (Let/20)
Caroline Wozniacki (Din)-Coco Gauff (USA/6)
Sorana Cirstea-Belinda Bencic (Sui/15)
Karolina Muchova (Che/10)-Xinyu Wang (Chn)
LOWER PART OF THE FRAME
Peyton Stearns (USA)-Marketa Vondrousova (Che/9)
Madison Keys (USA/17)-Jessica Pegula (USA/3)
Ons Jabeur (Tun/5)-Qinwen Zheng (Chn/23)
Daria Kasatkina (Russ/13)-Aryna Sabalenka (Blr/2)
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
