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After Osaka, the reigning world number one Barty also fails for women, Zverev benefits from an injury and for France it is a historic setback. That happened on Saturday at the US Open in New York.
After defending champion Naomi Osaka, the world number 1 Ashleigh Barty surprisingly failed in the third round. The Australian lost in the night session to Shelby Rogers 2: 6, 6: 1, 6: 7 (5: 7) after leading 5: 2 in the third set. For the 28-year-old American Rogers, number 43 in the world, it was the first victory in the sixth duel with Barty. Now she will meet British qualifier Emma Raducanu in the round of 16. Barty had recently proven to be the most consistent player on the tour and won tournaments at Wimbledon and Cincinnati, among others.
Djokovic still needs four wins
Novak Djokovic, the world number 1 in the men, reached the second round as expected. Against the Japanese Kei Nishikori, the Serb prevailed 6: 7 (4: 7), 6: 3, 6: 3, 6: 2. On the way to the possible Grand Slam, Djokovic was challenged by the former number 4 in the world, in contrast to 2014, when Nishikori had defeated the Serbs in the semifinals of Flushing Meadows on the way to his only Grand Slam final but don’t stop this time.
Shapovalov fails, Zverev wins
With Denis Shapovalov, another player from the top ten said goodbye in the 3rd round. The 22-year-old Canadian, who was born in Tel Aviv and lives in the Bahamas, clearly lost in three sets against the 24-year-old South African Lloyd Harris. In the second round, however, is Alexander Zverev, who benefited from Jack Sock after a 2-1 set lead. The American suffered a hamstring injury at the beginning of the second half after an outstanding first set.
Two more youngsters in the second week
With the Italian Jannik Sinner and Jenson Brooksby from the USA, after Félix Auger-Aliassime and Carlos Alcaraz, two other players born after the turn of the millennium qualified for the round of 16. Both won in five sets. Sinner defeated the French crowd favorite Gaël Monfils in the cauldron of the Louis Armstrong Stadium, the unorthodox playing Brooksby (ATP 99) defeated the Russian Aslan Karazew, who had surprisingly reached the semifinals at the Australian Open. As a reward, Brooksby now meets Novak Djokovic. Thanks to Sinner and Matteo Berrettini, for the first time ever, two Italians are in the round of 16 at the US Open.
Historic setback for France
After the departure of Gaël Monfils it is clear that France will not provide a round of 16 players for the first time in the Open Era (since 1968) during a calendar year, as the newspaper «L’Equipe» reports. For men, the once successful tennis nation and Yannick Noah have been waiting for a Grand Slam title since 1983, and for women, Marion Bartoli won 2013 at Wimbledon.
The 18-year-old British Emma Raducanu (WTA 150) also reached the round of 16 in her second Grand Slam participation after Wimbledon, which only Jennifer Capriati had previously achieved. The qualifier, who defeated Stefanie Vögele in the first round, won against the Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo 6: 0, 6: 1 in the third round and only played twelve games on the way into the second week. The daughter of a Romanian and a Chinese woman was born in Toronto and came to Great Britain when she was two years old.
