Holders Gauff, Djokovic win second round matches at US Open tennis

Djokovic marches connected successful his bid for a 25th Grand Slam rubric and American players radiance connected a blistery time 3 successful New York.

Defending champion Coco Gauff and 12th effect Taylor Fritz capped a terrific time astatine Flushing Meadows for the location hopes arsenic respective Americans moved connected to the 3rd circular of the US Open tennis championship.

Gauff cleaned up aboriginal mistakes to bushed unseeded German Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-0, mounting up a gathering with 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina of Ukraine pursuing her triumph astatine Arthur Ashe Stadium connected Wednesday night.

“It was a tricky match. I mean, she’s not idiosyncratic that sometimes you play and you consciousness large after,” said Gauff. “It was conscionable astir execution.”

Momentum gathering ⏩️@CocoGauff defeats Maria 6-4, 6-0 to tempest into the 3rd circular of the #USOpen! pic.twitter.com/J6mvVJNnHh

— wta (@WTA) August 29, 2024

In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic kept his bid for a grounds 25th Grand Slam rubric connected way aft chap Serb Laslo Djere retired injured portion trailing 6-4 6-4 2-0 successful their second-round match.

The satellite 109, who pushed his countryman to 5 sets successful New York past year, had required a aesculapian time-out to dainty an wounded conscionable earlier dropping the 2nd set.

The 37-year-old Djokovic had himself required a sojourn from the trainer for what appeared to beryllium a broadside strain aft sealing the archetypal set.

“It’s not what we privation to spot erstwhile there’s a retirement. Laslo had an wounded which took him disconnected the circuit for immoderate clip and he’s been struggling to travel back,” said Djokovic.

“He’s specified a bully subordinate successful these conditions and the 2nd acceptable should person been his, helium was 4-2 up.

“I don’t cognize if [my] winning the 2nd acceptable astir apt enactment much load connected him.”

It was the 90th triumph astatine the US Open for Djokovic, making him the archetypal antheral to scope that full astatine each 4 Grand Slams. He volition adjacent conscionable Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, whom helium defeated astatine the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, with some matches going to 4 sets.

9⃣0⃣ wins astatine each Grand Slam for Novak! pic.twitter.com/F9Wiy59a50

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2024

American stars shine

Later, astatine the Louis Armstrong Stadium, Fritz closed retired the enactment with a convincing 6-3 7-6(1) 6-1 decision of Italian Matteo Berrettini. He was delighted with his level aft a nervy opener against Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

“I came successful truly focused. I felt similar I was conscionable locked successful each point, thing I was benignant of upset with myself astir my first-round match,” Fritz said.

“I was conscionable acceptable to go. Matteo is an highly bully player, a ace pugnacious 2nd round. So I came successful other locked in.”

Big-hitting Frances Tiafoe and erstwhile finalist Madison Keys did their spot to boost the American complaint earlier successful the day.

Tiafoe, who reached the New York semifinals successful 2022 and was a runner-up successful his last tune-up lawsuit this year, was successful implicit power erstwhile Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko retired astatine 6-4 6-1 1-0.

“Happy to get it done. [I] hatred to triumph it that way, but wide I thought I really played beauteous good today,” Tiafoe said aft a stress-free triumph during which helium changed shirts 5 times.

He adjacent plays 21-year-old compatriot, Ben Shelton, who electrified the location crowds past twelvemonth with a tally to the semifinals, and had nary occupation getting past Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-4 6-4 astatine the Grandstand.

The left-handed Shelton sent implicit 17 aces and walloped Bautista Agut with 60 winners, feeding disconnected the vigor of the boisterous location assemblage amid stifling heat.

Meanwhile, Madison Keys, making her 13th main-draw quality astatine the US Open, bushed Australia’s Maya Joint 6-4 6-0, striking archetypal erstwhile she converted connected her 3rd break-point accidental for a 4-3 pb en way to wrapping up the opening acceptable connected her serve.

The 29-year-old American opened the 2nd with different interruption and sprinted to the decorativeness enactment successful 62 minutes.

Ben Shelton celebrates aft defeating Roberto Bautista Agut successful their men’s singles 2nd circular lucifer [Charly Triballeau/AFP]