Key events
Alcaraz 2-0 Wu* (*next server): Alcaraz show his class at 15-15 as he whips a forehand down the line that Wu cannot get near. The Chinese player saves the first game point but Alcaraz makes sure on the second.
A ridiculously lucky net cord for Alcaraz – his backhand down the line was heading out before it clipped the net – puts Wu under pressure at 15-30 in the first game. At deuce, Wu saves one break point but a fierce crosscourt forehand gives Alcaraz the perfect start. Alcaraz leads 1-0 on serve.
I will be following this match game-by-game, with updates from around the courts as well.
Alexander Bublik has taken the second set against Tommy Paul on Louis Armstrong Stadium – it’s one-all and that one could go on for some time …
There is drama on Stadium 17 – Taylor Townsend was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set but Diana Shnaider breaks back to level it!
Much is being made of Alcaraz’s attire and his loose-fitting brown vest. He’s wearing a white under-vest this time, so there will be no nipples on show. The crowd is starting to stream back in after Jessica Pegula’s match for today’s main attraction.
Here comes Carlos Alcaraz. The defending men’s champion walks out on Arthur Ashe alongside China’s Wu Yibing, the world No 113, for their second ever meeting – Alcaraz won the first in Wu’s home tournament in Shanghai last year.
Daniil Medvedev turns the screw towards the end of the second set against Arthur Rinderknech to break at 4-4 and close it out on serve. The 2021 champion leads 6-4 6-4 on Grandstand and looks good to set up a possible meeting with Francis Tiafoe in round four.
After equalling her career-best run to the fourth round last year, an inspired Taylor Townsend is at it again at Flushing Meadows. The American has taken the first set in her third-round match against 15th seed Diana Shnaider and it is 3-3 on serve in the second on Stadium 17.
“I was a little lazy to start off,” admits Pegula in her on-court interview and she bemoans her poor serving in the first set. After “hitting a wall” in the second set, she credits her ability to control her breathing and remain calm in finding a way to win.
Jessica Pegula (3) beats Leylah Fernandez (31) 1-6 6-4 6-3
Arthur Ashe rises to applaud one of their home favourites as Pegula sees off Fernandez despite that disastrous first set. Fernandez saves the first match point at 40-0 down by moving Pegula about the court but a serve-and-volley from the third seed on the next seals the deal.
A duffed backhand and an overhit return from Pegula mean Fernandez is able to see out her service game, forcing the American to win it for herself. Pegula leads 5-3 on serve in the deciding set.
Pegula races through her service game and Fernandez must now serve to stay in it at 2-5 down in the deciding set. This is such a positive response from the American after that disastrous 6-1 reverse in the first set.
Fernandez is going down swinging, nailing a couple of winners from the baseline when under the cosh on her serve but missing others. A couple of excellent serves at deuce close out the game in her favour. Pegula leads 4-2 on serve.
Pegula edges closer to a comeback win as she sends Fernandez wide from the baseline and the Canadian’s return is into the net. It’s 4-1 in the deciding set to the American third seed.
Thanks Niall. A break at 4-4 has helped Tommy Paul win the first set against Alexander Bublik. Jessica Pegula has taken a crucial break of her own in the deciding set against Leylah Fernandez to lead 3-1 on Arthur Ashe.
Daniil Medvedev has taken the first set 6-4, while Bublik and Paul are still slugging away on serve. Time to hand you over to Billy Munday, who will take it from here.
At 1-1 in the third set, Fernandez has two break points but tries to move forward on the Pegula serve, and can’t keep her returns in play. A let-off for Pegula, who secures the hold with an ace down the middle. Pegula leads 1-6, 6-4, 2-1.
Daniil Medvedev fell behind in his first set, but has fought back to level at 4-4 with Rinderknech. Bublik v Paul is locked at 3-3; the American has won three of their four prior meetings, but Bublik did win a five-setter at this stage here last year.
Over at Stadium 17, Taylor Townsend has raced into a 3-0 lead over the 15th seed, Diana Shnaider. The “prize” for winning that match is a last-16 meeting with Sabalenka.
Pegula levels at 1-1! She handles the pressure, breaking back thanks to a fortunate net cord to claim the second set 6-4. We’re all set for a decider …
Medvedev and Rinderknech are on serve early on, the Frenchman leading 3-2. Bublik and Paul have shared the first two games in their match on Armstrong.
Leylah Fernandez isn’t going away, and with Pegula serving for the set, she strikes back to break and get us back on serve. More pressure on the home favourite …
After a marathon battle at deuce, Pegula digs out the hold, her trusty first serve getting her through what may be a pivotal moment. She leads the second set 5-2, close to levelling the match.
What’s new, what’s next? Here’s all the sport coming your way this weekend …
Pegula appears to have finally found her rhythm, breaking Fernandez to lead the second set 4-2 – although the Canadian has just picked up two break points …
Next up on Armstrong, it’s Alexander Bublik v Tommy Paul in a contest that feels pretty tough to call. On Grandstand, it’s Daniil Medvedev against his inner demons and Arthur Rinderknech, the No 26 seed.
Sabalenka is asked how she’s coping with the pressure and expectation: “I’m trying to focus on myself, shut down the noise from outside. I know that way I’ll have my chances, and can bring my best level of tennis.”
Aryna Sabalenka beats Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4
Sabalenka serves out to complete a very solid victory. She wasn’t perfect and was tested by her opponent, particularly in the second set – but ultimately never looked like losing.
Jessica Pegula is holding on in the second set at 2-2, with Fernandez missing a chance to break at 30-40. Still a lot of work for the No 3 seed to do.
Back on Louis Armstrong, Rakhimova has been digging in, holding serve to 4-4 – but from 40-0 up, she swings the door wide open for Sabalenka, who rattles off five points in a row to break and lead 6-3, 5-4. She’ll serve for the match …
Marta Kostyuk beats Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2
A dominant display from Kostyuk, who skips the post-match handshake with her Russian opponent. The Ukrainian has spoken passionately about the conflict many times before, but here she’s asked about fashion and being a “dog mom” instead.
Sorana Cirstea beats Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-3
The Romanian missed one match point but converted the next to see off her error-prone opponent. Cirstea is 36 and will retire after this season, but she’s arguably never played better. She’s into the fourth round here for only the second time in his career.
Cirstea breaks Paolini again and will serve for the match at 5-3 up in the second, while Kostyuk keeps the pedal to the metal, breaking Alexandrova to move one game away.
With four women’s third-round matches currently taking place, let’s look at how the draw might pan out. Sabalenka would face Taylor Townsend or Diana Shnaider next, with Kostyuk and Linda Noskova also in her quarter.
Pegula or Fernandez will face Paolini or Cirstea in the fourth round, in a quarter that also includes Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova. Potential last-16 blockbusters in the bottom half of the draw include Osaka v Rybakina and Coco Gauff against either Iva Jovic or Alexandra Eala.
Kostyuk rediscovers the accelerator, reeling off four straight games to lead 6-3, 4-2 – and the finish line is in sight for the Ukrainian. Jasmine Paolini was up by a break in the second set, but Cirstea has hit back and leads the match 6-3, 3-3.
Pegula is in trouble against Fernandez, who leads 5-1 after breaking the No 3 seed for a second time. Pegula is looking low on energy and ideas so far.
Sabalenka escapes a spot of bother on serve, and leads Rakhimova 6-3, 1-1. The defending champion also spoke to the umpire about the smell of cannabis drifting into the Louis Armstrong Stadium from outside. Not entirely sure what the umpire can do, but it’s been a persistent problem at the US Open.
Alexandrova has bounced back at the start of the second set, breaking Kostyuk to lead it 2-0 after losing the first set 6-3. Fernandez moved 3-0 up and put pressure on the Pegula serve, but the No 3 seed has battled to get a game on the board.
Leylah Fernandez has broken Pegula early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first. You might recall that Fernandez was Emma Raducanu’s opponent in the 2021 US Open final; since losing that match, the Canadian has only gone past the third round at a slam once (the 2022 French Open, where she made the quarter-finals) but has won five WTA Tour titles and is a consistent presence in the world’s top 30. So which career path would you prefer: hers or Raducanu’s?
Sabalenka takes the first set 6-3, remaining dominant against an opponent who is playing decent stuff. Marta Kostyuk also claims the first set 6-3 over Alexandrova, while Sorana Cirstea has claimed the opener against Paolini by the same score. That feels like an upset, even though Cirstea is seeded higher – No 16 to Paolini’s 19.
First up on Ashe: it’s Jessica Pegula v Leylah Fernandez.
It’s quite fun picturing Monfils working on the accounts, getting deep in a hole before stylishly producing the goods after a four-hour tussle. Are there any other tennis legends who have taken an office job after retiring? Or any other vocation away from sport? Drop me a line with your suggestions.
Gaël Monfils played his last grand slam singles match last night, and he isn’t planning to stay in tennis after retirement. “I have a new chapter coming next year. I will work in finance,” he told reporters. “I already signed to work in wealth management in a Swiss company. So my next chapter … working in an office.”
“I will always have a look on tennis, because I love the sport. My wife’s playing. I don’t think, you know, this next year I will do so much about tennis,” Monfils added. “But, you know, I’ll be around definitely no matter what for Elina [Svitolina, his wife] a little bit, but I will be more of a finance guy.”
Rakhimova is hanging on in the first set, grinding out a hold when Sabalenka mishits. It’s a rare error from the No 1 seed, who has looked close to her relentless best today. She leads 4-2 in the first.
On the Grandstand court, Marta Kostyuk has also broken at the first time of asking against Ekaterina Alexandrova. Elsewhere, Jasmine Paolini began with an early break but has been pegged back by Sorana Cirstea; the Italian leads 2-1 on serve.
Aryna Sabalenka is up and running, quickly breaking Kamilla Rakhimova to lead 2-0 in the first set. Rakhimova, the world No 92, showed plenty of fight in the first round, though, saving match points before beating Barbora Krejcikova.
Here’s what happened yesterday:
Preamble
The third round gets under way today in New York, pitting seeded players against each other for the first time. The draw is about to really take shape, and there are some intriguing matches coming up. Here’s the order of play this afternoon.
Arthur Ashe Stadium (from 11.30am local/4.30pm BST)
(3) Jessica Pegula v Leylah Fernandez (31)
Yibing Wu v Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Night session: Venus/Serena v Chan/Joint, Shelton v Shaparov
Louis Armstrong Stadium (from 11am/4pm)
(1) Aryna Sabalenka v Kamilla Rakhimova
(15) Alexander Bublik v Tommy Paul (20)
Night session: Vacharot v Tiafoe, Svitolina v Kalinskaya
Grandstand (from 11am/4pm)
(11) Marta Kostyuk v Ekaterina Alexandrova (18)
(7) Daniil Medvedev v Arthur Rinderknech (26)
(26) Emma Navarro v Karolina Muchova (7)
(18) Jiri Lehecka v Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stadium 17 (from 11am/4pm)
(19) Jasmine Paolini v Sorena Cirstea (16)
Taylor Townsend v Diana Shnaider (15)
(29) Ann Li v Linda Noskova (6)
Alex Michelsen v Daniel Merida