Tennis – Novak Djokovic tidied up early errors and recovered from a set down to get past American qualifier Zachary Svajda, as Briton Emma Raducanu had a far easier time advancing into the US Open third round yesterday.
The 24-times major winner Djokovic made 14 unforced errors in the first set compared to just 11 across the rest of the match as he eventually hit his stride at Arthur Ashe Stadium, beating Svajda 6-7(5) 6-3 6-3 6-1.
Svajda, who poked fun at his own long odds against the former world number one in a now-viral TikTok video, put up a surprise early fight to the delight of the home fans but was let down by an apparent leg injury midway into the match.
Djokovic next plays the winner of the match between Briton Cameron Norrie and Argentina’s Francisco Comesana.
Raducanu needed only an hour to cruise past the Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen 6-2 6-1 in the first match of the day on Louis Armstrong Stadium, as she finds a way back to winning ways at the hardcourt tournament.
Raducanu had not won a US Open match since lifting the trophy in her remarkable run to the title in 2021 but appears in solid form this year, as she made just eight unforced errors.
Three-time finalist Victoria Azarenka became only the fifth woman in the Open Era to claim 100 or more singles main draw wins at the hardcourt majors – joining Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, and Venus and Serena Williams – as she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-3 at Stadium 17.
Over on the Grandstand, American 10th seed Emma Navarro swatted aside her compatriot, wild card Caty McNally, 6-2 6-1.
After a thrilling first-round upset of 14th-seeded Clara Tauson – in a match where she came from 5-1 down in the third and prevailed in a 13-11 tiebreak – Alexandra Eala couldn’t sustain her momentum in a second-round loss to Cristina Bucsa.
The World No. 95 defeated the Filipina upstart 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the third round for the first time in her career.
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