NEW YORK, Aug 30 — Reigning Wimbledon champion Simona Halep crashed out in the US Open second round yesterday while title-holder Naomi Osaka breezed through and Daniil Medvedev overcame severe cramps to reach the last 32.
American world number 116 Taylor Townsend upended fourth seed Halep 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to consign the Romanian to a third straight early exit at Flushing Meadows, having been knocked out in the opening round in 2017 and 2018.
Halep strolled through the opening set at Arthur Ashe Stadium but dropped serve twice to start the second set as Townsend, who had never beaten a top-10 player, levelled and then served for the match at 5-4 in the final set.
A double fault and a clutch Halep passing shot wiped out two match points for Townsend but the left-hander showed remarkable resolve in the ensuing tie-break as she equaled her best run at a Grand Slam.
“This means a lot. It has been a long journey,” said a tearful Townsend, who also reached the French Open third round on her Grand Slam debut in 2014.
“When I’ve played her before I was just trying to make balls. I was playing not to lose. I decided today I was playing to win.”
Top seed Osaka proved too strong for 53rd-ranked Magda Linette of Poland, sweeping to a 6-2, 6-4 victory and setting up a potential showdown with 15-year-old American sensation Coco Gauff for a spot in the last 16.
Osaka wrapped up the opening set against last week’s WTA Bronx champion Linette in 30 minutes but endured a brief wobble, falling 3-0 down in the second, before reeling off six of the final seven games to advance.
“I’m really happy to not have to play a three-set match,” Osaka said.
“I feel like I had my moments where I played really well. I think the main thing for me was that I was able to adjust whenever I figured out something was going wrong, so I think I’m heading in the right direction.”
Kobe, Kaepernick in the crowd
Among the celebrities watching her match at Louis Armstrong Stadium were basketball legend Kobe Bryant and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling protest became a national symbol for champions of social justice and racial equality.
“I’m really grateful they came out,” Osaka said. “It’s really cool. I honestly just wanted to finish as fast as possible because I didn’t want them to be out in the sun too long.”
Osaka awaits the winner between teenager Gauff, the world number 140 who reached the fourth round in July at Wimbledon, or 112th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Timea Babos.
Gauff can become the youngest woman to reach the last 32 in New York since Anna Kournikova in 1996.
Men’s fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, coming off a maiden Masters title in Cincinnati and runner-up finishes in Montreal and Washington, was struck down by cramp during a 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 win over Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien.
“I’m not sure what happened today and why I started cramping suddenly,” Medvedev said. “I obviously thought at one point ‘How did I win?’ I don’t know how I did.”
Sixth seed Zverev survived a second successive five-set marathon as he outlasted American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Germany’s Zverev was taken the distance by Radu Albot in his opening match and 45th-ranked Tiafoe forced him into another decider before last year’s ATP Finals champion battled through to round three to equal his best US Open run.
“I’ve been here before. It’s usually what I do in the first few rounds of majors, to play five sets,” said Zverev, who has featured in 11 five-set matches at Grand Slams since the start of 2018 — more than any other player.
Stan Wawrinka, the 2016 US Open champion, beat Jeremy Chardy in four sets and is on a fourth-round collision course with Novak Djokovic.
Andrea Petkovic knocked out Czech sixth seed and two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova 6-4, 6-4, while 15th seed Bianca Andreescu continued her steady progress with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens.
Nick Kyrgios, who again landed himself in hot water after calling the ATP “corrupt” following his first-round win, meets 104th-ranked Frenchman Antoine Hoang later. — AFP
