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Wimbledon Women’s Day 4
Defending champion Elena Rybakina continued her steady progress on Thursday as she beat a patched-up Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-6 (2) for a place in the third round at Wimbledon.
The Kazakh holder needed an hour and three-quarters to move into the third round where she plays British No. 1 Katie Boulter, a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Bulgarian Viktorija Tomova.
Rybakina faced an injured Cornet, who arrived at the court with a right thigh taping and needed a medical timeout at 5-all in the third set for further repairs after sliding on the grass during a fall.
The third seed improved to 12-1 at the tournament.
“I started with good energy,” Rybakina said. “In the second set it became a bit tougher.
“I was not pushing as well with the legs. It was a tough match that I’m happy to win.”
The Kazakh knows she will be the emotional underdog in the next round.
“I understand that the crowd won’t be on my side, but that’s OK.”
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula moved through with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Spain’s Cristina Busca, a main draw debutante who saved two match points and broke as her opponent served for the match the first time.
Elina Svitolina had few doubts about the success of her return to tennis after giving birth.
The Ukrainian lived up to her own expectations as she reached the third round with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 roller-coaster victory over Belgian Elise Mertens.
The former No. 3 who returned to the WTA in April, and won the Strasbourg title on clay in May.
Svitolina will next face former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over China’s Wang Xinyu.
Keniin is now ranked 128th and had to qualify into the field here; she led 5-1 in the second set but lost serve before nailing the win.
“I expected to play well after playing for so many years in the top level,” Svitolina said. “You want to play on the big stages, win these big matches.
“But it’s very difficult to come back to your best form, to your best game.”
She then added: “I can’t compare my game to what it was before the pregnancy.
“But there is something new in my game.
“My mindset is very fresh now, I’m really motivated like never before.”
Lesia Tsurenko joined her Ukrainian compatriot in the third round through a 6-4, 6-1 win over Katerina Siniakova.
2022 surprise quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier beat Karolina Muchova, the Roland Garros runner-up, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, with the Czech suffering from a tumble she took on the grass in the third set.
Rising 16-year-old qualifier Mirra Andreev, who reached the Paris third round before losing to Coco Gauff, shocked former French Open winner Barbora Krejicova 6-3, 4-0 when the veteran player retired injured.
“It’s my first experience on grass, just my fifth match,” the winner said. “I like the grass so far and I’m not playing that bad.
I’m super happy with my win, but it’s not the way I wanted to win, of course. She (Krejcikova) had some problems with her foot.
“Of course, I wish her the speedy recovery. I know it’s been
tough for her.”
Victoria Azarenka, whose match was postponed due to Wednesday rain, advanced over Nadia Podoroska with the loss of just three games in an 82-minute victory.
Dangerous Croat Petra Martic, who has reached the fourth round here three times, will line up next against top seed Iga Swiatek after defeating France’s Diane Parry 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Anett Kontaveit, who once ranked second on the WTA, ended her career with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Czech Marie Bouzkova. The Estonian is retiring at age 27 due to a back injury.
“It’s just a lot of emotions,” she said. “There’s sadness, there’s happiness, there’s a bit of everything.
“The match didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but I was so happy to be able to play in front of so many people, that so many people that love me were able to
see me play for the last time – in singles.”
Aryna Sabalenka began her quest for a third straight title at the US Open as she dominated Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-4 on Monday to reach the second round as the top seed strives to find her best level at the last major of the season,
Sabalenka has disappointed by her elite standards at the other three majors, finishing Australian Open runner-up but failing in the Roland Garros quarters and the fourth round at Wimbledon last month.
“The good thing for me is not looking back no matter if it’s good or bad,” she said. “I feel a good result can also stop you from performing well because you’re basically focusing on the past.
“If I win the tournament or lose the tournament, for me today is a new day and I have to be focused just staying in the moment.”
The 28-year-old was tested in the second set by her Colombian opponent who has reached the third round of a Grand Slam only once in 22 appearances. .
Sabalenka posted her 14th consecutive match in New York, taking 87 minutes and benefiting from nine Osorio double-faults.
“I think I played great, I’m happy with my performance. She’s a tough opponent, makes you work really hard to get every point.
“So I’m happy that I was able to close the match in straight sets.”
Cincinnati semi-finalist Sara Bejlek, who knocked Sabalenka out of that event, lost her opener here 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to Spain’s Cristina Busca.
2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova, who turned 25 on Monday, celebrated by hammering US compatriot Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-3.
One time Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro completed a defeat of Lois Boisson 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-3 after the match was stopped for rain overnight. Boisson only headed to the locker room after destroying a racquet in frustration.
Former Roland Garros junior champion Lilli Tagger needed a late escape against Tamara Korpatsch, with the Austrian who lives a few kilometres into Austria from Jannik Sinner’s family home in the Alps, leading 6-0, 4-0.
But her German opponent forced Tagger to save two set points before Tagger put away victory in a tiebreaker.
Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen won a battle of qualifiers over 16-year-old Kristina Liutova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, leaving her opponent in tears before the crowd consoled her with cheers.
Zheng once stood fourth but is coming back on No. 121 after surgery.
Carlos Alcaraz ended a four-and-a-half month injury exile with a resounding 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Roman Safiullin on Monday at the US Open to mark his return to the courts after a wrist injury.
The defending champion now ranked third is hoping to become the first man to successfully defend the title here Roger Federer won US Open over five consecutive editions (2004-2008).
“For me it’s been a really tough five months. Being able to step on Arthur Ashe and being able to compete again.. as I said before the tournament, I couldn’t decide to come back in a better tournament than here in New York,” Alcaraz said.
“It’s a really special tenement for me. I tried to enjoy as much as I can. I missed it. I missed the crowd. The energy. I missed competition. I missed everything. 🥹 I’m just really really happy I was able to compete again.”
“On this (Ashe) court, I made my dream. First major. First time becoming No. 1 in the world.
“The warm welcome I receive every time I come here is crazy. I really appreciate it. I really feel the love from the people.”
One-time top 10 regular Stefanos Tsitsipas unleashed a major surprise on Cincinnati winner Arthur Fils with a turnaround 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-4 win as the French youngster failed to earn a two-set-to-love lead over the Greek.
“I don’t have the answer,” the 10th-seeded Fils said after his collapse in form. “Once the energy went down at the end of the second, I never felt again a good energy.
“I have to talk with my team, but at my level, to do such a mistake is almost unprofessional.”
He added: “I was trying to fight; at one point I broke back early in the fourth, so I was trying to find a way, but not accurate enough on the serve.
“The ball was not going very well out of my racquet. Even if I was fighting, was tough.”
Fils had beaten No. 53 Tsitsipas in all five of heir previous matches
The Greek, playing unseeded for the first time here, reaching the second round for the sixth time as he came from a set and 5-2 down.
Former ATP No. 3 Tsitsipas pronounced himself “speechless” at his success. “It’s an amazing start to the tournament, I’m very proud of myself.
“I’m taking it a day at a time. I don’t wanna be looking too far away. I prefer to stay grounded in the moment. A win like this today matters a lot to me.”
:French veteran Adrian Mannarino, aged 38, fought back from two sets to love down for only the second time in his career to advance past Thiago Tirante 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
The loss ended the dream of the 42nd-ranked Argentine who beat Novak Djokovic in the Cincinnati second round last month as the Serb competed for the first time since Wimbledon at the pre-Open event.
The first-round match began on opening day but was interrupted by night-time rain and concluded on Monday.
Andrey Rublev wore down lucky loser Otto Virtanen as the Finn cramped in the closing stages on the way to a 6-7 (5), 6-7 (0), 6-0, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Virtanen entered the draw as former champion Marin Cilic withdrew.
Main photo:- ‘New look” Carlos Alcaraz celebrates first round win on return from injury – ATPTour.com
Venus Williams made the latest match start in US Open history, with the 46-year-old not even taking to the court until shortly after midnight and losing 6-2, 7-6 (6) to Sofia Kenin,
Williams has lost her last 15 matches as a wild card, with her last victory dating to June, 2025 and her status as a serial wild card recipient under serious discussion.
She has now lost six consecutive matches at the Open, with her last victory coming seven years ago. She is still queued up to pay doubles – another wild card – with sister Serena.
Despite a distinct lack of success, Williams seems not to be considering retirement.
“I don’t think I should have to,” she said in the wee hours of Monday.
“My mind is fully focused on that: how I recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.”
The Williams start on the Ashe showcourt was seriously delayed by Novak Djokovic’s nearly five-hour loss at the same venue.
The 12:13 a.m., start of the Williams match became the latest ever at the tournament by six minutes.
Williams called the timing and 2:01 a.m. finish “not ideal.”
“I would have preferred something else, definitely. It wasn’t great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.”
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