The US Open
US Open 2025 Women’s Day 4
Last year’s finalist Jessica Pegula put her 2024 loss to Aryna Sabalenka further into the rearview mirror on Wednesday as the fourth seed dispatched Anna Blinkova, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the US Open third round.
The American now stands a near-flawless 4-1 in the series. Pegula took a 4-1 lead in the opening set to set the tone and recovered from an early break down in the second set before racing to victory.
Pegula had 30 winners to seven for her opponent.
“I’m glad I came out quickly today,” she said as she moved into a match with Victoria Azarenka.
Double Grand Slam champion Azarenka reached the Open third round for the 15th time with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The three-time New York runner-up now ranked 132, advanced in 87 minutes over this season’s Australian Open and Wimbledon quarter-finalist.
“She started really strong, I had to find my feet and get my intensity up and start making more first balls and dictating more,” Azarenka said. “But after a few games, I started to find my form a little bit.”
Tennis rich-list leader Emma Navarro, whose billionaire father owns two American tournaments, booked the third round 6-2, 6-1 over US compatriot Cathy McNally.
Navarro had little to recommend her coming into the Open, having lost five of her last six singles matches; she converted on seven of eight break point chances against her compatriot.
2021 titleholder Emma Raducanu produced an identical one-way scoreline as the Briton ended the dream run of Indonesian minnow Janice Tjen, ranked 149.
Raducanu fired 16 winners including eight aces as she set a personal speed record for a match, finishing the rout in exactly one hour after a 62-minute win in the first round here.

The only niggle for WTA No. 34 Raducanu might have been a slight back problem which she shook off in the second set against the Asian who attended university in the US.
“I’m very pleased with how I kept dictating the points and didn’t let her too often get her front foot on the court,” Raducanu said. “. She’s obviously been playing very well, done a lot of winning.
“Of course I was on full alert playing today; I’m just very pleased with that performance.”
She said her injury scare was really nothing: “I just had a little bit of stiffness in the second set. I’ve been doing a lot of training, and I’m just happy it didn’t affect me too much.
“I was still able to compete and to perform well and keep putting out good serves, good returns.I think it didn’t really come into the match too much, which I’m happy with.”
The other long-odds joker in the women’s draw, Alexandre Eala of the Philippines, was eliminated 6-3, 6-4 by Spain’s Cristina Busca.
Main photo:-Jessica Pegula winning today – by Mark Greenwood Grandslamtennis
Rome Masters
Alarm bells ring as Raducanu quits practice
Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon participation was flashing red on Saturday as the Briton quit a practice session while delaying her media availability by a day.
The Queen’s club finalist a fortnight ago stopped a training session with Anna Kalinskaya 10 minutes early while trailing 0-4 in a practice set.
The ove sparked frenzied British speculation about her fitness after the 2021 US Open winner was seen wearing a support cast on a foot earlier in the week.
Reports indicated that Raducanu might have been trying to avoid a mistake she made last month in Rome, where she did pre-event media and then withdrew injured from the Masters 1000 tournament.
Raducanu is due to begin her tournament in the first round against Croat Antonia Ruzic.
Main photo:- Emma Raducanu practices with her ankle strapped – by Roger Parker/ISF Ltd
Monterrey Open
Vekic needs five match points to win Queen’s
Donna Vekic dominated the opening set but had to come from a double break down in the second to win the Queen’s club title on Sunday 6-0, 7-6 (6) over Emma Raducanu.
The victory denied the British runner-up her first trophy since winning the US Open as a teenaged qualifier half a decade ago.
The one and three-quarter hour victory for the Croat lucky loser from qualifying round was match of two halves, with Vekic unchallenged in the first but made to battle before finally lifting victory with a second-set tiebreaker.
Raducanu was playing in her third career final and won her only title at the 2021 US Open. Vekic won her first trophy since Monterrey three years ago.
The 29-year-old Vekic, ranked 76th, was thwarted on her first four match point chances late in the second set.
Raducanu, cheered by a home crowd in west London, took the second set into a tiebreaker as Vekic drove long as the fight went into a decider.
The Brit rallied from 4-1 down before Vekic set up her fifth match point with a down-the-line winner and Raducanu’s shot landed wide a point later
The winner revealed that she had called upon her longtime coach from childhood to come join her team for the summer.
“Growing up and playing on the Tour, I was always jealous that the boys got to play on this grass,” she said of an event which only brought back the women’s event a year ago after a pause of half a century. .
“But since last year, we have the opportunity also.”
Vekic explained her coaching situation: “The coach that I worked with from age 12 agreed to come back and help this grass season.
“Without him, I would have not know about grass – my favourite surface. And without you I would not be here with this trophy.”
Raducanu made vast improvements this week which should aid her Wimbledon buildup.
“What a week it’s been,” the finalist said. “It was incredible for me to make the fina, playing in my home city where I feel the buzz.
“The crowd support was incredible and helped me to fight back in the second set.
“Today was a really tough match, Donna played well from start to finish.”
Raducanu will travel north for next week’s WTA event in Nottingham.
Main photo:- Lucky loser qualifier Donna Vekic wins Queens Title – by Mark Greenwood/ISF Ltd
ATP
Agassi seeking answers to Alcaraz wrist injury mystery
Andre Agassi is keen to unravel the mystery of the alleged wrist injury which has kept Carlos Alcaraz off court for nearly two months.
The 56-year-old Agassi asked the hard question during a tennis podcast, suggesting that the Spaniard owed the world an explanation on what is actually bothering him.
Alcaraz has not competed since April 14 in Barcelona, a day before handing in a second-round injury walkover, reportedly with a wrist problem
“It would be really helpful if he or someone close to him could clearly explain the exact nature of his injury, because at this point we can only speculate,” Agassi said.
Since his spring home pullout on home clay, Alcaraz has missed the Madrid and Rome Masters plus Roland Garros.
He is also out for Queen’s and Wimbledon with his availability for the North American summer hardcourt run a complete mystery.
“If it’s a form of tendonitis, is it a specific inflammation like dorsal capsulitis or a carpal tunnel syndrome-type issue? What exactly are we talking about, and what are the treatment options? I don’t know precisely what he has,” Agassi said.
The former world No. 1 American added: “If he only needs to manage pain or inflammation and opts for conservative treatment before considering surgery, then it’s a smart decision, even if it means missing some Grand Slam tournaments.
“If the situation is more serious and requires more complex interventions, the right decisions must be made very carefully, and the best specialists must be consulted. It is essential to allow the injury time to heal properly, because he still has many years of his career ahead of him.”
Despite his growing doubts, Agassi is able to look on the bright side of the situation.
“We could see an even more determined and aggressive Carlos Alcaraz upon his return, provided he manages to solve his only real problem right now.”
Main photo:- Carlos Alcaraz will miss Wimbledon this year – by Roger Parker ISF Ltd
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