The US Open
US Open Women’s Day 5
Top seed Iga Swiatek showed no mercy to friend and practice partner Kaja Juvan as the defending champion crushed the Slovene qualifier 6-0, 6-1 on Friday to book a predictable place in the US Open fourth round.
Swiatek, with four Grand Slam titles in her resume, extended her Flushing Meadows win streak to 10 matches as the Pole heads towards the business end of the final major of the season.
Swiatek and the 145th-ranked Juvan are best tennis friends with the pair going back a decade as juniors.
But the top seed put emotion on the back burner as she crushed her longtime mate in just 49 minutes to advance to her third consecutive victory in the one-way series.
“My level was high, and I didn’t make a lot of unforced errors,” Swiatek said. “I’m happy with my performance and overall with the way I started.
“I was disciplined and didn’t change my level till the end of the match.”
Swiatek added: “I wanted to focus on myself, and because I knew it would be a little bit harder for me to focus because (she’s) my best friend,
“I’m happy that I could do that and I was fully professional.”
Swiatek is working to defend a title for the fifth time in her career.
The Pole is also fighting off a challenge to her WTA ranking superiority and must advance one round further here than hot rival Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed.
Swiatek polished off the out-matched Juvan with 21 winners against just two for her opponent, with the winner never facing a break point
The top seed now takes on 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko – a three-time winner in their series – who defeated Bernarda Pera 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a third-round encounter.
The comeback of former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki continued at pace, with the Danish mother of two defeating American Jennifer Brady 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, with the 33-year-old winning 10 of the last 11 games.
“I played really, really well the last set and a half,” the Wozniacki said.
“I didn’t play for a very long time (January, 2020). I didn’t even touch my racquets. I didn’t know where they were.
“I didn’t miss (tennis). I’ve played since I was very, very young. It’s been part of my life and my lifestyle for so long. I needed a break.”
American Brady, 28, also has a comeback story (injury) after not playing for two years from late 2021.
“The toughest part is just not knowing when you’re going to compete again. The unknown is something that – it’s scary. It’s tough, but I’m here, I’m feeling pretty good,” the No. 433 said .
.The 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova hammered No. 132 Taylor Townsend 7-6 (0), 6-3 to equal her fourth-round best here from 2020 as she fought back from an early break down.
This season’s Roland Garros and Cincinnati finalist will aim for a breakthrough New York quarter-final in the next round as she plays No. 53 Wang Xinyu, who reached the second week of a major for the first time through a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Muchova found 25 winners while Townsend hit 39 unforced errors in defeat.
“The match was played really, really great from the start,: Muchova said. “I’m glad I refocused very well for the (first-set) tiebreak – I played well there.
“At the start of the second set it was a little bit more in my hands.”
Main photo:- Mother of two children, Olivia and James,Caroline Woniacki celebrates victory – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
The peace talks came after a Friday interview boycott by most top players, who limited their pre-event interactions with media to 15 minutes while snubbing TV broadcasters.
Players are asking for a larger share of Grand Slam prize money, aiming for a rise from 15 to 22 per cent, a figure well below payouts in other spots.
French federation (FFT) officials promised a response to the demands in the immediate future. Confrontations with Wimbledon and the US Open are also likely to proceed during the Paris fortnight.
The Australian Open has already sided with the players when the issue first arose earlier this season.
The FFT “has committed to responding to the players’ proposals in the coming weeks,” the ruling body said.
Players are seeking a closer involvement in the big decisions of the sport along with increased health insurance and retirement benefits.
Sinner, with USD 56 million already in career prize money at age 24, might do well to follow the example of retired icon Roger Federer, who earned 130 million on court and much more off it,
The Swiss, reportedly now a tennis billionaire, often said he would not be needing his ATP pension but was happy to work on behalf of other players.
Emma Raducanu has gone back to the future with her latest choice of coach, choosing to re-group with the mentor who helped her to a US Open title five long years ago.
The Briton whose career has been a patchwork of changing coaches and near-constant injuries and illness since her 2021 big day in New York, revealed she has re-employed Andrew Richardson, her OG coach.
The pair split not long after then-teenaged Raducanu won the Open title from an unprecedented qualifying start.
She has since struggled and wil head to Roland Garros from next Sunday with only one clay tournament, a late wild-card entry into Strasbourg.
“Grateful to have reconnected with someone who has known me for over a decade now and looking forward to building together one iteration at a time,” she posted on social media.
The WTA no. 30 has played just 15 matches this season – none on clay – with her last one more than two months ago.
Main photo:- Emma Raducanu with her coach, Andrew Richardson at the 2021 US Open
Wimbledon will bow to the high-tech future by introducing limited electronic reviews of line calls on major courts at the Championships, the club revealed on Saturday.
The All England Club will allow the technology on showcourts including Centre Court, No. 1 and four others. During controversial moments, competitors will be allowed to ask the chair umpire for a review of the point in question.
The wizardry is coming late to Wimbledon having been used at the US Open since 2023 and later adapted by the Australian Open. Roland Garros relies on marks in its clay surface to determine line calls.
Under the rules, players can ask for the review any number of times, with electronic line-calling now in effect at the grass-court major for a second year after the 2025 elimination of human line judges.
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