2023-09-01 06:33:34
Stan Wawrinka advanced to the third round of the US Open as the oldest professional in 32 years.
The 38-year-old Swiss, who triumphed in New York in 2016, won his second round duel once morest Tomas Etcheverry from Argentina 7: 6 (8: 6), 6: 7 (7: 9), 6: 3, 6: 2.
The last time Jimmy Connors was older than Wawrinka in a second-round win at Flushing Meadows was in 1991. The legend made history back then by adding a late highlight to her great career.
At 39, Connors – favored by lottery luck – advanced as the oldest player in history to the semi-finals, where it was over once morest compatriot Jim Courier, in the final inferior to Stefan Edberg.
Wawrinka will now have a hard time following Connors’ footsteps: The next opponent is the Italian young star Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz meanwhile cleared the next hurdle on his way to defending his title without any major problems. The Spaniard won 6: 3, 6: 1, 7: 6 (7: 4) once morest South African Lloyd Harris at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday evening (local time) and advanced to the third round for the third time in a row.
In the fight for the round of 16, the 20-year-old Wimbledon winner now meets Briton Daniel Evans, who is 26th, and a duel with Alexander Zverev or Sinner might wait in the quarterfinals.
“I stayed mentally strong, it’s very good to win in three sets in the first rounds. That’s very important for me,” said Alcaraz, who will lose first place in the world rankings to Novak Djokovic following the US Open.
Daniil Medvedev, tournament winner in 2021, had to fight harder to progress. World number three from Russia defeated Australian Christopher O’Connell following more than three hours of play at 1:09 a.m. local time 6:2, 6:2, 6:7 (6:8), 6:2 and scored in the third round on the Argentinian Sebastian Baez. For Medvedev (27) it is the sixth third round in a row in New York.
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