Posted in: 29/08/2022 – 21:30Last updated: 29/08/2022 – 21:28
New York (AFP) – Russian defending champion and world number one Daniil Medvedev easily qualified for the second round of the United States Championship, the last of the four major tennis tournaments, by defeating American Stefan Kozlov (111) 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.
Medvedev, who needed two hours and a minute to get rid of the host in the second round, faces French Arthur Rinderknech (58), who narrowly beat his compatriot Kontan Ales (76) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-2.
And the Russian won last year in New York his first big title in his career at the expense of Serbian Novak Djokovic, the most prominent absentee from the competitions this year for not receiving the anti-Coronavirus vaccine, before the Russian lost the Australian Open final in January once morest Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
Medvedev was not successful in French Roland Garros this year, as he was eliminated from the final price, while he missed the Wimbledon tournament once morest the backdrop of preventing Russian and Belarusian players from participating due to Russia’s invasion of its neighbor Ukraine.
And at the Arthur-Ashe stadium, Medvedev took revenge on Kozlov, who had previously won him in the only confrontation that brought them together in the junior category.
“In the juniors category, it was not possible to face him. Two years older than him, the age difference is usually insurmountable in the juniors category, but he crushed me,” said Medvedev, who relied on his powerful serve (10 aces and a success rate of 76 percent on his first ball) to win. I’m glad I avenged him.”
“The conditions were not easy with this heat and humidity,” admitted the Russian, who scored 40 successful strikes and made 20 direct errors.
-Murray and celebrate in the best way-
On the other hand, Scotsman Andy Murray celebrated in the best possible way the tenth anniversary of winning his first major title in his career in the United States Championship, by qualifying to the second round in Flushing Meadows in particular, by defeating Argentine Francisco Cerondolo 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.
#photo1
The 35-year-old and the former world number one, who has fallen to 52nd, hit a date in the second round with the winner of the match between Australian John Millman (107) and American Emilio Nava (203), the participant with a wild card.
Murray, winner of Flushing Meadows in 2012, ended a 76-year wait for a British player to crown the title, who reached the 2008 final and also crowned two major titles in English Wimbledon (2013 and 2016) seemed solid during his first meeting with Serondolo, ranked 27 in the world.
“It felt like five sets,” Murray said following winning three consecutive Grand Slam matches for the first time since Wimbledon in 2017.
“It was very difficult weather conditions, very hot and humid. I am really happy to have overcome those conditions,” he added.
“It looks like I won here a long time ago. A lot has happened in my career since then but it was a big moment for me.”
Murray took advantage of the many direct mistakes made by his opponent (48 once morest 32), to break his serve 8 times in 14 chances.
Murray, whose level has declined in the past four years as a result of his infection with the Corona virus, repeated infections and undergoing hip surgery that almost ended his career in 2019, insists on returning to his best levels, as he reached the final of the Sydney Games at the beginning of the year and then Stuttgart, Germany, at the beginning of the summer.
The Scot plays with a metal prosthesis at the level of one of his hips, which was placed in early 2019.
American Tommy Paul (29) narrowly beat Spaniard Bernabé Zapata Mirais 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, 7-5, while Yu Yiping became the first Chinese in 63 years, specifically since 1959, to win a singles match in one of the tournaments. The Grand Slam defeated Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, ranked 34th in the world, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.
– Garcia and Sakkari qualify, out of the box –
Among the women, the French Caroline Garcia, ranked 17th in the world, succeeded in qualifying for the second round, with an easy victory over Russian Kamila Rakhimova (90, the qualifier) 6-2 6-4.
Garcia, who arrived in New York following winning the Cincinnati Tournament, one of the women’s 1,000 tournaments, faces another Russian, Anna Kalinskaya (60), who eliminated Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson (92) 6-4, 6-3 in the next round.
At the age of 28, Garcia participates for the tenth time in Flushing Meadows without succeeding in the third round, knowing that she reached the final price in Australia, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and to the quarter-finals of Roland Garros in 2017.
In the most prominent matches, American Alison Riske (29) defeated her compatriot Eliana Yu 6-2 6-4, the Russian Veronika Kudermetova (18) defeated the Croatian Donna Vekic 7-5, 6-3, and the third Greek Maria Sakkari defeated German Tatiana Maria 6-4 3-6 and 6-0.
French Harmony Tam (112 in the world), who triggered a heavy surprise by removing American veteran Serena Williams from the role at Wimbledon, failed to repeat her achievement following losing to Canadian Bianca Andreescu (48) 0-6 6-3 1-6.
Andreescu, winner of the 2019 Flushing Meadows, will face either Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maya (15) or Croatian Anna Kunich (117).
© 2022 AFP
