Raonic, Shapo advance at U.S. Open
Milos Raonic felt he stepped up in the second round of the U.S. Open — and the score line indicates the Canadian did just that.
After an inconsistent performance in a four-set win over qualifier Carlos Berlocq to open the final Grand Slam of the year, the No. 25 seed downed France’s Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on a hot and humid Wednesday at Flushing Meadows.
“Overall, I did things well and took care of my serve,” said Raonic, of Thornhill, Ont. “I was a lot more disciplined with myself. I wasn’t going up and down in the match like I did my previous one. Overall, I’m happy.”
Raonic had 17 aces to Simon’s zero and broke his opponent on three of six chances.
The hard-serving Canadian improved to 5-1 against Simon, with victories in all three of their hardcourt matches.
“He does a very good job of sort of throwing you out of the rhythm, where he plays very slow, sort of gets you to slow down your intentions and will sort of surprise you by taking the ball early,” Raonic said. “So I was happy that I was able to, in those important moments, just, you know, be patient and sort of trust my legs that I would be able to hold on, just to keep that pressure on him.”
With temperatures reaching close to 35 C, Raonic was happy to have a relatively quick match (two hours, six minutes).
“I don’t really regard the heat as a disadvantage or advantage,” Raonic said. “I think both guys have to deal with it.”
Raonic will next face 2016 U.S. Open winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.
Wawrinka beat French qualifier Ugo Humbert 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Wawrinka, who missed the 2017 U.S. Open, is on a nine-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows.
Raonic has beaten Wawrinka just once in five matches.
Meanwhile, the 28th-seeded Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., kept his hopes alive by rallying from a set down to outlast Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil was slated to face top seed Rafael Nadal of Spain later on Wednesday.
No. 15 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated in the second round, a surprisingly early exit after his strong hard-court season.
The 20-year-old Greek was beaten by Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Tsitsipas beat four top-10 opponents at the Rogers Cup in Toronto — becoming the youngest player to do so at an event since the ATP World Tour began in 1990 — before losing to top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the final.
On the women’s side, Victoria Azarenka easily reached the third round in her return to the U.S. Open, beating No. 25 seed Daria Gavrilova of Australia 6-1, 6-2.
Azarenka, a two-time U.S. Open finalist, is playing in the tournament for the first time since 2015, after giving birth to a son.
Defending champion Sloane Stephens rallied to score a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Anhelina Kalinina. Stephens will play Azarenka in the third round.
Venus Williams did her part to set up an earlier-than-usual Grand Slam matchup with sister Serena, beating Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-5. Serena then followed suit, beating Carina Witthoeft 6-2, 6-2.
The sisters will meet Friday.