Raonic, Shapo advance at U.S. Open
NEW YORK Milos Raonic felt he stepped up in the second round of the U.S. Open — and the result 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.
Raonic has beaten Wawrinka just once in five matches.
Fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., went the distance against Italy’s Andreas Seppi on Wednesday to pull out a five-set victory.
No. 28 Shapovalov was down two sets to one before coming back for the 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory in three hours, 47 minutes against his 51st-ranked opponent.
“It was pretty crazy. Yeah, it was long. It was long and physical,” Shapovalov said. “Obviously, I feel tired now. I’m lucky, I’m only 19 years old. I feel pretty good.”
He’ll play Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson of South Africa next. It’ll be the first time they meet.
Later Wednesday, Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil fell to top seed Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Meanwhile, No. 15 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated in the second round. The 20-year-old Greek was beaten by Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
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 later overwhelmed Carina Witthoeft of Germany 6-2, 6-2 in a little more than an hour.