Svitolina love match comes out in open

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina took just 67 minutes to thunder past Viktoria Kuzmova 6-1 6-2 and reach the third round.

But after the match, it was the man sitting in her players box that had tongues wagging of a potential romantic pairing.

French star Gael Monfils, who was knocked out on Wednesday in a five-setter by American Taylor Fritz, was lending his support to Svitolina.

Asked about Monfils sitting in her players box, Svitolina was put in an awkward spot. “Yeah . . .,” she said with a laugh followed by a long pause.

“Everyone saw him so he’s supporting me, and hopefully we’ll see him more in the future, not only in my box but on the court as well.”

In action on the court, world No 1 Simona Halep, of Romania, staged a strong come-from-behind effort to beat Russianborn American Sonya Kenin in three enthralling sets, 6-3 6-7 6-4.

The 2018 runner-up appeared headed for the exit queue down 4-2 in the final set before she produced a gutsy fightback.

Halep peeled off the final four games of the match and now moves through to a blockbuster with Venus Williams tomorrow.

Veteran Williams also battled to overcome Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in three. Williams was made to battle throughout the first two sets but showed her superior power in the third, winning 3-6 6-4 6-0.

On the men’s side, Aussie teenager Alexei Popyrin stunned seventh seed Dominic Thiem.

Thiem smashed his racquet and called the trainer at the end of the first set, complaining of “general fatigue”. While you can call the physio, players are not eligible to receive treatment for fatigue.

The Austrian star regained some of his composure but not his form as 19-yearold Popyrin, playing just his second grand slam, kept playing at an elite level to claim the second set and take a 7-5 6-4 lead.

Popyrin then went up 2-0 in the third before Thiem shocked everyone by retiring. Thiem had taken tablets during the match and looked sick at times.

World No 44 Joao Sousa defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in a fiveset epic that went for four hours and 18 minutes. In a see-sawing affair, Portuguese Sousa won 7-5 4-6 7-6 5-7 6-4.

Rising Canadian star Denis Shapovalov progressed with a straight sets 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 win over American-born Japanese player Taro Daniel. — news.com.au, AP