Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Djokovic reaches 3rd round of Open
NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic wasted a match point in the third set, before going on to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 against Tennys Sandgren at the U.S. Open to reach the third round.
Djokovic had a much easier victory over Sandgren, an American ranked 61st, in Wimbledon’s first round this year, dropping only six games in all.
The 13-time major champion seemed to be along the same path at Flushing Meadows on Thursday night, standing one point from victory while leading 5-4 in the third set as Sandgren served at 30-40. But Sandgren ended an 11-stroke exchange with a forehand winner, then took the ensuing tiebreaker.
Djokovic regained the upper hand with an early break in the fourth and was on his way.
Make it 18 for 18 for Roger Federer in the second round of the Open.
The No. 2 seed beat Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 to continue his streak of reaching the third round in the tournament he has won five times.
Federer will next face No. 30 seed Nick Kyrgios.
Federer is 7-0 against Paire, winning 16 of 17 sets against the Frenchman.
In a matchup between two young, up-and-coming men in the top 50, 19-year-old Alex de Minaur beat 20-year-old Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the third round at a second Grand Slam tournament in a row.
Tiafoe, an American, is ranked 44th, one spot ahead of de Minaur, an Australian. Both made it to the third round at Wimbledon this year.
Tiafoe compared de Minaur to a “backboard” and acknowledged that he “lost my head” in the second set.
Tiafoe ended up with 51 unforced errors, 18 more than de Minaur.
Gael Monfils retired in the second set of his second-round match against 2014 runner-up Kei Nishikori because of an injured right wrist.
The 39th-ranked Monfils, a semifinalist at Flushing Meadows two years ago, was treated by a trainer and had his wrist taped up. But he unraveled the tape shortly before saying he could not continue.
The Frenchman was trailing 6-2, 5-4 when he stopped.
Pablo Carreno Busta was unable to duplicate his U.S. Open run from a year ago, forced to retire from his second-round match because of left thigh pain.
Carreno Busta reached the semifinals last year in Flushing Meadows.
Joao Sousa of Portugal led Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 2-0 when the No. 12 seed from Spain had to stop playing.
Alexander Zverev has finally reached the third round of the Open.
The No. 4 seed beat Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 for his best result in the year’s final Grand Slam tournament.
Zverev had been knocked out in the second round in his three previous appearances.
No. 14 Fabio Fognini lost to John Millman 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, and No. 23 Hyeon Chung was beaten by Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-3.
Madison Keys cruised into the third round of the Open, beating fellow American Bernarda Pera 6-4, 6-1.
The U.S. Open runner-up last year served eight aces and never lost her serve in the match that lasted 1 hour, 12 minutes.
The No. 14 seed will play either Aleksandra Krunic or Kirsten Flipkens in the next round.
Three-time major champion Angelique Kerber got through a second-round test at the U.S. Open, edging 82ndranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
Kerber moved ahead in a third set filled with lengthy baseline exchanges by breaking in the next-to-last game when Larsson double-faulted.