ALEXEI PULLS OFF SHOCK TRIUMPH
Aussie Alexei pulls off shock triumph to see off Dimitrov
ALEXEI Popyrin pushed past two rain delays to upset former World No.3 Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 4-0 on Thursday.
Popyrin was the lone competitor flying the Australian flag on day three of the US Open, but showed few signs of being overawed against the highly-fancied Dimitrov.
The Bulgarian 15th seed was forced to withdraw in the third set with a foot injury.
While Popyrin may not have been favoured to win, the underdog status is nothing new for the Aussie who has defeated Dominic Thiem, Pablo Carreno Busta and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in recent years.
Stefanos Tsitsipas took another trademark long bathroom break then credited it for advancing to the third round.
The 23-year-old Greek third seed was booed after taking more than eight minutes between the third and fourth sets but dominated after his extended toilet trip to flush Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I think taking a break and going to change, I was completely wet, I was refreshed,” Tsitsipas said when asked about the key to sweeping the final set in 30 minutes.
“I was much more able to deliver good tennis in the fourth set. I was able to stay resilient on each and every point.” Tsitsipas, who matched his deepest US Open run, has been ridiculed by Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev for extended bathroom breaks seen as gamesmanship.
French Open runner-up Tsitsipas, who says he’s only following ATP rules that have no time limit on toilet breaks, fired a career-high 27 aces, five more than his previous best, in winning his ATP-best 50th match of the year.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka advanced by walkover while Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev breezed into the third round over Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
Osaka reached the third round when 20-year-old Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic withdrew due to illness.
Osaka, seeking her fifth Grand Slam title and third US Open crown in four years, next faces Canada’s 73rdranked Leylah Fernandez.
Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open winner who could meet Osaka in the fourth round, beat 21st seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in an allAmerican showdown.
Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza booked a third-round showdown. Spanish ninth seed Muguruza beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-2 while Azarenka, the 18th seed from Belarus, defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).
IN ONE of the US Open’s most bizarre match stoppages, blowing wind and rain under the corners of the Louis Armstrong Stadium roof halted a men’s secondround match.
South African Kevin Anderson was playing Argentina’s 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman when showers stopped them three points into the second set.
Torrential rains, the remnants of deadly Hurricane Ida, were blown under the corners of the retractable roof.
The storm swamped Armstrong stadium, the court looking closer to hosting 100m freestyle than a tennis match.
Wind-blown rain forced a drying machine on to the court.
The match was moved to Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Schwartzman finished a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-4 victor.