Serena, Murray, Radwanska in cruise mode
EASY OUTINGS World No 1 American and fourth seed Pole win in straight sets; Olympic champ doesn’t let closed roof and noise distract him in win over Granollers
Wimbledon champions Serena Williams and Andy Murray raised the roof at the US Open on Thursday, powering into the third round with decisive straight-sets victories.
World No 1 Williams defeated fellow American Vania King 6-3, 6-3, her 306th Grand Slam singles match win tying her with Martina Navratilova for the most ever for a woman. Williams is stalking history on the hardcourts of Flushing Meadows, seeking a seventh US Open title and a 23rd Grand Slam singles crown which would both be Open Era records.
The win marked Williams’ first match under the new roof of the Arthur Ashe stadium, which was closed all day after early showers that disrupted play on the outside courts. By the time she opened the night session the rain had actually tailed off.
Murray, however, played with the rain drumming on the $150 million retractable roof, adding to the noise that has long been a hallmark of America’s Grand Slam. Murray, who followed up his Wimbledon triumph with a second straight Olympic gold in Rio, didn’t let the unfamiliar din distract him in a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 victory over tenacious Spaniard Marcel Granollers.
As the showers lingered, 11 doubles matches scheduled for outside courts were cancelled and some remaining matches reassigned.
Juan Martin del Potro, who has undergone four wrist surgeries since lifting the US Open trophy in 2009, beat American 19th-seeded American Steve Johnson 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-2. Venus Williams, the sixth seed, coasted to the 70th US Open match win of her career 6-2, 6-3 win over Germany’s Julia Goerges.
Fifth seed Simona Halep also advanced, downing Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-4 in a battle of former French Open finalists. Fourth seed Pole Agnieszka Radwanska survived an early onslaught from Naomi Broady to beat the Briton 7-6 (11/9), 6-3. WOZNIACKI ADVANCES On Friday, former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark beat Romania’s Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-1 to reach the women’s fourth round. Joining her was Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova who defeated Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-1.