NEW YORK: Czech Karolina Muchova delivered a flawless display of serve-and-volley tennis to knock twice champion Naomi Osaka out of the US Open with a 6-3, 7-6(5) second round victory on Thursday.
Muchova enjoyed the best season of her career last year before a wrist injury sidelined her for 10 months, but she looked back to her best at Arthur Ashe Stadium as she set up a third round meeting with unseeded Russian Anastasia Potapova.
Four-times major winner Osaka of Japan, who missed last year’s tournament while on a maternity break, was brilliant in her opening round win over 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko but a handful of costly mistakes sunk her chances against Muchova.
“Honestly, this year the biggest win for me is that I could play again,” said Muchova, who returned to the tour in June. “I’m really grateful that I’m able to play tennis.”
Iga Swiatek made quick work of Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara in a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the second round to underline her title credentials at the US Open.
Swiatek survived a slight scare in the first round when she committed a slew of unforced errors before sealing a hard-fought victory over Russian Kamilla Rakhimova, but against Shibahara, she was clinical and swatted her Japanese opponent aside in just over an hour.
“I’m playing, you know, not overpowering (tennis), but trying to be really solid and picking the right shots and being proactive. I’m happy with everything,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview.
“I just felt the rhythm much better. I was a bit tense in my last match, so today I just wanted to focus on the right things and focus on myself.”
Jasmine Paolini played just three points before advancing when Karolina Pliskova appeared to injure her left foot. The No. 5-seeded Paolini, who has reached the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon in her breakout season, advanced past the second round of the U.S. Open for the first time.
Other women’s winners included No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 15 Anna Kalinskaya, No. 16 Liudmilla Samsonova and No. 18 Diana Shnaider. Pegula took out fellow American Sofia Kenin.
But No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, withdrew from the tournament before her second-round match, sending French qualifier Jessika Ponchet to the weekend.
Moreover, 7th seed Qinwen Zheng reached the fourth round on Friday as she defeated Jule Niemeier 6-2, 6-1. Agencies
Also Read: US Open: Top seed Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin through to Round 2
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