Novak Djokovic rallies past Kyle Edmund US Open: Kvitova, Osaka advance; Pliskova shocked

NEW YORK: World no.1 Novak Djokovic lost a tie-breaker for the first time this year but rallied past Kyle Edmund to advance from the second round of the US Open. Djokovic won the match 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. He next faces Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, who beat USA's Michael Mmoh 6-2, 6-2, 7-5.

Djokovic, who is chasing his fourth US Open title, lost an intense first set that went on for more than an hour. He had previously won all 10 tiebreaks he played this year.

After the set however, the Serbian took over and Edmund was hardly a match for the rest of the match. Djokovic hit 16 aces and lost only 12 points on his first serve. "I'm actually glad I did drop a set and got tested the way I did today against Kyle. I expected it to be a tough, tough task," said Djokovic after the match. "I'm really glad having an early kind of tough match in the tournament," Djokovic said, "because it kind of serves me better, I think, for the rest of the tournament."

Stefanos Tsitsipas meanwhile beat Maxime Cressy 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 to mark his debut at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He thus progresses to the third round of the US OPen for the first time in his career where he will face Borna Coric. He remains on course to face Alexander Zverev, who beat 19-year-old Brandon Nakashima 7-5, 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-1. 12th seed Dennis Shapovalov beat South Korean Kwon Soon-woo 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Czech top seed Karolina Pliskova crashed out of the US Open in the second round while Japan's Naomi Osaka and Pliskova's compatriot Petra Kvitova advanced. The 2016 runner up fell to France's Caroline Garcia 6-1 7-6 (7-2) in a match that lasted one hour and 33 minutes.

Garcia, ranked 50 on the WTA standings, will next face 28th seed Jennifer Brady, who beat CiCi Bellis 6-1 6-2 in just 51 minutes. Against Pliskova, she produced 30 winners and just 17 unforced errors with the latter cutting a frustrated figure throughout the match and in the media interactions afterwards on Wednesday.

"In the second set I had a set point. That was definitely one ball I could make. I had a second serve on my forehand," world no.3 Pliskova said.

"Maybe I should just play rally. I tried to go for it. It was a little bit windy on the court. I think she played an amazing set and a half. Of course, I got my chances later in the second set. I didn't play good, so that's it."

Meanwhile, 2018 champion and fourth seed Osaka made light work of Italy's Camila Giorgi, winning her second round fixture 6-1 6-2. Giorgi made 24 unforced errors during the match. Kvitova managed a hard-fought two-set win over Ukraine's Kateryna Kozlova with the final score standing 7-6 (7-3) 6-2. German 17th seed beat compatriot Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-3 7-6 (8-6). IANS

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