US Open: Defending champion Coco Gauff, Sabalenka cruise; Zheng Qinwen stretched

NEW YORK: Defending champion Coco Gauff brought her "nothing to lose" mentality to the second round of the US Open as she cleaned up early mistakes to beat unseeded German Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday.

The American, who beat Maria in Auckland last year, roared back from an error-riddled first set to sweep through the second and close out the affair with a sublime backhand winner.

She will play 2019 semi-finalist Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the next round.

Victoria Azarenka said she suffered a migraine during her match against Clara Burel but the former world number one still managed to claim a 6-1, 6-4 victory to move into the third round.

Azarenka was in cruise control as she comfortably took the opening set after winning the first five games but she quickly found herself 3-1 down in the second, appearing to struggle with the harsh lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The Belarusian was in tears as she complained of a migraine and then called for the doctor, who checked her blood pressure and gave her medication during a stoppage that lasted nearly five minutes.

That took the momentum away from Burel, who made several errors after the restart as Azarenka won the next four games before sealing victory.

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen survived an early scare to overcome Russia's Erika Andreeva 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2 in sweltering conditions to move into the third round.

Andreeva, the elder sister of teenage sensation Mirra, had already knocked out one Chinese player in Yuan Yue and was looking to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time in her career.

Despite Andreeva taking an early lead and then clinching the tie-break, Zheng clawed her way back into the contest on the back of a solid first serve as the seventh seed finished the match with 36 winners and 20 aces.

Former finalist Madison Keys flew the American flag during the day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the the 14th seed trouncing Australia's Maya Joint 6-4, 6-0.

Making her 13th main-draw appearance at the US Open, Keys struck first against Joint when she converted on her third break-point opportunity for a 4-3 lead en route to wrapping up the opening set on her serve.

The 29-year-old American opened the second with another break and sprinted to the finish line in 62 minutes.

Up next for Keys, who lost to fellow American Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open final, is a clash with 33rd-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens. Agencies

Also Read: Defending champion Coco Gauff advances to second round after easy win over Varvara Gracheva

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