NEW YORK, September 2, 2017
Diego Schwartzman of Argentina caused another upset in the bottom half of the men’s draw at the US Open on Friday, knocking out fifth seed Marin Cilic, who was playing his first tournament since falling in the Wimbledon final in July.
Cilic broke the Argentine’s serve when the World No. 33 was serving for the match at 5-2 in the fourth set before the Croatian held his serve to put the pressure back on Schwartzman.
Another topsy-turvy game followed with the Croatian bringing up three break points to extend the match but Schwartzman saved them all before securing the surprise victory 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 after three hours and 23 minutes. Another top 10 player bites the dust in New York.
“Sometimes if you have luck in the draw and you can take the chances, it’s always good for the new guys or for the guys who are outside the Top 10,” said Schwartzman. “I think many players are doing well this week, and they are taking the opportunities because many players are injured this week. I think we are trying to take the chances and try to go forward in the tournament.
“I am a little bit surprised [to be in the fourth round], but the past weeks I was playing really well. I did third round in Paris and quarters in Montreal. I think my confidence is going up. I think in every match I can win. I am playing well and try to be like this every match.”
Schwartzman will next take on Lucas Pouille. The 16th seed of France fought past Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Denis Shapovalov benefited from the retirement of Kyle Edmund, leading 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 1-0. The Briton was involved in a hugely competitive encounter against Shapovalov, but after Edmund had lost the opening game of the fourth set and after some reflection at the change of ends and a look at his camp, he decided enough is enough and walked to the net to shake hands with his Canadian opponent. That has brought an end to British representation in the singles events of this year’s US Open.
“I guess it’s an upper thoracic back problem,” Edmund explained. “It just got very sore and very tight and almost locked up a bit. I didn’t feel like I could rotate properly. It’s just obviously hitting in tennis, you need a good rotation. It just seized up very quickly. It was pretty sore now just coming off the court. Now everything has cooled down so it’s very stiff now.”
The Canadian teenager will meet Spanish World No.19 Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round. The 26-year-old Spaniard beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 48 minutes.
[12] @PabloCarreno91 is 1st player in Open Era to face 4 qualifiers at a Slam.
1R @EvanKingChicago
2R @Cam_Norrie
3R @NMahut
4R @Denis_Shapo— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) 1. September 2017
Muguruza And Williams Advance
In the women’s draw, Garbine Muguruza of Spain has secured a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 straight sets victory over Magdalena Rybarikova from Slovakia. The third favourite finished the encounter in only 61 minutes and is starting to look like a dominant force in the draw but will face Petra Kvitova in the fourth round in a mouthwatering encounter. The 13th seed from the Czech Republic eased past Caroline Garcia of France 6-0, 6-4.
No.9 seed Venus Williams advanced to the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Maria Sakkari of Greece.
With this win, Williams has reached at least the fourth round of all four majors this year. “My best tennis this year has come at the majors,” Williams said in her post-match press conference.
“I don’t play nearly as much as some of my contemporaries, but this year when I have played, it’s definitely been quality tennis. That’s exactly what I want, and obviously to play my best tennis at the Big 4.”
Next up for Venus will be Carla Suárez-Navarro from Spain.
Venus’ sister Serena has welcomed a daughter on Friday afternoon, according to a report from local TV station WPBF-25. The baby was born at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
From @BillieJeanKing to @BMATTEK, players past & present congratulated @serenawilliams on becoming a mom.https://t.co/7POxcRfXnE #USOpen pic.twitter.com/oDZFFU4Q3I
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) 2. September 2017
