NEW YORK, September 1, 2018
Roger Federer advances to the fourth round of the US Open, beating Nick Kyrgios of Australia 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 on Saturday afternoon. The No. 2 seed from Switzerland struck 16 aces, winning 87 per cent of his first service points in one hour and 44 minutes.
“I am always happy to win, even if it had been five sets but I am happy it was three,” Federer told Darren Cahill in his on-court interview.
“I thought I played very well but at the beginning it was quite hard to get any rhythm – he created more chances but the first set was key.
“I enjoy playing against Nick, he comes up with different types of shotmaking and that keeps you on the edge and it’s always entertaining.
“He came out firing aces but that’s what it’s like against big servers – you have to somehow squeeze in a game to stay in the lead and today I had a bit of luck on my hand.
Federer will next take on John Millman, who beat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
“I am a big fan of John – not many people may not to much about him but he is such a hardworking guy and those guys have all the respect from those of us at the top. He has just been to train with me in Switzerland so we know each other quite well.
“I am super happy he’s got this far but now I will try to stop him,” Federer ended with a smile.
Seeds fall in women’s draw
So while that drama was unfolding on Arthur Ashe, two more big seeds crashed out in the women’s event as Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber and sixth seed Caroline Garcia have seen their title hopes ended.
Kerber was beaten by Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 while Garcia was also beaten in three sets, falling to 30th seed Carla Suarez Navarro 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4).
Fitting end for @CarlaSuarezNava as she blasts a backhand winner past Garcia to advance to R4!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/hctHlnS1I0
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) 1. September 2018
Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine eased past Katarina Siniakova from the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-0 in only 66 minutes to seal her own spot in the fourth round.
Last year’s beaten finalist Madison Keys, who comes through for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 over Aleksandra Krunic from Slovakia will next play Cibulkova.
Bertens’ eight-match winning run comes to an end
Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic showed an impressive performance, as the World No. 103 booked her spot in the fourth round thanks to a dominant performance in the final set tie-break. Voundrousova knocked out No. 13th seed Kiki Bertens 7-6(4), 6-2, 7-6(1) in two hours and 20 minutes. Next up will be Tsurenko.
