NEW YORK/STARNBERG, September 1, 2022
World No. 1 and defending US Open champion Daniil Medvedev edged out Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday evening to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the fifth consecutive year. The 26-year-old Russian has now won 20 of his past 22 matches at the year’s final Grand Slam tournament.
Daniil Medvedev is a machine. pic.twitter.com/s50gRO5R11
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2022
“In general I’m happy with my level in the third set, so that’s great. At the end of the match it was getting better and better,” Medvedev said. “At the same time a win is the most important, three sets. Try to get out as early as possible even if it is pretty late. Looking forward for [the] next round.”
Medvedev will next play Wu Yibing of China, with the prospect of a fourth-round clash against Australian enfant terrible Nick Kyrgios if they both win their next match.
Murray masters Nava
Earlier in the day, Andy Murray of Great Britain fought past World No. 203 Emilio Nava from the United States 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the third round of the US Open for the first time since 2016.
Straight after his victory, Murray shared his post-match assessment. He paid tribute to Nava’s work but also highlighted what he changed between sets one and two in particular.
“I started to take the ball on a little bit more,” Murray said during his on-court interview.
“He was dictating a lot of the points in the first set and once I started to hit the ball a little bit bigger and deeper, I was then able to control the points a bit more.
“He had a really long five-setter in the first round and I think that’s the first five-setters he’s play so it’s not always easy to recover from them. His level dropped a little bit in the third and fourth sets, but he’s a brilliant young player and he’s going to have a very bright future.”
Williams fights past Kontaveit
In the women’s draw, US-American Serena Williams defeated World No.2 Anett Kontaveit from Estonia 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2 on a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Match point, Williams. pic.twitter.com/Sbsu3Sj3WE
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2022
“It’s no rush here. I’m loving this crowd. I’m a pretty good player. This is what I do. I love a challenge, and I’m rising to the challenge,” said Williams, who announced earlier this month that the US Open would very likely be her last tournament.
“I’m just pleased I showed up because the last few tournaments I didn’t show up. But I’ve been practicing really well and I’m pleased that I’m finally seeing my practice come into my matches, so that’s nice.”
Maria Sakkari of Greece was knocked out by 2018 Girls’ US Open champion and former Junior World No. 1 Xiyu Wang 3-6, 7-5, 7-5. It was the Chinese’s first career win over a top-10 player. The
US Open set another night-session record
The US Open set another record for night-session attendance on Wednesday with 29,959 fans coming to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
It’s the second night-session attendance record set in three nights at the US Open, breaking Monday’s 29,402 mark that also set an all-time record for an Opening Night.
