Sevastova stuns struggling Muguruza at US Open

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Anastasija Sevastova became the giant killer on Day Three of the US Open Wednesday night. The 31 year old who came out of retirement for the final major of the season took down French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. The world number 48 held herself together to outduel the world number three to shake up the ladies draw and move into the third round with the biggest win of her career.

The top Spaniard in the tournament recovered from a tough first round to win it with experience and strength. The same could be said for the Latvian who took down her first round opponent in straight sets. With vulnerabilities showing in Muguruza so early in the tournament, a well-rounded fight from the world number three would be something to see occur in her prime time match.

For the first time for either player, things went well through the first four games as both maintained their serves over on another. It was the fifth when Muguruza took the lead despite having eight unforced errors. She remained in the lead until the eighth when Sevastova won the break back to level things up. The help came from the Spaniard who continued to have trouble with her game racking up 14 unforced errors.

Despite all the issues, she managed to stay out front hoping to get clear of the set in the lead. Sevastova didn’t allow that to happen taking charge on her service holds to force the Spaniard into another tie. The time for superior strength was needed in the late stages of the set but for Muguruza, it was still a struggle.

She had trouble playing well on the returns, leading the Latvian to take the lead. In a shock to some, Sevastova went on to win the set 7-5 making it a big move to occur on center court after 55 minutes. Muguruza had a total of 27 unforced errors returning 21 of 52 shots across court. With her have another rough outing, getting back on track was more than important.

The second set did not start out that was a Sevastova was on the run of her life taking a 3-0 rout of the third seed after just 14 minutes. She made it 4-0 before Muguruza woke up and smelled defeat. The Spaniard attacked with all she had to climb back even during times where the Latvian eyed the upset. She couldn’t put it away in the eighth as Muguruza slowly gained back control of her game. An important win kept Muguruza alive allowing her to serve for a chance to tie in the set.

It would not be the night for her to get it done as Sevastova handled the shots from Muguruza easily getting to double match point that allowed her to bring down one of the biggest names in women’s tennis. “I was shaking a little bit at the end but it’s amazing,” Sevastova said to ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi after winning the match. “On Ashe and on a night match, what can be bigger?”

For Muguruza, the loss was a huge defeat in what was considered an amazing season for her. In the match against Sevastova, she committed 38 unforced errors and had a first serve percentage below 50 percent.

With the first of the top four seeds out of the draw, the tournament takes an interesting turn for all the remaining players including Sevastova who would take on Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko on Friday.

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Kerber advances to third round of US Open

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Angelique Kerber fought hard at the end to keep herself focused at the US Open. A late challenge from Mirjana Lucic-Baroni nearly led to a third set, but the world number two finished it off winning 6-2, 7-6(7) at Louis Armstrong Stadium Wednesday afternoon.

The current world number two had an easy pass through to the second round as Polona Hercog was stopped dead in her tracks by a health issue. With the first round out of the way for the German, she kept her eyes set on the possibility of becoming number one by tournament end. She knew she would get a full match out of the Croatian who put the fight against Alize Cornet to win in straight sets.

While she hasn’t been able to defeat Kerber in their last three matches, (including a huge battle in Montreal last month) the 34-year-old hoped to have a similar fight on her hands to pull off what would be considered a massive upset. 

It wasn’t going that way for the Croatian as Kerber took the first pair of games before putting things into cruise control. She had to get out of her comfort zone in the third where Lucic-Baroni forced her into deuce where it went took 12 minutes and more than seven breaks to finish. In the end it was Kerber who continued to be the dominant factor on serve as well as off.

The German had a four game winning streak before her opponent made it on the board with a hold of serve. When possession went back to Kerber, she returned the margin to four games playing for the set in the seventh. It was yet another strong hold for Lucic-Baroni who stayed alive gaining her second victory and possibly a challenge onward. It was all she would get in the first set as Kerber put an end to the set winning it on three set points completing 36 minutes.

The two changed the pace of the match and outdid each other on service. Kerber immediately took the lead overpowering the Croatian but soon found herself facing similar adversity. As the dust settled between the players, it was Kerber coming out with complete focus and control of the set. She went on to take the next three inching closer to victory.

In a surprise to Kerber and her supporters, Lucic-Baroni made a stunning comeback that led to the set becoming seriously out of the German’s hands. The Croatian struck back three in a row giving Kerber a fight to the end as the two became deadlocked for the remainder of the set. With things tied through ten games, it was anyone’s to win as either one had to win seven to win the set. Both made strong endings to their service holds setting up a pivotal tiebreaker.

It was a tight race to seven points with Lucic-Baroni continuing to strike first. Kerber matched every point as she had the chance to end the match. It came on an overtake on the points taking an 8-7 lead before clinching the match point after 92 minutes. “She (Lucic Baroni) is always fighting until the last point,” Kerber said to Andrew Krasny about the second set. “She played better and better during the match so I was trying to stay positive, trying to be focused and fighting until the last point. It’s nice to be into the next round.”

She’ll continue to play the stronger opponent facing the winner between Americans Shelby Rogers and Catherine Bellis on Friday.

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Wozniacki takes out Kuznetsova in massive comeback at US Open

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Caroline Wozniacki pulled off the comeback of comebacks at Arthur Ashe Stadium Wednesday. The former number one came back from 0-4 in the first set to defeat fifth seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the US Open.

The two got into their 13^th meeting and tenth on the hard court. One would walk off as the leader in their series while the other waits for another chance. The Russian came in as the heavy favorite of the match since defeating Wozniacki back at Wimbledon. The world number 10 handed the Dane a hard loss even after coming back from an injury.

It remained difficult for her as she had struggled to make a strong stance. Kuznetsova has certainly been deep in recent tournaments despite not coming up with any big wins in them. With another major competition in her view, the 31-year-old gave herself a strong chance at a third round advance.

She came out guns blazing to start the opening set digging deep to quickly overwhelm Wozniacki. From breaks on the serve to dominating on offense, Kuznetsova held much of the set to take a 4-0 rout. It wasn’t till the fifth that the Dane got something going where it was just the start. The former number one began playing like it climbing back from the large deficit to threaten a tie with the Russian. “We had been playing for 30 minutes right now and its four-love for her and it wasn’t looking good for me,” Wozniacki said to ESPN’s Pam Shriver. “I wanted the fans to have a little more to watch today so I just kept fighting for every point.”

She did more than just level with Kuznetsova in the set through eighth. With the ball in her court, playing the ninth on serve was an advantage to a point as the Russian made a challenge to counteract the current situation. She forced deuce leading to a lengthy four breaks that neither one had leverage on.

Kuznetsova opened the door wide for Wozniacki who kept hold of serve and handed her rival a fifth consecutive loss with the chance to steal the set. On a very good challenge that saw the ball nick the line, Wozniacki went on to win set point and complete the comeback that had her on a six game winning streak after 56 minutes.

She got to seven to start the second set, but Kuznetsova needed a victory which she put every effort to do so. With the set on an even keel, it allowed the Russian to play a competitive rather than one sided. The 3-1 score kept things one sided for Wozniacki who continued to climb to the ultimate goal while her Russian counterpart made bad choices on the rallies keeping her down two games.

A critical double fault error for the Dane allowed Kuznetsova to get within a game with the advantage of being on service. It didn’t work out for her as Wozniacki broke her to pieces before adding a service hold to play for the match. In a desperate attempt to stay in the competition, Kuznetsova delivered a strong service hold getting within two games but required a solid return to Wozniacki who served for a third round spot.

Another massive response from Kuznetsova produced a second straight win and the opportunity to even the set at five all. The Russian attacked hard on the rally pressuring Wozniacki to crack on service. The Russian served to stay alive in the tenth but a final fight for control went to the Dane who returned so strong on the rallies to win the match in a stunner for Kuznetsova after 1 hour and 43 minutes.

With a top seeded player out of contention, the door was now open for many left in the tournament. Wozniacki would surely be the first to jump through taking on Romania’s Monica Niculescu in the third round Friday.

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