Radwanska embroils Putintseva to win at US Open

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Agnieszka Radwanska dealt with a very tough opening set but concerns from Yulia Putintseva’s

 game allowed her to walk away with a straight sets win at the US Open. The tenth seed made her way into the third round with a 7-5, 6-2 win on Court 17 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It was the seventh time Radwanska made the third round and a comfortable win to continue on.

Both haven’t face one another in three years and their meeting at the Australian Open went to three sets with Radwanska holding the Kazak off in the third. Radwanska didn’t have a clean win over Petra Martic Wednesday as the second set got to a tiebreaker where the world number ten surpassed the Croatian winning 7-3. While her game needed tweaking, the Polish star knew the importance of defending the second serve and dealing out forceful play against Putintseva.

A surprising start for the number 10 seed occurred with her unable to win many points. Of the first ten to be won, Putintseva was eight of them which gave her a 2-0 lead. When it looked as if Radwanska wouldn’t get her game together, the Polish star struck back and put together a triple break in the fourth. The Kazak got back on track to end Radwanska’s comeback, taking back the lead at 3-2 in hopes that she hadn’t let her opponent back in. She couldn’t follow up the break in the sixth that evened the score once again.

It was turning into a tug of war for the advantage as Radwanska got it back after the seventh making it very even on what the next move in the match would be, and who would make it. They ran the next three games leveling at five all with some controversy going against Putintseva. She was left with no choice but to play on as Radwanska gained the advantage on deuce to take a 6-5 stance. The effort she had to put in the 12^th was very hard against the 22-year-old as they went the distance on deuce before the tenth seed finished off the set with a winner ending 1 hour and eight minutes that it took to finish the set.

The Polish star kept up a winning streak that extended to four games which in turn frustrated Putintseva. Her racket smash after the second helped her reflect it into her offense that gave her a victory on the break. Radwanska went back to work extending the margin between herself and Putintseva that added other concerns for the 22-year-old. At the conclusion of the sixth game, she called out the trainer to examine her lower back which bothered her to the point of her losing games.

It was a lot of lost ground for the Kazak as Radwanska earned first honors to play for the math in the eighth with Putintseva well under pressure. She produced unforced errors in the final game that Radwanska stood to see her victory come on triple break point that went into the net ending 1 hour and 45 minutes.

“I’m very happy that I finally closed out that first set which was the key in the match and a long one and then in the second tried to be more aggressive and focus on my serve,” Radwanska said after her match. She’ll the winner between American Coco Vandeweghe and Ons Jabeur on Saturday.

Svitolina wins second round at US Open

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Elina Svitolina made it a good finish to her early start at the US Open Thursday. With getting herself back on schedule, the fourth seed took care of her second round match to defeat Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.

Svitolina holds a two match winning streak against the Russian that included one this season leading to her first title win of 2017. The 22 year old hoped to reach the third round once more as her quadrant of the ladies draw got smaller with less high ranked competitors. The Ukrainian’s late victory holding off against Katerina Siniakova allowed her a chance to regroup and put her best against Rodina. The 28 year old handled Eugenie Bouchard swiftly indicating that her style of play had increased over the past several months giving her a chance to take Svitolina out.

She held in her opening game but as the Ukrainian secured her first game of service, the world number four opened the gap on Rodina taking a 3-1 lead in the process. Rodina got another service win under her belt but remained a game down of Svitolina who delivered another outstanding grouping of points in the fifth. She sent three that Rodina couldn’t return well on the forehand and blew another on the backhand. The Russian avoided a shutout in the game but in the end, the game went to Svitolina.

The next three decisions were split with the Ukrainian taking the heavier portion of victories. It was at the point she hunted down a break against Rodina. A bad beat nearly gave Svitolina the win but Rodina’s quick actions allowed her to force deuce. It only went to breaks as the Russian held ground in the ninth to be a game down of Svitolina who took her first try on serve to get it done.

Her strengths targeted the slow response and errors on the forehand of Svitolina that gave her set point on a rally that was short finishing with a return wide of the sideline to bring an end to 42 minutes. Despite the 52 percent on the first serve, she won more than three quarters of them and had a second serve that was well off to continuing forward into the second set. Before play continued, Svitolina had a meeting with the trainer who came out to tape of a blister she got on her right toe.

She got back to work facing the serve of Rodina’s which led the way to start the second. The 28 year old managed to keep the pace through four games but was broken in the fifth by the fourth seed who hunted down the first break. She kept on the path battling Rodina on serve in the sixth that extended to deuce. After three attempts to gain the key point, Svitolina brought more focus to her ball placement and gained a 4-2 lead.

Her dominance helped produce a three game winning streak that came from a double break of Rodina putting high pressure on the Russian. She served for the match but saw Rodina climb back to force her way to getting a break. It only took one attempt but in the end earned her first break of the set to stay alive. It gave Rodina a boost to make good on her serve which delivered with a game ending lob over the net.

She was still in trouble with Svitolina back on serve to close out the match where she reached triple match point quickly. It ended with a short rally concluding with a forced error by Rodina ending 1 hour and 23 minutes.

With a swift win, Svitolina will await her third round match to come against Shelby Rogers or former double partner Daria Gavrilova on Saturday.

Makarova gets first win, knockout of Wozniacki at US Open

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Ekaterina Makarova pulled off the massive upset to end a very long Day 3 at the US Open  early Thursday morning. The Russian slipped in her straight sets chance and made the third set hers to own defeating fifth seeded Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-1 on Court 17 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It was her first victory against Wozniacki in eight tries and the one that advanced her to Friday’s third round.

The Dane’s tough finish in her opening round had to be brushed off as she faced a well-known opponent. Both Wozniacki and Makarova met seven times with each win going to the former number one player. While they’ve been away from one another the last three years, their second-round matchup gives the Russian a chance to frustrate the 27-year-old with her having the home advantage of sorts.

Wozniacki had the opening game but couldn’t break Makarova who had her offense together from the start. She consolidated her hold with a break in the third with an impressive service that was beating the former number one straight up. In her attempts to get a third straight win, Wozniacki brought her opponent to a halt securing the break and even up with the Russian. A battle for control ensued in the fifth where Wozniacki and Makarova got to deuce using everything possible to outduel one another. After four breaks, it was Makarova who broke the fifth seed to regain the lead.

She continued with a strategy that broke Wozniacki to falter and a 5-2 run in her favor with first chance at the set. Makarova delivered a clean hit at times where her aggression helped reach set point in the eighth. The Russian committed two errors that got the Dane to deuce but it was the only break to be played as she forced Wozniacki to err and place a forehand shot at the low end of the court capping 41 minutes. While both suffered on the second serve, Makarova had the stronger first serve and return percentages to finish a strong set for herself.

She continued her march with her dominance over Wozniacki taking the next two games in stride. The Dane needed something big to come from her game and did it in the third with four big points that were very important to come off her serve. She made it five straight points before Makarova broke it and took back control of the score. It was 3-1 before a show of force from the former number one kept her within reach of the Russian. By the fifth, it was a change of tide as Makarova once again gained momentum that put her out front. The break she earned followed her service hold in the sixth to gain important ground with an upset on the horizon.

Makarova was down 0-40 in the eighth when a surprising turn helped her overcome the troubles. The Dane covered all the ground lost to force deuce with Makarova, but it, in turn, woke up the unseeded player to hold off at all cost. She earned the win after a break to have a chance at the match with Wozniacki on the ball for the ninth. She fell to the Russian on serve but the tenth was another surprising moment for everyone as her do or die attitude produced a win on the break that saved her night to continue.

On serve in the 11^th, Wozniacki put plenty together that helped her edge in front of Makarova for the first time. She struck back to force the most important tiebreaker for the Russian who was searching for her first win against the world number five. A bad break occurred for Makarova when a call that was questioned came into play angering Wozniacki to the point that her game took a positive change. She began to control the score taking a 5-1 run. Makarova continued to battle picking up two points with all the want to win it. She took some big risks on the rallies that paid off giving her a five all tie with Wozniacki. A bad error from Makarova gave Wozniacki set point where she got it on another error into the net to force a huge third set.

In what was expected to be a gained momentum to roll into the third began as another break for the 29-year-old who carried a three-game winning streak to start the final set. She had Wozniacki figured out but knew that more of the same strength had to keep coming or suffer a fate similar to the second. The fourth consecutive game went to Makarova who capped a triple break with very good recovery in the rallies to get in front of the net landing a good lob across.

She built up a nine-point winning streak that produced win number five in the third set giving her one game left to end the day. Wozniacki wasn’t ready to go out as she avoided the bagel against Makarova but was still down four games to comeback from the massive deficit. The Russian denied her the honor as her serve stayed firm to the point of reaching two match points where the final point came on a ball into the net ending a two-and-a-half-hour marathon.

 “It feels amazing,” Makarova said when asked about beating Wozniacki for the first time. “We played so many time but I never beat Caroline, she’s a very tough opponent and It was such a great match.” She'll move on facing Carla Suarez- Navarro of Spain on Friday. 

Muguruza wins second round for the first time at the US Open

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Garbine Muguruza stormed to success at the US Open Wednesday night. The world number three ran through game after game to break her curse of second round upsets and won against Ying Ying Duan in a 6-4, 6-0 win on Grandstand Court at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It was the best finish of a second round by the third seed that allowed her to extend her tournament for the first time.

The Spaniard had a quick first round on Monday and looked to keep the pace against the Chinese athlete she had never faced. Duan took down American Claire Liu in straight sets as well but knew that facing a player of very high talents would take a lot more out of herself to build together something big. Muguruza hasn’t dropped a set in three matches and carried a six-match winning streak along for what she hoped to be a lengthy journey.

She started out smoothly with a hold of serve after Duan got her moment in on court. The Chinese star set the pace with the Spaniard keeping her serve on lock in the third to make a statement while she could. It went on through the next four games where it was Muguruza who had to match the moves of Duan each time.

It went all the way to eight games with Muguruza putting things into another gear for her only chance to break ahead. It was on the return side of the ball in game nine that Muguruza made her move countering the serve of Duan to cap a 5-4 hold to serve for the set. The third seed had two set points but watched them erase with help from Duan on her return game. They went to deuce with Muguruza attempting five times before she got it closed out in 44 minutes. The errors racked up late for the world number three but being able to keep up the first serve and returns helped out against the 28-year-old who showed she could run with the best.

The second set started with Muguruza breaking Duan followed by two more wins that gave the Spaniard a big double break. The 3-0 lead for the third seed broke apart her opponent’s game which was full of errors showing little control. It quickly turned into a runaway as Muguruza earned a triple break that pressured the Chinese star to act quickly. She couldn’t contain the small lead as Muguruza was charging to victory with no sign of issues. With the bagel in view, Muguruza set up triple match point winning on an ace to conclude the 1 hour and six-minute pursuit to the third round.

Being in completely new territory would be strange for the Spaniard but in Friday’s matchup against Magdalena Rybarikova, Muguruza wouldn’t change any of her preparations with her success getting her further than ever.