World number one Iga Swiatek quickly reached the round of 16 at the US Open. The Pole literally rolled over the Slovenian Kaja Juvan 6:0, 6:1 and finished off her opponent in just 49 minutes, Swiatek used the first match point right away. Now there could be a duel with the former French Open winner Julia Ostapenko (Latvia / No. 17), who is playing against Bernarda Pera (USA) in her third round match.
“Of course I didn’t like winning so clearly against my best friend,” said Swiatek: “It’s like playing against my sister.”
Tommy Paul also showed his strength and effortlessly made it into the round of 16. The American defeated the Spanish world number 21. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after a furious start 6: 1, 6: 0, 3: 6, 6: 3 and is now also favored in the next round. There it is against the winner of the duel between Ben Shelton (USA) and Aslan Karazew.
Paul converted his first match point with an ace after 2:19 hours of play. The fans have been waiting for the triumph of a professional from the USA for 20 years – in 2003 Andy Roddick had won the title in Flushing Meadows. After that, Roddick (2006) and Andre Agassi (2005) were in the final again, but each lost to Swiss Roger Federer.
Like Swiatek, French Open finalist Karolina Muchova also reached the next round. The tenth-seeded Czech defeated the American Taylor Townsend 7: 6 (7: 0), 6: 3 on Friday and is now up against Xinyu Wang (China).