NEW YORK (Reuters) – World number one Ash Barty became the latest high-profile player to be ousted at the U.S. Open after the Australian suffered a third-round defeat to American Shelby Rogers on Saturday.
The 43rd-ranked Rogers staged a stunning comeback in the deciding set, recovering from a 5-2 deficit to topple Barty 6-2 1-6 7-6(5) against the backdrop of a roaring Arthur Ashe crowd.
“I am stunned. My heart rate is still very much elevated. I’m very excited with that win,” said Rogers, the last American standing in the women’s draw.
Rogers will face British teenager Emma Raducanu, who extended her dream run at Flushing Meadows with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic has yet to drop a set in New York and put on a serving masterclass to beat Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-4 and reach the last 16 stage.
Top seed Novak Djokovic stayed on course for a men’s record 21st major title that would help him complete the calendar Grand Slam with a 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 6-2 win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
“So far the toughest match of the tournament for me,” the Serbian said. “The pace of the ball and the speed of Nishikori’s tennis today was just higher than the opening two rounds’ opponents that I had.”
Second seeds Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka play their fourth round matches on Sunday.
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U.S. Open order of play on Sunday
Highlights of the sixth day at the U.S. Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, at Flushing Meadows on Saturday (times in GMT):
0355 ZVEREV ADVANCES AFTER SOCK RETIRES
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev secured a spot in the next round after American opponent Jack Sock was forced to retire early in the fourth set due to a thigh injury when trailing 3-6 6-2 6-3 2-1 to the German
0320 PAVLYUCHENKOVA DOWNS GRACHEVA
French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the Russian 14th seed, dispatched compatriot Varvara Gracheva 6-1 6-4 to set up a fourth-round clash against Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova.
0143 OPELKA ADVANCES IN STRAIGHT SETS, SHAPOVALOV UPSET
American 22nd seed Reilly Opelka hit 21 aces en route to a 7-6(5) 6-3 6-4 victory over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili on Grandstand.
South African Lloyd Harris upset seventh seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, winning 6-4 6-4 6-4 in just over two hours.
0125 ROGERS STUNS BARTY
Local hope Shelby Rogers pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 6-2 1-6 7-6(5) victory over Australian top seed Ash Barty.
2305 PLISKOVA BEATS TOMLJANOVIC IN STRAIGHT SETS
Czech fourth seed and former finalist Karolina Pliskova made quick work of Ajla Tomljanovic, beating the Australian 6-3 6-2. Pliskova sent down 20 aces and raced through the match without dropping serve.
2150 SINNER SEES OFF MONFILS
Italy’s Jannik Sinner came through a gruelling five-setter against Frenchman Gael Monfils, winning 7-6(1) 6-2 4-6 4-6 6-4 to reach the last 16 for the first time.
2140 SWIATEK SURVIVES KONTAVEIT TEST
Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the seventh seed, was pushed to three sets by Estonian Anett Kontaveit, but rallied to reach the fourth round with a 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory.
Both players smashed six aces apiece, but Kontaveit made 35 unforced errors to hand Swiatek the upper hand in the close contest.
2130 DJOKOVIC BATTLES PAST NISHIKORI
Top seed Novak Djokovic continued his bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam and 21st major title with a battling 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 6-2 win over former finalist Kei Nishikori.
2010 RADUCANU BLITZES SORRIBES TORMO
British teenager Emma Raducanu dismantled Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-1 in just 70 minutes to book a second consecutive Grand Slam fourth round berth, after her run to the last-16 at Wimbledon in July.
1855 BERRETTINI BATTLES PAST IVASHKA IN FIVE SETS
Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini came through his first five-setter of the tournament against Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 2-6 6-3.
The Italian sixth seed fired 27 aces and won 84% of his first-serve points as he wrapped up the match in three hours 46 minutes.
1830 ANDREESCU ON HER RELATIONSHIP WITH TENNIS
“I think with anything you’re passionate about, it’s always a love/hate relationship, because you want that thing so bad all the time, you want to be perfect. In my case, it’s tennis,” said Canada’s Bianca Andreescu.
“A lot of the times it can be difficult when things don’t go your way. You get injured or Naomi (Osaka) had to deal with a lot with like media, social media, all that stuff. I think that’s part of the game.”
1750 BENCIC SCORES ROUTINE WIN OVER PEGULA
Olympic champion and 11th seed Belinda Bencic, who reached her maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Flushing Meadows in 2019, eased past local hope Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-4.
1730 SAKKARI DOWNS KVITOVA TO SET UP ANDREESCU CLASH
Greece’s Maria Sakkari caused a minor upset by taking out Czech 10th seed Petra Kvitova 6-4 6-3 to reach the fourth round and set up a meeting with 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, who swept aside Belgium’s Greet Minnen 6-1 6-2.
(Compiled by Dhruv Munjal, Simon Jennings, Anuron Kumar Mitra and Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and William Mallard)
