US Open Lookahead: Osaka takes Slam win streak to 3rd round

LOOKAHEAD TO FRIDAY

Naomi Osaka has won 16 straight Grand Slam matches as she takes on 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the U.S. Open. Osaka caught a break when her last opponent withdrew from their scheduled match and she rolled into the third round. Fernandez was one of five teenagers to reach the second round. Osaka, the defending champion, is in pursuit of her fifth career Grand Slam trophy. No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka also is in action, and the three-time U.S. Open finalist Victoria Azarenka (2012, 2013, 2020) takes on Garbiñe Muguruza in a showdown between two women with two Slam titles apiece. No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 runner-up, faces Pablo Andújar. Medvedev is trying to take the next step and win his first Grand Slam title. He’s yet to drop a set. Henri Laaksonen plays Peter Gojowczyk in a match between two of the five qualifiers who reached the third round.

FRIDAY’S FORECAST

Mostly sunny. High of 75 Fahrenheit (24 Celsius)

THURSDAY’S WEATHER

Sunny. High of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius).

THURSDAY’S KEY RESULTS

Women’s Second Round: No. 1 Ash Barty beat Clara Tauson 6-1, 7-5; No. 6 Bianca Andreescu beat Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-4; No. 7 Iga Swiatek beat Fiona Fero 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0; No. 10 Petra Kvitova beat Kristyna Pliskova 7-6 (7), 6-2 ; No. 11 Belinda Bencic defeated Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1; No. 16 Angelique Kerber beat Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-2.

Men’s Second Round: No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3, 6-2; No. 4 Alexander Zverev beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-0, 6-3; No. 17 Gael Monfils beat Steve Johnson 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; No. 22 Reilly Opelka beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (1), 7-5, 6-4; Jenson Brooksby beat Taylor Fritz 6-7 (7), 7-6 (10), 7-5, 6-2.

STAT OF THE DAY

5 — Number of qualifiers to reach the third round in the men's singles draw, the most at the U.S. Open since 1984. It's also the most at any Grand Slam tournament since there were six at the 2011 French Open.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I was the first man in 785 years to lose a U.S. Open final from two sets to love up.” — Alexander Zverev, exaggerating slightly about his loss in last year's final against Dominic Thiem.

IMAGE: AP