Day four of the US Open saw the current top three seeded men’s side players hang on while the women’s side experienced a few upsets. Top seed Daniil Medvedev won his match on Wednesday while Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz won their matches today. Nadal didn’t get away without a scratch though, receiving a minor injury on the court.
Men’s side
The 22-time Grand Slam winner lost his first set against the Italian Fabio Fognini (rank 60) but managed to recover and win the series 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Fognini blew a double break point to even the breaks in the fourth set, which let Nadal take the win.
However, Nadal sustained an injury in the fourth set after his racquet rebounded off the court and into his face, cutting his nose. After his win against Fognini, Nadal will advance into the third round and face Richard Gasquet (rank 91). Nadal has a 17-0 record against the French player.
Five-time ATP title winner and third seed Alcaraz advanced into the third round of the US Open after a straight set against Federico Coria (rank 78). The Spanish player won the first two sets cleanly with a 6-2, 6-1 score line but Coria fought back hard in the final set. However, Alcaraz managed to win the tie break in the third set, ending the series 7-6. Alcaraz’s next match will be against the American Jenson Tyler Brooksby (rank 43).
A complete performance from Carlos Alcaraz 💪 pic.twitter.com/zgd3ajaLi2
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2022
Women’s side
Women’s number one seed Iga Swiatek will advance into the third round after winning straight sets against Sloane Stephens (rank 51) with a decisive 6-3, 6-2 victory. While Swiatek was the favorite coming into the match, Wednesday’s upsets showed that no victory was guaranteed.
Women’s singles rank two Anett Kontaveit and third seed Maria Sakkari were taken out of the tournament on Wednesday, meaning Swiatek might have an easier time going forward. She displayed a strong showing in her games so far and is one of the favorites to win.
Swiatek’s win is in sharp contrast to number four seed Paula Badosa’s match against Petra Martic (rank 54). While Badosa took the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6, Martic took over the rest of the series. She won the next two sets 6-1 and 6-2 and scored 10 aces to Bardosa’s three to advance to the third round of the US Open. The Croatian player reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2019 and 2020 and will be looking to repeat or exceed her past accomplishments.
Serena and Venus Williams accepted a wild card to participate in the women’s doubles event, playing together for the first time since 2014. With Serena set to retire after the tournament, the US Open was the pair’s last chance to play together at a tournament. Unfortunately, it would be a short-lived run as the sisters lost the first round to the Czechoslovakian duo Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecká 7-6, 6-4.
“I think we did a very good job, and I’m so sorry for you that we beat them, but we are so happy we did it,” said Hradecká in an on-court interview after the match.