Reuters
New York, Sept 4: Caroline Wozniacki became the highest seed to fall in the upset-filled women’s draw at the US Open when Czech Petra Cetkovska stunned the Dane 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-1) at Flushing Meadows Thursday.
The upset left only three of the top 10 seeds still alive in the year’s final Grand Slam.
Cetkovska, who has tumbled to a 149th ranking after missing seven months with a hip injury before returning in March, was playing in the Open thanks to a special injury exemption.
She rode a powerful forehand that produced 29 of her 61 winners to victory over Wozniacki, saving four match points held by the Dane – all on winners off her racquet.
“I said it’s now or never, so I just went for it,” she said in an on-court interview about her string of match point saves. “It’s just amazing. So happy to be able to be back and to compete.”
Cetkovska will play Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, a straight sets winner over Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4.
Simona Halep beat the heat with a straight-sets win to reach the third round of a sweltering US Open Thursday.
Halep of Romania wasted little time finishing off Ukraine qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 6-4 in just 76 minutes before escaping to the air-conditioned comfort of the players’ lounge.
Britain’s Johanna Konta delivered the shock of the day but needed three hours and 27 minutes under the blazing sun to complete the upset as she ousted ninth-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-2.
Germany’s Angelique Kerber, the 11th seed, also took the express route into the third round by taming Italian Karin Knapp 7-5, 6-2 while 20th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus was a 7-5, 6-4 winner over Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer.
Australian Samantha Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion looked ready to make another run at the title as she crushed Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina 6-1, 6-1.
Lee, Sania progress
New York: India’s top doubles players, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza made it to the second round of the US Open with straight sets win in their respective events here Thursday. Paes and his Spanish partner Fernansdo Verdasco got the better of Germans Florian Mayer and Frank Moder 6-2, 6-3 while in women’s doubles, the top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair of Sania and Martina Hingis dispatched the Americans Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria 6-1, 6-2.