Key events
Sabalenka is asked how she’s coping with the pressure and expectation: “I’m trying to focus on myself, shut down the noise from outside. I know that way I’ll have my chances, and can bring my best level of tennis.”
ShareAryna Sabalenka beats Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4
Sabalenka serves out to complete a very solid victory. She wasn’t perfect and was tested by her opponent, particularly in the second set – but ultimately never looked like losing.
Jessica Pegula is holding on in the second set at 2-2, with Fernandez missing a chance to break at 30-40. Still a lot of work for the No 3 seed to do.
Back on Louis Armstrong, Rakhimova has been digging in, holding serve to 4-4 – but from 40-0 up, she swings the door wide open for Sabalenka, who rattles off five points in a row to break and lead 6-3, 5-4. She’ll serve for the match …
ShareMarta Kostyuk beats Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2
A dominant display from Kostyuk, who skips the post-match handshake with her Russian opponent. The Ukrainian has spoken passionately about the conflict many times before, but here she’s asked about fashion and being a “dog mom” instead.
ShareSorana Cirstea beats Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-3
The Romanian missed one match point but converted the next to see off her error-prone opponent. Cirstea is 36 and will retire after this season, but she’s arguably never played better. She’s into the fourth round here for only the second time in his career.
Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. Photograph: Jerry Lai/IMAGN IMAGES/ReutersShare
Updated at 12.39 EDT
Cirstea breaks Paolini again and will serve for the match at 5-3 up in the second, while Kostyuk keeps the pedal to the metal, breaking Alexandrova to move one game away.
With four women’s third-round matches currently taking place, let’s look at how the draw might pan out. Sabalenka would face Taylor Townsend or Diana Shnaider next, with Kostyuk and Linda Noskova also in her quarter.
Pegula or Fernandez will face Paolini or Cirstea in the fourth round, in a quarter that also includes Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchova. Potential last-16 blockbusters in the bottom half of the draw include Osaka v Rybakina and Coco Gauff against either Iva Jovic or Alexandra Eala.
Kostyuk rediscovers the accelerator, reeling off four straight games to lead 6-3, 4-2 – and the finish line is in sight for the Ukrainian. Jasmine Paolini was up by a break in the second set, but Cirstea has hit back and leads the match 6-3, 3-3.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/APShare
Updated at 12.21 EDT
Pegula is in trouble against Fernandez, who leads 5-1 after breaking the No 3 seed for a second time. Pegula is looking low on energy and ideas so far.
Sabalenka escapes a spot of bother on serve, and leads Rakhimova 6-3, 1-1. The defending champion also spoke to the umpire about the smell of cannabis drifting into the Louis Armstrong Stadium from outside. Not entirely sure what the umpire can do, but it’s been a persistent problem at the US Open.
Updated at 12.05 EDT
Alexandrova has bounced back at the start of the second set, breaking Kostyuk to lead it 2-0 after losing the first set 6-3. Fernandez moved 3-0 up and put pressure on the Pegula serve, but the No 3 seed has battled to get a game on the board.
Leylah Fernandez has broken Pegula early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first. You might recall that Fernandez was Emma Raducanu’s opponent in the 2021 US Open final; since losing that match, the Canadian has only gone past the third round at a slam once (the 2022 French Open, where she made the quarter-finals) but has won five WTA Tour titles and is a consistent presence in the world’s top 30. So which career path would you prefer: hers or Raducanu’s?
Leylah Fernandez Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 12.19 EDT
Sabalenka takes the first set 6-3, remaining dominant against an opponent who is playing decent stuff. Marta Kostyuk also claims the first set 6-3 over Alexandrova, while Sorana Cirstea has claimed the opener against Paolini by the same score. That feels like an upset, even though Cirstea is seeded higher – No 16 to Paolini’s 19.
First up on Ashe: it’s Jessica Pegula v Leylah Fernandez.
It’s quite fun picturing Monfils working on the accounts, getting deep in a hole before stylishly producing the goods after a four-hour tussle. Are there any other tennis legends who have taken an office job after retiring? Or any other vocation away from sport? Drop me a line with your suggestions.
Updated at 11.39 EDT
Gaël Monfils played his last grand slam singles match last night, and he isn’t planning to stay in tennis after retirement. “I have a new chapter coming next year. I will work in finance,” he told reporters. “I already signed to work in wealth management in a Swiss company. So my next chapter … working in an office.”
“I will always have a look on tennis, because I love the sport. My wife’s playing. I don’t think, you know, this next year I will do so much about tennis,” Monfils added. “But, you know, I’ll be around definitely no matter what for Elina [Svitolina, his wife] a little bit, but I will be more of a finance guy.”
Rakhimova is hanging on in the first set, grinding out a hold when Sabalenka mishits. It’s a rare error from the No 1 seed, who has looked close to her relentless best today. She leads 4-2 in the first.
On the Grandstand court, Marta Kostyuk has also broken at the first time of asking against Ekaterina Alexandrova. Elsewhere, Jasmine Paolini began with an early break but has been pegged back by Sorana Cirstea; the Italian leads 2-1 on serve.
Aryna Sabalenka is up and running, quickly breaking Kamilla Rakhimova to lead 2-0 in the first set. Rakhimova, the world No 92, showed plenty of fight in the first round, though, saving match points before beating Barbora Krejcikova.
Here’s what happened yesterday:
SharePreamble
The third round gets under way today in New York, pitting seeded players against each other for the first time. The draw is about to really take shape, and there are some intriguing matches coming up. Here’s the order of play this afternoon.
Arthur Ashe Stadium (from 11.30am local/4.30pm BST)
(3) Jessica Pegula v Leylah Fernandez (31)
Yibing Wu v Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Night session: Venus/Serena v Chan/Joint, Shelton v Shaparov
Louis Armstrong Stadium (from 11am/4pm)
(1) Aryna Sabalenka v Kamilla Rakhimova
(15) Alexander Bublik v Tommy Paul (20)
Night session: Vacharot v Tiafoe, Svitolina v Kalinskaya
Grandstand (from 11am/4pm)
(11) Marta Kostyuk v Ekaterina Alexandrova (18)
(7) Daniil Medvedev v Arthur Rinderknech (26)
(26) Emma Navarro v Karolina Muchova (7)
(18) Jiri Lehecka v Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stadium 17 (from 11am/4pm)
(19) Jasmine Paolini v Sorena Cirstea (16)
Taylor Townsend v Diana Shnaider (15)
(29) Ann Li v Linda Noskova (6)
Alex Michelsen v Daniel Merida
Updated at 10.25 EDT