Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-3 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova on Thursday in the first full match played under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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The sixth-seeded Nishikori beat 20-year-old qualifier Karen Khachanov 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the third round.
Even if it does flare up, Williams has to be considered a strong favorite against her 87th-ranked compatriot King, a wild card she trounced 6-1, 6-0 in their only prior meeting, in the second round of the 2014 US Open. Halep did have issues with her serve in the round two match, but she was aggressive with her return and was solid on the defensive end. Safarova bounced back and got both breaks back to level at 3-3 but Halep broke her two more times to take the first set 6-3. Johanna Larsson booked her spot in last 32 with 6-3, 6-1 win over Denisa Allertova and will take on the victor of top seed Serena Williams and Vania King.
“The worst part of my life is totally in the past”, del Potro said, “and I’m living a good present and looking forward for a good future”.
Simona Halep continues to carry her studies off court into match play.
Men s third seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland faces Italian qualifier Alessandro Giannessi in the first meeting between the two.
On a midweek morning session with the roof closed and a sparse crowd sprinkled through the massive stadium, Arthur Ashe had a vacuous, sterile atmosphere.
Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska faced tough time against Great Britain’s Naomi Broady in the first set as she was 2-5 down and although Radwanska fought back to level at 5-5, she had to save 3 set points in tie-break before winning the tie-break 11-9.
Halep, the only woman in the field with three titles to her credit this season, has won 22 of her last 25 matches since the start of Roland Garros.
“It was a little bit (of an adjustment)”, Halep said about playing under the roof.
The roof, which has been a huge source of fascination for the Flushing Meadows crowds, was first used on Wednesday when it was put into action in the middle of Rafa Nadal’s second-round victory over Andreas Seppi.
“I know it s not nice”, she said.
Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal, which gives Adidas a presence throughout the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. – the headquarters of the organization’s player development efforts – and branding of the USTA’s top-flight junior tournament series and league tennis.
Adidas is the sponsor of such stars as Ana Ivanovic and Angelique Kerber. But with heavy rain lashing NY, organisers kept the roof shut on the 22,000-capacity Ashe arena from the start of play on Thursday. Del Potro, whose ranking dropped to No. 142 because of wrist injuries over the past 2 ½ years, has returned to Grand Slam play this year and made a strong run to the silver medal at the Olympics.
No. 6-seeded Venus Williams will take on Julia Goerges of Germany in the afternoon, followed by No. 1 Serena Williams against Vania King in an all-American matchup to start the night session.
The Wimbledon champ and Olympic gold medalist, No. 2-seeded Andy Murray, is also in action on Ashe, facing Marcel Granollers.
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Murray has won six of seven encounters with Granollers, most recently beating him at the Indian Wells hardcourt Masters in March.
