With the departure of former world No.1 Wozniacki, the US Open runner-up in 2009 and 2014, the only top-10 seeds remaining in the year’s final Grand Slam tournament from the original draw are top-ranked Serena Williams, Romanian second seed Simona Halep and Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova. But Murray took the third set in just 31 minutes and with Mannarino’s strength fading as he belted five double faults.
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In the second set it was Cetkovska who raced out to a 3-0 lead after breaking Wozniacki twice. Murray will now face Tomaz Bellucci in the next round.
Cetkovska, ranked 149th in the world, has never been past the fourth round of a major tournament and has endured a serious hip injury, for which she had an operation in September previous year. Cetkovska had one last chance to pull off the same feat or find herself out of the US Open. Federer struck 46 winners and 11 aces on his way to the third round where he will meet Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber.
In one of the most thrilling matches to be played in the ladies draw to date the name of Petra Cetkovska would be remembered for eliminating Caroline Wozniacki from the tournament in a three hour plus battle at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Wozniacki had taken a 4-2 lead in the first set before the Czech struck back winning straight four games to win the first set.
Wozniacki was pretty passive in the match, while Cetkovska was the aggressor.
She held one match point while ahead 5-4 in the third set, then three more at 6-5 – each time with Cetkovska serving.
“Caroline’s obtained almost as good a shot as anybody”.
“Those first months it was extremely hard”, she said.
“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. The seventh was a fourth hold for the Dane who had to play three breaks before winning it. Cetkovska had no trouble in the eight holding serve as she pulled off a love service indicating her will to win.
“I want to fight to the end”, she said.
This was Wozniacki’s third second-round loss at a major this season following the Australian and French opens.
Petra Kvitova overcame her German opponent L Siegemund with 6-1, 6-1 and made it to round two. “I was pretty much all-out attack as much as I could”, Federer said after the match.
Watch the US Open at New York on Sky Sports from 4pm all this week.
Pennetta said she heard the drone fly by and was not sure what it was. I assumed at occasions virtually I used to be taking it a bit too critical.
The Czech saw a fight from Wozniacki but began toning it down as her strategy to move the Dane to her left was working wonders.
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It broke into pieces upon landing, and the match was only briefly interrupted between points while police and fire department personnel went to look at it.
