By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer
NEW YORK — For the second contest in a row at this U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic appeared a bit sluggish, a bit off, for a stretch. This time, he even dropped the opening set. And then, as always at Flushing Meadows, the 24-time Grand Slam champion progressed to the third round.
Djokovic improved to 36-0 across the first and second rounds in New York, a place where he’s won four championships, by coming back to beat 145th-ranked American qualifier Zachary Svajda, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, on Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I really tried to soak it in and enjoy the moment, especially when I won the first set,” said Svajda, a 22-year-old from San Diego. “It kind of shocked me. I was like, ‘Wow!’”
Asked on court afterward how he felt in his first competition since losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinals on July 11 while hindered by a groin injury, Djokovic replied: “Not that great, to be honest.”
Svajda noticed.
“He was missing a little bit,” said Svajda, who got cramps in his legs and arms as the match wore on. “He was getting a little frustrated.”
At his news conference later, the 38-year-old Djokovic spoke a little more about his mood.
“It’s not a motivation thing. It’s just like me a bit frustrated with my game, and then I kind of go through stuff internally that – you don’t want to know the details what I’m going through and telling myself,” he explained after getting to the third round at a major for the 75th time, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most such appearances by a man.
“I’m just trying to be locked in. Just trying to solve the riddle once I’m on the court,” Djokovic continued. “It’s not like I’m not finding joy on the court competing. I enjoy competing, but I don’t enjoy not playing well. That’s why I put extra pressure on myself and my team to be better the next day, the next match.”
That will come against Cam Norrie, a British left-hander who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2022 and is 0-6 against Djokovic.
Norrie got past Francisco Comesana of Argentina, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (0), 7-6 (4), in four hours and now it’s his turn to face the task that Svajda did Wednesday against Djokovic.
“He does everything so well, which is incredible,” Svajda said. “I was talking to my team and coaches before, trying to figure it out. It’s Novak Djokovic, so there’s not a big weakness.”
TOWNSEND, OSTAPENKO HAVE HEATED POST-MATCH EXCHANGE
Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got into a face-to-face argument on the Court 11 sideline right after Townsend won their second-round match, 7-5, 6-1.
Townsend, an American who is ranked No. 1 in doubles, said Ostapenko, a Latvian, who won the 2017 French Open, told her she has “no class” and “no education.”
A reporter asked Townsend, who is Black, whether she thought there were racial undertones to those comments.
“I didn’t take it in that way, but also, you know, that has been a stigma in our community of being ‘not educated’ and all of the things, when it’s the furthest thing from the truth,” Townsend responded.
“So whether it had racial undertones or not, that’s something she can speak on,” Townsend said. “The only thing that I’m worried about right now is continuing to move forward through this tournament.”
Ostapenko later posted on social media about “how many messages I received that I am a racist.”
“I was NEVER racist in my life and I respect all nations of people in the world. For me it doesn’t matter where you come from,” she wrote.
After the two players met at the net for a post-match handshake, they stayed near each other instead of going their separate ways, as usually happens. The 25th-seeded Ostapenko wagged a finger at Townsend as they spoke.
“It’s competition,” Townsend said. “People get upset when they lose.”
When they finally stopped talking, Townsend went over to the stands and egged on the partisan crowd, waving her arm overhead and the noise from spectators only grew louder.
She and Ostapenko have faced each other before in both singles and doubles.
“There’s never been any history. I don’t know how she feels about me, but there’s no beef on my side,” Townsend said. “She told me I have no education, no class, and to see what happens if we play each other outside of the U.S. I said, ‘I’m excited. Bring it.’ I’ve never been the one to back down from anything like that.”
Ostapenko went on social media to post what she called, “Just a small update about the match.”
She wrote that Townsend was “disrespectful” for not saying “sorry” after being helped by a net cord during a point.
“There are some rules in tennis which most of the players follow and it was (the) first time ever that this happened to me on tour,” Ostapenko posted. “If she plays in her homeland, it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants.”
Ostapenko also complained that Townsend began warming up before the match up at the net, instead of back at the baseline. While most players do begin at the baseline, Townsend noted that she has started with volleying for years.
Ostapenko has gotten into kerfuffles with opponents during matches before, including in 2021 when she lost to Alja Tomljanovic at Wimbledon. Tomljanovic accused Ostapenko of lying about needing to leave the court for a medical timeout to address an abdominal issue.
Townsend recently moved to the top of the WTA doubles rankings. But this is her first time reaching the third round in singles at a Grand Slam tournament since 2023.
In singles, Townsend is No. 139. She is the lowest-ranked American woman to beat a past Grand Slam champion in singles at a major since Kristie Ahn defeated – guess who? – Ostapenko at the 2019 U.S. Open.
“The thing that I’m the most proud of is that I let my racket talk. Because ultimately, I’m the one here, sitting in front of you guys, moving on to the next round, getting the next check, moving on, being able to still be here and speak to you guys, and that’s what’s the most important,” Townsend said Wednesday. “She’s packed up and she’s gone.”
FRITZ, TIAFOE, SHELTON LEAD AMERICAN MEN
American Taylor Fritz overcame a tough test from Lloyd Harris to reach the third round and continue his dominant summer stretch.
The fourth-seeded Fritz, last year’s U.S. Open runner-up, recovered from dropping the opening set to advance, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4.
He was 0 for 8 on break point opportunities in the first two sets, then converted five of seven in the last two.
“I’ve known Lloyd forever. He’s dangerous because he’s solid from the back,” said Fritz, a Rancho Palos Verdes resident. “He doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, and he has a very good serve, so it’s one of those if you’re not on, it’s very easy to kind of just – I mean, what happened in the first, you know, I had some chances to break. He played well to save the break points.”
Fritz was soon joined in the third round by No. 17 seed Frances Tiafoe, who took down another American, 21-year-old Martin Damm Jr., 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (8), 7-5.
Tiafoe won 86% of his first serve points and saved all three break points he faced while firing 13 aces to only one double-fault.
“He battled incredibly well,” Tiafoe said of Damm, the son of former tour pro and 2006 U.S. Open doubles champion Martin Damm Sr. “He’s going to be a nightmare for a lot of guys.”
Since the start of 2020, Tiafoe has won 22 U.S. Open matches, second only to Daniil Medvedev (25).
Fritz, meanwhile, is 23-5 since the conclusion of the French Open, the most tour-level wins by anybody on the men’s tour in that span. Right behind him is fellow American Ben Shelton (20-6), who defeated unseeded Pablo Carreno Busta, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, in the second round in the night session at Louis Armstrong.
Fritz and Shelton are battling to be the top-ranked American man at the conclusion of the tournament; with less points to defend, Shelton would have to reach the round of 16 and advance one round beyond Fritz to overtake him in the rankings.
Up next for Fritz is Swiss qualifier Jerome Kym, who beat American Brandon Nakashima, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8). The 30th seed came up short in his bid to become the fourth man to win multiple deciding-set tiebreaks in a single U.S. Open since they were introduced in 1970.
Another American to fall Wednesday was Marcos Giron, who was on the receiving end of a massive comeback by Benjamin Bonzi on the heels of his eventful first-round win against Medvedev. Bonzi, a 29-year-old Frenchman, rallied from a two-set deficit to eliminate Giron, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
American Eliot Spizzirri also lost, 6-0, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-4, to No. 32 seed Luciano Darderi of Italy.
ALCARAZ WINS EASILY
Carlos Alcaraz’s accidental buzz cut is moving on thanks to an easy-as-can-be victory Wednesday night, a year after he lost at that stage in the Grand Slam tournament.
The second-seeded Alcaraz – who shaved his head after his brother messed up his hair – needed a little more than 90 minutes to beat 65th-ranked Mattia Bellucci of Italy, 6-1, 6-0, 6-3, under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Alcaraz never faced a break point and accumulated a 32-11 advantage in winners. All in all, a far cry from what happened in the second round at Flushing Meadows in 2024.
Alcaraz went into that one on a 15-match unbeaten run at major tournaments – thanks in large part to titles at the French Open and Wimbledon – but came out on the wrong end of a straight-set defeat against Botic van de Zandschulp.
There never was a chance of that sort of stunner against Bellucci.
“Yeah, I played great, to be honest,” said Alcaraz, who earned the first of his five Grand Slam titles at the U.S. Open in 2022. “Today wasn’t his day. I tried to make the most of his mistakes.”
He and top-ranked Jannik Sinner have combined to win the past seven major trophies.
PEGULA, NAVARRO INTO THIRD ROUND
American Jessica Pegula, last year’s U.S. Open runner-up, needed just 64 minutes to get past Anna Blinkova, 6-1, 6-3, and advance to the third round for a sixth consecutive year.
Since the start of 2021, the fourth-seeded Pegula has amassed 32 match wins at hard-court majors, third most among women behind world No. 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka (51) and No. 2 Iga Swiatek (36).
Pegula, 31, has dropped only eight games in two matches, tied for her fewest en route to the third round of a major in her career; this year’s U.S. Open marks her 16th third-round appearance at a Slam.
She will have her work cut out for her in the next round, as she faces two-time Australian Open champion and former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who is unseeded for the tournament.
The 36-year-old Azarenka, a three-time U.S. Open finalist, earned her 100th career match win at a hard-court major by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-3. She became the fifth woman to reach that mark, alongside Serena Williams (200), Venus Williams (133), Steffi Graf (120) and Lindsay Davenport (118).
“Vika is always really tough,” Pegula said. “I know she hasn’t been playing that much, and she’s been hurt and all these things, but … when she’s on, she’s probably one of the best baseliners we’ve ever had, especially in the women’s game, that I can remember.”
This will be the seventh meeting between Pegula and Azarenka; they’ve split their previous six matches.
“I feel like I kind of know her pretty well, and I think we know each other’s games really well,” Pegula said. “We also practice quite a few times, more back home because we live close to each other. There’s definitely no secrets.”
In the night session, top-seeded Sabalenka rolled into the third round, easily defeating Polina Kudermetova, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Joining Pegula and Sabalenka in advancing to the second round was 10th seed Emma Navarro, who defeated Caty McNally, 6-2, 6-1, in an all-American matchup. Up next for Navarro is a rematch with two-time Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova, whom she eliminated at Wimbledon where Krejcikova was the defending champion.
In other women’s singles results, Britain’s Emma Raducanu won her second-round match, 6-2, 6-1, against Janice Tjen, who in the previous round became the first Indonesian player to win a Grand Slam singles match in 22 years. Raducanu has dropped only six games in this tournament, by far her fewest through the first two rounds of a major in her career. Her previous lowest was when she won the 2021 U.S. Open and dropped 11 games through two rounds.
Alexandra Eala, who made history in the first round by becoming the first player representing the Philippines to win a Grand Slam match in the Open era, saw her New York run ended by Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, 6-4, 6-3.
Seeded players Elena Rybakina (9), Elise Mertens (19) and Mirra Andreeva (5) all won in straight sets, while No. 17 Liudmila Samsonova was ousted by Priscilla Hon.
Later Wednesday, Belinda Bencic, the 16th seed, was upset by American Ann Li, 6-3, 6-3. Another American, the 32nd-seeded McCartney Kessler, lost to Marketa Vondrousova, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
In the night session, No. 7 Jasmine Paolini cruised past 17-year-old American Iva Jovic, 6-3, 6-3, on Louis Armstrong. Paolini, who is from Italy, has now made the third round or better in seven of the past eight majors dating back to the start of last year. Prior to that, she had never been past the second round at any Slam and had a 4-16 record.
MEDVEDEV FINED FOR OUTBURST
Daniil Medvedev was fined a total of $42,500 by the U.S. Open on Wednesday – more than a third of his $110,000 tournament prize money – for his meltdown during a first-round loss after a photographer wandered onto the court during the match.
Tournament referee Jake Garner docked Medvedev $30,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and another $12,500 for racket abuse. When the match ended, Medvedev repeatedly smacked a racket against his sideline chair, destroying the equipment.
Medvedev, a former top-ranked player who won the championship at Flushing Meadows in 2021, was angered on Sunday night when chair umpire Greg Allensworth decided to allow opponent Benjamin Bonzi another first serve after the bizarre interruption.
Bonzi was a point from winning while leading 5-4 in the third set when the photographer – whose credential was later revoked – began walking along the side of the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium just after a fault.
Allensworth told the photographer to get off the court, then announced that Bonzi would get another first serve because of the delay. Medvedev approached the official to complain, and that is when things got wild. The crowd began booing and chanted, “Second serve!” In all, play was held up for more than six minutes as Medvedev riled up the fans and insulted Allensworth.
“He wants to go home, guys. He doesn’t like to be here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour,” Medvedev shouted into the microphones behind the chair.
When order was restored, Medvedev wound up taking that set – and the fourth, too. But Bonzi eventually wound up winning, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 0-6, 6-4.
It was Medvedev’s third consecutive Grand Slam loss in the first round, including last month at Wimbledon against Bonzi.
DRAPER WITHDRAWS
Jack Draper, a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2024 and the No. 5 seed this year, withdrew from the tournament with an injury.
He was scheduled for a second-round match against Zizou Bergs, who advanced to the third round by walkover.
Draper hadn’t played since a second-round loss at Wimbledon and the left-hander said before singles play began in this tournament that he had been battling a painful bone bruise in his upper arm that bothered him when he hit serves or forehands.
The British player then beat qualifier Federico Agustin Gomez of Argentina in four sets in his first-round match on Monday, saying afterward that he wasn’t able to serve with his normal power.
“I tried my very best to be here and give myself the every chance to play but the discomfort in my arm has become (too) much and I have to do what is right and look after myself,” Draper wrote on social media.
Draper had reached at least the third round in all three previous appearances at the U.S. Open. Last year he became the first man since Daniil Medvedev in 2020 to reach the semifinals without dropping a set before losing to eventual champion Sinner.
WHO IS SCHEDULED TO PLAY THURSDAY?
Past U.S. Open champions Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are in Ashe, as is No. 14 seed Tommy Paul.