Wawrinka Saves A Match Point, Muray Fights At US Open; Nadal, Djokovic Continue Toward SF Showdown
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Stan Wawrinka stayed alive at the US Open by the skin of his teeth saving a match point in a tough win over Briton dan Evans in five sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(8), 6-2.
Evans, who was trying to join countryman Andy Murray and Kyle Edmund in the fourth round, held a match point at 6-5 in the fourth set breaker.
“I was frustrated, for sure, to be down two sets to one because I wasn’t playing my best tennis. But I still had a chance. So I was trying to find the right way, how to keep fighting; how to stay in the match,” Wawrinka said. “He was often coming to the net to try to finish the point. I had to play better, to be a little bit more aggressive.”
Wawrinka will meet Ukranian Illya Marchenko who advanced when 14 seed Nick Kyrgios retired down 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 due to a hip injury.
No. 2 seed Andy Murray has breezed in his first two rounds and after such a strong summer, hopes are high for a big NYC run. Or were high because Saturday the Scot struggled against the very lightly-regarded Paolo Lorenzi in a 4-set win.
Lorenzo had never before won a match against a Top 10 player and never been this deep in a Grand Slam. And after playing for nearly five hours in a win over Gilles Simon late Thursday, there was speculation he might not even be physically able to take the court.
But with Murray far from his best form the Italian took it to World No. 2 for a good part of the match.
Lorenzi served for the first but blew it then served for the second and blew that as well. He didn’t win the breaker but had little to offer after that.
“I expected a tough match,” said Murray. “I expected long rallies. I’m just disappointed with the amount of errors I made. I was quite impatient at times. That cost me in the first and second sets. I worked it out, won, got through, and I didn’t play well. So I’m happy with that.”
Murray moves on to face Grigor Dimitrov who was a winner over Joao Sousa.
“Obviously it’s going to be a great match,” Dimitrov said. “I’m excited to be in the second week. That’s just a good start for me. And, yeah, I mean, I always like my chances when I get to stages like that in a tournament, especially having to play, like, tough matches early on and feeling good and confident. Physically I’m good.”
Juan Martin del Potro continued his summer resurgence easing past 2-time semifinalist Davis Ferrer in three sets.
“I got stronger mentally after the first set. Against David you never know when the match is going to finish. He never gives up,” del Potro said. “It’s a pleasure to play against him because he puts me under pressure all the time. I needed to play my best tennis today.”
Del Potro will meet Dominic Thiem in the next round on Monday. He crushed the Austrian earlier this on the clay.
“He could be the favorite, for sure,” del Potro said. “But all depends on my physically, on my body, on my game. If I play like this today, I will maybe have chance to do a great match against him. But he’s playing really well. He’s very dangerous. His backhand is so good. His movements are really fast. Will be interesting match for me.”
2014 finalist Kei Nishikori overcame a sloppy first set to beat Nicolas Mahut in four sets. And Ivo Karlovic ended the hopes of 19-year-old Jared Donaldson.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal tests Frenchman Lucas Pouille while in the evening it’s Novak Djokovic against Brit Edmund. Djokovic has played just six games since his opening night 4-set win over Jerzy Janowicz.
Remnants of tropical storm Hermine could also be a factor for those matches not in the confines on Ashe. Jack Sock continues his best Slam against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils meets former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
US OPEN SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Arthur Ashe Stadium 11:00 AM Start
Johanna Konta (GBR)[13] vs. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT)
Madison Keys (USA)[8] vs. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
Rafael Nadal (ESP)[4] vs. Lucas Pouille (FRA)[24]
Arthur Ashe Stadium 7:00 PM Start
Petra Kvitova (CZE)[14] vs. Angelique Kerber (GER)[2]
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[1] vs. Kyle Edmund (GBR)
Louis Armstrong Stadium 11:00 AM Start
Roberta Vinci (ITA)[7] vs. Lesia Tsurenko (UKR)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[9] vs. Jack Sock (USA)[26]
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