The second round at the US Open 2023 is complete, and unlike the bottom half of the draw, all the top seeds made serene progress on Thursday.
Carlos Alcaraz kept his title defence bid well and truly alive with a routine win over Lloyd Harris. At the same time, Jannik Sinner increased the likelihood of the two meeting in the quarter-finals with a destructive win over Lorenzo Sonego.
The only real casualty of the day was Hubert Hurkacz, whom Jack Draper defeated in straight sets. Draper would be a handful even at the best of times, but with the Pole seemingly suffering from illness like others in the draw, he was nowhere near the required level.
Stan Wawrinka removed 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry with a hard-fought four-set win. I like the way Stan is playing, and it will be interesting to see if he can compete with Jannik Sinner in the last round. The Italian proved much too good in their previous meeting at Indian Wells this year.
Day 4 US Open 2023 Round of 64 Results
Winner
Loser
Scoreline
Carlos Alcaraz (1)
Lloyd Harris
6-3 6-1 7-6(4)
Daniil Medvedev (3)
Christopher O’Connell
6-2 6-2 6-7(6) 6-2
Jannik Sinner (6)
Lorenzo Sonego
6-4 6-2 6-4
Andrey Rublev (8)
Gael Monfils
6-4 6-3 3-6 6-1
Alexander Zverev (12)
Daniel Altmaier
7-6(1) 3-6 6-4 6-3
Alex de Minaur (13)
Yibing Wu
6-1 6-2 6-1
Cameron Norrie (16)
Yu Hsiou Hsu (Q)
7-5 6-4 6-4
Jack Draper
Hubert Hurkacz (17)
6-2 6-4 7-5
Grigor Dimitrov (19)
Andy Murray
6-3 6-4 6-1
Nicolas Jarry (23)
Alex Michelsen (WC)
4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3
Daniel Evans (26)
Botic van de Zandschulp
1-6 6-1 6-3 6-3
Stan Wawrinka
Tomas Martin Etcheverry (30)
7-6(6) 6-7(7) 6-3 6-2
Matteo Arnaldi
Arthur Fils
3-6 7-5 7-6(5) 5-7 6-4
Sebastian Baez
Felipe Meligeni Alves (Q)
6-7(7) 6-4 6-4 (RET)
Michael Mmoh (WC)
John Isner (WC)
3-6 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 7-6(7)
Arthur Rinderknech
Matteo Berrettini
6-4 5-3 (RET)
Dimitrov Dispatches Murray
Andy Murray claimed to be in the best form of his career since 2017 after his first-round win over Corentin Moutet, but it wasn’t enough to take him past Grigor Dimitrov as the 19th seed dominated with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 win in two hours and 45 minutes.
After some lengthy opening games, Dimitrov pulled away to win the all-important first set, and from there, he was the more energetic of the two, dictating points with his forehand and using the slice effectively on the defensive.
I’m very happy with the performance today—I was expecting, honestly, five sets. I was constantly trying to remind myself that I’m here for the long haul. That first set was the key. After that, I kind of settled in a little bit more. We know what we’re going to do with Andy—we’ve played multiple times. He’s a tremendous competitor, an amazing guy, as well. In a way, there were a few points that leaned toward my side, but I’m very happy with the fight. Dimitrov on his win over Murray.
Isner Bows Out with Five-Set Loss to Mmoh
The big-serving American announced last week that the US Open would be his final tournament, and he finished his career with a 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(7) second-round loss to fellow American Michael Mmoh on Grandstand.
It looked as though Big John would be sticking around until at least the weekend when he moved up two sets to love, but his wildcard opponent, who’s bagged some decent wins this season, hit back, winning a rather fitting fifth set break to pull the curtain down on one of the game’s best servers who produced some quality matches over the years.
It’s a range of emotion. There’s, of course, a lot of disappointment with the result of my singles match today, but at the same time a lot of gratitude, as well, just to have one last time playing in an atmosphere like that. It was very cool.” As I said on the court, that’s why I work so hard. Hard to explain how bad my body feels. I’m not talking right now, because, yeah, it does, but just in general lately. So, everything I do to get it ready to play, there’s a lot that goes into it. Isner on the final match of his career.
Medvedev Overcomes Third Set Blip to Defeat O’Connell
Daniil Medvedev ended the day’s play on Louis Armstrong Stadium at 1:09 a.m. with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-2 victory over Christopher O’Connell.
The Russian dominated the opening two sets, but the third set went awry. After holding a 3-1 lead and a breakpoint for 4-1, he ended up in a tiebreak after failing to capitalise on five break points.
Although he had two match points at 6-4 in the tiebreak, he made crucial mistakes, including double faults on match point and set point for O’Connell.
O’Connell then had momentum and crowd support, but Medvedev secured a pivotal break to lead 3-1, then overcame a 15-40 deficit to reach 5-2 and eventually clinched the victory with his eighth break.
Tough match. I don’t know why, but one moment in the match he decided to play better. I played the same from the first ball to the last. It became tougher for me. It became much tougher. I’m happy that I was able to still hang in there. I had opportunities in the third set, and I managed to use them in the fourth. Medvdedev on his win over O’Connell.
Other Matches of Note
Fragile Berrettini Retires: A rolled ankle for Berrettini prevents him from continuing against Rinderknech. Will he ever not be injured?
Sinner Saild Past Sonego: Sinner looks solid as he cruised by his fellow countryman Sonego, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Wawrinka Edges Etcheverry: A tough match that lasted over 3 hours, but Wawrinka prevailed, 7-6(8), 6-7(9), 6-3, 6-2. It was another solid win, and he has started to find some form after his final in Umag.
Draper Denies Hurkacz: The Brit has had a tough year with a shoulder problem, but his heavy game has a huge upside, and it was too much for an ailing Hurkacz. Another player suffering from a marked decrease in immunity to heterologous pathogens?
Alcaraz Aces Harris: Carlos Alcaraz continued his bid to become the first man to successfully defend the US Open since Roger Federer with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4) win over Lloyd Harris.
US Open 2023 Round of 32 Matches
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Daniel Evans (26)
Matteo Arnaldi vs Cameron Norrie (16)
Alexander Zverev (12) vs Grigor Dimitrov (19)
Stan Wawrinka vs Jannik Sinner (6)
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs Sebastian Baez
Nicolas Jarry (23) vs Alex de Minaur (13)
Michael Mmoh (WC) vs Jack Draper
Arthur Rinderknech vs Andrey Rublev (8)
Zhizhen Zhang vs Rinky Hijikata (WC)
Adrian Mannarino vs Frances Tiafoe (10)
Tommy Paul (14) vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21)
Ben Shelton vs Aslan Karatsev
Dominic Stricker (Q) vs Benjamin Bonzi (WC)
Jakub Mensik (Q) vs Taylor Fritz (9)
Bonra Gojo (Q) vs Jiri Vesely
Laslo Djere vs Novak Djokovic (2)
Who has impressed you at the 2023 US Open so far?