US Open Day 4 Highlights: Townsend v Ostapenko steals the headlines as Alcaraz, Djokovic, Sabalenka advance
Second round action kicked off on Wednesday with several of the top names moving on
Taylor Townsend, US Open 2024
Image Credit: Zuma / Psnewz
Second round action kicked off on Wednesday at the US Open with most of the top favourites in action making it to the third round. But there was plenty of drama elsewhere to report about in our daily recap.
Townsend v Ostapenko showdown steals the headlines
25th seed Jelena Ostapenko and American Taylor Townsend battled it out on the court in a tense affair on Court 11 which the American won in straight sets. But once the match got over, the real drama started. The pair exchanged several words during the post-match handshake, with Ostapenko telling Townsend that she lacks class and education and the American standing up for herself.
Ostapenko took to social media to explain why she said those things to Townsend, who told the media that she was proud of the way she handled the situation and wouldn’t let anybody disrespect her.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka was among the top seeds moving into the third round as she defeated Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (4), 6-2 while fifth seed Mirra Andreeva, seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, ninth seed Elena Rybakina and 10th seed Emma Navarro also advanced.
Alcaraz, Djokovic move on as Draper pulls out
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz had an easy time into the third round, dropping only four games against Mattia Bellucci while fourth seed Taylor Fritz and seventh seed Novak Djokovic needed four sets each to advance. There was one big name who exited the men’s draw on Wednesday with fifth seed Jack Draper pulling out of the tournament due to an arm injury.
Other Notable Results
Men’s
- Zizou Bergs beat Jack Draper (5): W/O
- Ben Shelton (6) beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the second round
- Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Mattia Bellucci: 6-1, 6-0, 6-3
- Jan-Lennard Struff (Q) beat Holger Rune (11): 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
- Luciano Darderi (32) beat Eliot Spizzirri (WC): 6-0, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-4
- Frances Tiafoe (17) beat Martin Damm (Q): 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (8), 7-5
- Ugo Blanchet (Q) beat Jakub Mensik (16): 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
- Arthur Rinderknech beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (18): 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
- Taylor Fritz (4) beat Lloyd Harris (Q): 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4
- Raphael Collignon beat Casper Ruud (12): 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
- Tomas Machac (21) beat Joao Fonseca: 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3
- Novak Djokovic (7) beat Zachary Svajda (Q): 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
- Jiri Lehecka (20) beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry: 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-4
- Jerome Kym (Q) beat Brandon Nakashima (30): 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8)
Women’s
- Ann Li beat Belinda Bencic (16): 6-3, 6-3
- Marketa Vondrousova beat McCartney Kessler (32): 7-6 (7), 6-2
- Jasmine Paolini (7) beat Iva Jovic: 6-3, 6-3
- Mirra Andreeva (5) beat Anastasia Potapova: 6-1, 6-3
- Elise Mertens (19) beat Lulu Sun: 6-2, 6-3
- Priscilla Hon (Q) beat Liudmila Samsonova (17): 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
- Taylor Townsend beat Jelena Ostapenko (25): 7-5, 6-1
- Elena Rybakina (9) beat Tereza Valentova (Q): 6-3, 7-6 (7)
- Jessica Pegula (4) beat Anna Blinkova: 6-1, 6-3
- Emma Navarro (10) beat Catherine McNally (WC): 6-2, 6-1
- Emma Raducanu beat Janice Tjen (Q): 6-2, 6-1
