The Latest: Schwartzman wins rain-delayed match at US Open
Aug 31, 2021, 8:15 PM | Updated: Sep 1, 2021, 10:20 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):
1:05 a.m.
Diego Schwartzman has eliminated 2017 runner-up Kevin Anderson at the U.S. Open in a match that started on one court before 7:30 p.m. and finished on another just past 1 a.m. after an interruption caused by heavy rain and winds from remnants of Hurricane Ida.
The 11th-seeded Schwartzman won 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round.
They started at Louis Armstrong Stadium, which has a retractable roof, but the openings created for natural ventilation allowed rain to blow onto the court. So, play was paused at 5-5 in the first set so the surface could be dried. After they resumed, the puddles grew too large at the outset of the second set and so the action was halted again.
Armstrong was deemed unplayable, so the match moved to Arthur Ashe Stadium, where they were able to pick things up again after a break of nearly 2 1/2 hours while another match finished.
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11:35 p.m.
Stefanos Tsitsipas heard boos from the crowd for yet another long trip off court after dropping a set during a second-round victory over Adrian Mannarino.
The third-seeded Tsitsipas hit 27 aces and beat Mannarino 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 with the roof closed at Arthur Ashe Stadium because of heavy rain from remnants of Hurricane Ida on Wednesday night.
Tsitsipas took a toilet break that created an eight-minute delay between the end of the third set and start of the fourth. His return was greeted by fans voicing their displeasure — certainly aware that Tsitsipas was heavily criticized by three-time major champion Andy Murray for lengthy breaks in their match Monday.
Tsitsipas will face 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain for a spot in the fourth round. The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam tournament where the 23-year-old from Greece hasn’t made it that far.
He was the runner-up at the French Open this year and has made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open and the fourth round at Wimbledon.
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10:30 p.m.
Heavy rain that made its way into Louis Armstrong Stadium despite the closing of the retractable roof forced U.S. Open organizers to call off play for the day at that arena.
The match between 2017 runner-up Kevin Anderson and Diego Schwartzman at Armstrong was stopped at 5-all in the first set so the court could be dried.
Play eventually resumed, then was halted again early in the second set. The tournament then decided to shift it to the other arena at the National Tennis Center with a roof, Arthur Ashe Stadium — once the in-progress match in Ashe between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Adrian Mannarino ends.
Wednesday’s last scheduled match in Armstrong, between Angelique Kerber and Anhelina Kalinina, was postponed until Thursday.
The 14,000-seat stadium was updated ahead of the 2018 U.S. Open with a naturally ventilated roof — but the space purposely left between the concourse and the cover allowed the rain to get blown onto the court.
There was a tornado warning in the area, strong wind and areas of flooding around the tournament grounds.
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8:35 p.m.
Sloane Stephens has used her big forehand to take eight of the last 10 games and eliminate 17-year-old Coco Gauff in an all-American matchup at the U.S. Open.
Stephens needed just 66 minutes to claim the second-round contest 6-4, 6-2 under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 2017 U.S. Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up only faced one break point and saved it.
She managed to handle the 21st-seeded Gauff’s big serves and break her three times.
The loud rain pounding on the roof of the arena made it tough to hear the players’ rackets smacking the tennis balls.
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8:30 p.m.
Even a retractable roof is not enough to stop the heavy rain at the U.S. Open.
Play in the second-round match between 2017 runner-up Kevin Anderson and Diego Schwarzman has been delayed because wind is blowing drops through an opening between the concourse and the arena’s cover.
The players left the court at 5-all in the first set and workers are trying to dry the surface.
The U.S. Tennis Association says the area is under a tornado watch with potential for lightning. The USTA also says 30 mph wind is expected.
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6:45 p.m.
Barbora Krejcikova has brought her breakthrough success in Grand Slam singles to the U.S. Open.
The French Open champion never had appeared in the main draw for singles at Flushing Meadows until this week and now she is headed to third round after a 6-3, 6-1 victory over 119th-ranked American Christina McHale.
Their match began on Court 13 and then shifted to Louis Armstrong Stadium — which has a retractable roof — after a heavy downpour arrived in the evening and threatened to wipe out action on the uncovered arenas for the rest of the night.
The eighth-seeded Krejcikova came into 2021 with a pair of Grand Slam doubles championships but only three appearances at majors in singles.
After winning both singles and doubles trophies at Roland Garros, the 25-year-old from the Czech Republic got to the fourth round in her Wimbledon debut before losing to eventual champion Ash Barty and now is one win from matching that in her U.S. Open debut.
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3:35 p.m.
Daniil Medvedev eased into the third round of the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Dominik Koepfer.
The No. 2 seed and 2019 runner-up broke Koepfer’s serve seven times and moved on to play Pablo Andujar of Spain in the next round.
Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev also advanced but 15th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, a semifinalist in the 2019 U.S. Open, retired after losing two tiebreakers and trailing 4-0 in the third set against Alexei Popyrin.
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1:25 p.m.
Simona Halep is into the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time since 2016.
The No. 12 seed rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Kristina Kucova at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where their match was moved after Naomi Osaka’s opponent withdrew from their scheduled match.
Halep has won two Grand Slam titles but struggled at the U.S. Open. She lost in the first round in consecutive appearances in 2017 and 2018 and hadn’t gone past the second round since reaching the quarterfinals in 2016.
She completed her victory under the closed roof while play was suspended again on the outer courts after rain returned.
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12:45 p.m.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Ons Jabeur had quick victories to reach the third round of the U.S. Open.
The ninth-seeded Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion, beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-2. She could next face No. 18 seed Victoria Azarenka, who reached her third U.S. Open final last year.
The 20th-seeded Jabeur routed Maria Camila Osorio Serrano 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka was the first player to reach the third round when opponent Olga Danilovic of Serbia withdrew for medical reasons.
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11:50 a.m.
Play has started on the U.S. Open’s outside courts after they were dried following morning rain.
No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev and 15th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov were among the players who got started late after play was delayed on the courts that aren’t covered.
More rain was expected throughout the day in the New York area on Wednesday.
Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium both have roofs that can be closed.
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11:05 a.m.
Naomi Osaka has advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open after her second-round opponent withdrew for medical reasons.
The defending champion was set to play Olga Danilovic of Serbia in the first match of the day in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The U.S. Tennis Association said the match between women’s No. 12 seed Simona Halep and Kristina Kucova would move to Ashe.
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