Russians Medvedev, Rublev ease into round three at US Open; Tsitsipas wins in four

Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev booked their places in the third round of the US Open on Wednesday with comfortable victories.

Second seed Medvedev outclassed Germany’s Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 and though Rublev dropped a set he never looked in real danger of defeat as he beat Spain’s Pedro Martinez 7-6 (2), 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1.

When they met at the US Open two years ago, Medvedev beat Koepfer in a fourth-set tiebreaker. The world No 57 had pushed Roger Federer to five sets at this year’s Roland-Garros but this time the Russian was in a different class as he set up a clash with Pablo Andujar of Spain.

“Completely different match than two years ago,” Medvedev said. “Hopefully it’s going to be the same story or even better, after I beat him last time. Great level from me, there were a few tight moments which I managed to play well, which is why I think at some moments his level dropped a little. Happy to be through in less than two hours.”

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Rublev too good for Martinez

The Russian looked like he was in for a testing encounter when world No 75 Martinez snatched the second set but Rublev moved up a couple of levels in the third and fourth to clinch a convincing victory. He will play Frances Tiafoe in round three after the American beat Guido Pella 6-1, 6-2, 7-5.

No 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime moved on after beating Bernabe Zapate Miralles 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-2 and 18th seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain saw off Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. And Spanish youngster Carlos Alcaraz continues to impress, beating Arthur Rinderknech in four sets to reach the third round.

There was a defeat for 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov, though, the Bulgarian retiring with a foot injury when trailing Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 4-0.

Tsitipas overcomes Mannarino in four sets

In the evening session match on Arthur Ashe Stadium, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame the loss of the third set in a tiebreak to defeat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino and advance to the third round.

Tsitsipas won 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-0 in two hours and 43 minutes, serving a career-best 27 aces in the match. The Greek, who has been in the eye of a storm due to his controversial bathroom break in the previous round against Andy Murray, took a bathroom break after losing the third set.

As Tsitsipas returned to a booing crowd, he managed to keep the focus on his tennis and whitewash his opponent in the fourth set. He will next meet young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. The 18-year-old is through to the last 32 in a Grand Slam for the first time in his career after a 7-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Arthur Rinderknech.

The win also marked the tour-leading 50th win for the Greek in 2021.

The 11th seed Diego Schwartzman was the last winner of the day as the Argentine defeated former finalist Kevin Anderson 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their rain-delayed encounter.

FULL SUMMARY OF WEDNESDAY’S ACTION AT THE US OPEN

• Seeds winning on Wednesday at the US Open (2nd round): Daniil Medvedev (2), Stefanos Tsitsipas (3), Andrey Rublev (5), Diego Schwartzman (11), Felix Auger-Aliassime (12), Roberto Bautista Agut (18), Dan Evans (24)
• Seeds losing on Wednesday at the US Open (2nd round): Casper Ruud (8), Grigor Dimitrov (15), Cristian Garin (16)
• To follow our full coverage of the 2021 US Open, please visit this page.
• To follow live results, to see the men’s draw and women’s draw, we recommend you follow the official US Open website.
• Tomorrow’s programme at the US Open is available here (and by the way, today’s schedule is here).
• All the practical information – how to watch the tournament, how to buy tickets and everything else you could possibly need to know – is hopefully in this page.

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