Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (world number 3), winner of the tournament in 2022, was eliminated in the second round of the US Open tennis tournament by Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (world number 74) 6-1, 7-5, 6-4. Sinner has already qualified for the third round.
Italian tennis continues to live a golden moment and our champions continue to give us great satisfaction by establishing a new record: it had never happened before that in the US Open four tennis players (six with women) reached the third round. Crossing the threshold of the third round, in addition to Jannik Sinner, are Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli, Lorenzo Musetti, Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.
The South Tyrolean world number 1 thrashes the American boy Alex Michelsen 6-4 6-0 6-2 and enters the third round. With him also Matteo Arnaldi and Fabio Cobolli who reach Lorenzo Musetti. In the women’s field it is the evergreen Sara Errani who, at 37 years old, returns to the third round on the hard court of Flushing Meadows after nine years together with her Olympic gold medalist companion Jasmine Paolini, who instead passes the second round in the US Slam for the first time in her career (without playing due to the withdrawal of her opponent, Karolina Pliskova).
It took Sinner just an hour and forty minutes to overcome the Winston-Salem finalist (beaten by Lorenzo Sonego) Alex Michelsen, in a match that, after a first set in which he did not express himself at his best, saw the number one win fourteen of the last sixteen games: 6-4 6-0 6-2 the final result. For Sinner, the next obstacle will be the Australian Christopher O’Connell, who got the better of Mattia Bellucci 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3: for the 23-year-old from Busto Arsizio, after having shortened the gap in the third set, a double fault was fatal, which was worth the decisive break in the fourth set.
Arnaldi also advanceswho against Roman Safiullin always appeared to be in control of the match, even overcoming a moment of decline in the second set, in which he suffered a counter break, immediately returning the favor to the Russian for the final 6-2 6-4 6-4 with only three break points conceded in the entire match.
Even Flavio Cobolli reached the third round of the US Open. The 22-year-old Florentine beat Belgian Zizou Bergs in four hard-fought sets by 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-3
There is also good news from the women’s draw, where Sara Errani continues on the heels of an extraordinary season and returns to play the third round of the US Open nine years after the last time: she beat the American Caroline Dolehide with a 7-5 7-5 that saw the Italian veteran recover a disadvantage before stringing together a partial of five games to one. The second set certified the growth of Errani, always in control with her numerous variations of play to put the home tennis player in difficulty, who with the double fault in the twelfth game gives the match into the hands of the Romagna player. The next opponent will be the eighteen-year-old Diana Shnaider, beaten in the match that was worth the gold in doubles at Paris 2024.
And speaking of double, Jasmine Paolini also did wellErrani’s partner on the clay of Roland Garros: for the world number 5, the first time in her career in the third round on the New York cement comes after just six minutes of the match against Karolina Pliskova, who retired due to an ankle injury that appears serious. The next obstacle for Paolini will be Yulia Putintseva.
Out finally Elisabetta Cocciaretto who after winning the first set, however, gave in, also due to some problems with her right knee, to the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenova, number 25 in the draw, with the score of 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.