Roger sizzles, Wozniacki fizzles

New York, September 4

Simona Halep and Stan Wawrinka beat the heat with straight-sets wins to reach the third round of a sweltering US Open while American hope Jack Sock wilted under the punishing conditions, collapsing on court.

Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki played in cooler conditions but was unable to repel a red-hot Petra Cetkovska, the 149th ranked Czech repeating her 2013 Wimbledon upset of the Dane with a 6-4 5-7 7-6(1) win. Cetkovska had looked to be cruising to victory when she led 4-1 in the second set but the injury-prone 30-year-old lost her way and then saved four match points in the decider.

Leading off the night session, Roger Federer was neither troubled by the weather nor his opponent as the Swiss maestro easily dispatched Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-1 6-2 6-1 in just 80 minutes to stay on course for a sixth US Open crown. While Federer barely broke a sweat, players spent a sizzling day session with ice packs draped over their shoulders, chugging on water bottles and searching for shade.

Long day

British hopes Andy Murray and Johanna Konta, however, enjoyed a productive day in the sun as both went the distance to score second round victories.

Third seed Murray appeared frozen to the spot on a broiling afternoon but caught fire when he needed to and rallied for a 5-7 4-6 6-1 6-3 6-1 win over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

Konta, meanwhile, provided the early upset, toiling for three hours and 27 minutes to see off ninth-seeded Spaniard and Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza 7-6(4) 6-7(4) 6-2 in what was the longest women’s match ever at the US Open.

As courtside temperatures pushed past 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Romanian second seed Halep wasted little time finishing off Ukraine qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3 6-4 in 76 minutes before escaping to the air-conditioned comfort of the players’ lounge.

Fifth-seeded Swiss Wawrinka outslugged promising South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon, but still needed three tiebreaks to sweat out a 7-6(2) 7-6(4) 7-6(6) second round decision. Next up for the French Open champion is Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium, who advanced when Sock retired due to cramping while leading 6-4 6-4 3-6 1-2. Australian Sam Stosurlooked ready to make another run at the title as she crushed Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina 6-1 6-1.

It was the end of the road for Lleyton Hewitt, the tenacious Australian dragged kicking and screaming to the Flushing Meadows exit by countryman Bernard Tomic in what was his final US Open. Hewitt went down swinging until the very end, falling 6-3 6-2 3-6 5-7 7-5.

Leander, Sania in Round 2

Leander Paes and Sania Mirza made it to the second round with straight sets win in their respective events. Leander and his Spanish partner Fernansdo Verdasco got the better of Germans Florian Mayer and Frank Moder 6-2 6-3 in the opening round of the men's doubles competition. In the women's doubles, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis dispatched the Americans Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria 6-1 6-2 in the first round. — Reuters

Crashed drone sparks US Open security scare

A drone crashed at the US Open on Thursday, causing a match to be interrupted after it flew over the Flushing Meadows complex. The drone crashed in the corner of the Louis Armstrong Stadium in the latter stages of a clash between Italy’s Flavia Pennetta and Monica Niculescu of Romania. “I feared the drone was a bomb,” Pennetta said. The New York Police Department (NYPD) is conducting an ongoing investigation.

Results: (Men’s Round 2): G Garcia-Lopez (Spain) bt N Mahut (France) 6-4 6-2 6-7(4) 6-1, J Isner (US) bt M Youzhny (Russia) 6-3 6-4 6-4, V Troicki (Serbia) bt R Ram (US) 7-6(10) 6-4 3-6 6, R Gasquet (France) bt R Haase (Netherlands) 4-6 6-3 7-6(4) 6-4, T Berdych (Czech Republic) bt J Melzer (Austria) 7-6(2) 6-1 6-3;

(Women’s Singles Round 2): S Lisicki (Germany) bt C Giorgi (Italy) 6-4 6-0, S Halep (Romania) bt K Bondarenko (Ukraine) 6-3 6-4, A Kerber (Germany) bt K Knapp (Italy) 7-5 6-2,S Errani (Italy) bt J Ostapenko (Latvia) 0-6 6-4 6-3, V Azarenka (Belarus) bt Y Wickmayer (Belgium) 7-5 6-4, A Petkovic (Germany) bt E Vesnina (Russia) 6-3 7-6(4), F Pennetta (Italy) bt M Niculescu (Romania) 6-1 6-4, P Kvitova (Czech Republic) bt N Gibbs (US) 6-3 6-4.

3 hrs and 27 mins 

Johanna Konta beat Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 in what was the longest women’s match in US Open history.