Large-hitting Frances Tiafoe and former finalist Madison Keys did their bit to spice up American hopes on the U.S. Open after they each booked their tickets into the third spherical in convincing style on Wednesday.
The house stalwarts flew the American flag throughout the day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium the place Keys, the 14th seed, beat Australia’s Maya Joint 6-4, 6-0 whereas Tiafoe was main 6-4. 6-1, 1-0 when Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko retired.
Tiafoe, who reached the New York semifinals in 2022 and this 12 months was a runner-up in his closing tune-up occasion, was in full management when Shevchenko, who had the coach out after the second set, immediately known as it a day.
“Completely satisfied to get it finished. Hate to win it that method however total I believed I really performed fairly effectively at the moment,” Tiafoe mentioned after a stress-free victory throughout which he modified shirts 5 instances.
Tiafoe broke Shevchenko to take the primary set and grabbed a 5-1 double-break lead within the second earlier than serving out the one-sided set.
He subsequent performs 21-year-old compatriot Ben Shelton, who electrified the house crowds final 12 months with a spirited run to the semifinals and had no drawback getting previous Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on the Grandstand on Wednesday.
The left-handed Shelton despatched over 17 aces and walloped Bautista Agut with 60 winners, feeding off the vitality of the rowdy house crowd amid stifling warmth.
Shelton eradicated Tiafoe in straight units within the quarter-final a 12 months in the past and promised a “popcorn-type match” when the 2 meet once more.
“You guys made this draw so it’s thrilling,” Shelton mentioned in on-court remarks.
Keys, making her thirteenth main-draw look on the U.S. Open, struck first towards Joint when she transformed on her third break-point alternative for a 4-3 lead en path to wrapping up the opening set on her serve.
The 29-year-old American opened the second with one other break and sprinted to the end line in 62 minutes.
“After the primary set I really feel like I made a couple of changes on my returns simply to place a bit of bit extra strain on her,” mentioned Keys, who retired from her two earlier tournaments at Wimbledon and Toronto.
“And I felt like as soon as I used to be capable of get a bit of bit out forward I actually simply ran with the second and was capable of shut it out very well.”
Up subsequent for Keys, who misplaced to fellow American Sloane Stephens within the 2017 U.S. Open closing, is a conflict with Thirty third-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens.
It was not all excellent news for the American contingent at Flushing Meadows as unseeded American Taylor Townsend fell 6-3, 7-5 to Spanish twenty sixth seed Paula Badosa.
Different gamers representing the celebs and stripes in motion on Wednesday embrace defending champion and third seed Coco Gauff, who will open the night time session on Ashe versus unseeded German Tatjana Maria.
World quantity 12 Taylor Fritz, the highest-ranked American within the males’s draw, will cap play in Louis Armstrong Stadium towards Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.