World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka cruises through to third round but reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova suffers shock exit; watch the US Open - live on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+
Thursday 29 August 2024 09:00, UK
Harriet Dart lost out 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 to Marta Kostyuk in the second round of the US Open, the British No 3's challenge fading after giving the 19th seed a huge scare in the first set.
Dart broke Kostyuk's serve three times in a sloppy opening set from the Ukrainian, but was broken back immediately on two of the three instances in which she too dropped her serve - both players struggling in the sweltering New York heat that topped 38 degrees.
Two of the times Dart was broken came when serving for the opening set, while the 28-year-old Briton also spurned five set points in the subsequent tie-break before losing it 12-10.
Fifteen of the 22 points went against serve in the marathon breaker, with Kostyuk wasting three set points of her own before finally converting her fourth opportunity to lead the match.
An increasingly frustrated Dart struggled to recover from the obvious disappointment of letting the opening set slip through her fingers, losing six straight games as Kostyuk clinched the second set in much easier fashion.
Defeat means Dart failed to reach the third round of a second successive Grand Slam following her run at Wimbledon, but she is set for a new career-high ranking in the high 60s.
Speaking after her defeat, Dart said: "I'm disappointed to not take my chances. Sometimes you don't even think just because you're so hot and a bit bothered.
"A few matches recently, at some important moments, situations have happened and that's something I need to work on and get better at.
"Whether it's matches, sets, certain situations, but the main thing is to be to be there competing with the very best."
"I feel like anyone I step on court against now, I'm confident I can take it to them."
Sky Sports Tennis pundit Laura Robson felt Dart became dejected too soon, saying: "Harriet had massive opportunities but it felt like she lost heart quickly, got disheartened in the second set when she was absolutely in the match.
"It is definitely a positive tournament for her, cruising through the first round and then having chances [against Kostyuk], a top-20 player.
"But it felt like she didn't think she could win halfway through the first set.
"I found it surprising that Dart dropped off so quickly as her team have been working on that."
Tournament favourite and second seed Aryna Sabalenka faced little resistance from Lucia Bronzetti as the hard-hitting Belarusian eased past the Italian 6-3 6-1 to claim her spot in the third round.
Sabalenka, who reached the final of the tournament last year, rolled to the Cincinnati Open title earlier this month without losing a set and has yet to drop one in her two matches at Flushing Meadows so far.
At the end of the match, the two-time Australian Open champion took a photograph with a girl in the stands who was dressed in pink to match her outfit.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova was knocked out in the second round, suffering a shock defeat to Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-4 7-5.
Ruse advances to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time and will play 26th seed Paula Badosa, who eliminated American Taylor Townsend in straight sets, 6-3 7-5.
Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng survived an early scare to overcome Erika Andreeva 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 6-2, while the US 14th seed Madison Keys - a finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2017 - comfortably beat Maya Joint 6-4 6-0.
In the men's draw, fourth seed Alexander Zverev overcame Alexandre Muller 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 in a hard-fought contest, despite victory being wrapped up in straight sets.
The resilient Frenchman stood two points from taking the second set, only for the powerful German to take the final five points of the tie-break before cruising through the third.
American 13th seed Ben Shelton comfortably beat Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round where he will meet compatriot Frances Tiafoe in a rematch of last year's quarter-final.
Tiafoe earlier advanced after Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko retired in the third set of their contest when trailing the American 20th seed 6-4 6-1 1-0.
Meanwhile, fiery sixth seed Andrey Rublev battled back from two sets down to beat Arthur Rinderknech 4-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 6-2 in a marathon matchup that lasted over four hours in the blistering heat.
Rinderknech's performance tailed off significantly over the final three sets, where he hit only 18 winners compared to the 37 he struck when taking the opening two sets.
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