Rain disrupts US Open while Stefanos Tsitsipas upsets the crowd again
World No 3 believes he did nothing wrong by taking a seven-minute break and declares his love for the fans but feels ‘some people don’t understand’
New York — World No 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first player to record 50 tour-level wins this year with his second-round victory over Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday but was jeered by the US Open crowd after taking another lengthy bathroom break.
The 23-year-old, who angered Andy Murray in the last round with what the Scot saw as stalling tactics, said he had done nothing wrong by taking a seven-minute break after dropping the third set. He eventually won 6-3 6-4 6-7(4) 6-0.
“I love the fans. But some people don’t understand,” he said. “They haven’t played tennis at high level to understand how much effort and how difficult it is to do what we are doing. Sometimes we need a short break to do what we have to do.”
Bad weather disrupted the day’s schedule as remnants of tropical storm Ida ripped through New York City and caused dozens of matches to be postponed.
The retractable roof on Louis Armstrong Stadium was unable to keep out the rain, which was being blown in sideways by strong winds. That meant Diego Schwartzman’s 7-6(4) 6-3 6-4 win over SA’s Kevin Anderson reached its conclusion at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Schwartzman will face Solvakia’s Alex Molcan for a spot in the fourth round.
Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp stunned eighth seed Casper Ruud of Norway 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-4, while 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz overcame Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(6) 4-6 6-1 6-4 to become the youngest men’s player in the third round since Donald Young in 2007.
The second-round match between former champion Angelique Kerber and Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, originally scheduled to begin after Schwartzman and Anderson, was pushed to Thursday.
Second seed and 2019 runner-up Daniil Medvedev kept his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title alive with a comfortable 6-4 6-1 6-2 victory over unseeded German Dominik Koepfer.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka also progressed to the third round after receiving a walkover from Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic due to illness, while No 2 Aryna Sabalenka powered through with a 6-3 6-1 win over Tamara Zidansek.
Former champion Sloane Stephens showed glimpses of the form that took her to the title in 2017 as she beat fellow American and 21st seed Coco Gauff 6-4 6-2 under the closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka notched her 40th win of the season with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek. The Belarusian took a hard fall in the opening set and kept icing her right hand and wrist during changeovers.
Czech eighth seed Barbora Krejcikova sealed a dominant 6-3 6-1 victory over American Christina McHale after the match was moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium following a rain delay.
Earlier, 25th seed Daria Kasatkina rallied from a set down to beat Olympic silver medallist Marketa Vondrousova 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Reuters