Day 2 brought about some tight 5 set matches. Just like day 1 there were upsets along with some good wins for some favourites. Yesterday I began with the ladies matches so today I will start with the men’s matches. 9th seeded, Norrie; 17th seeded, Dimitrov; 20th seeded, Evans; 28th seeded Rune; 8th seeded, Hurkacz and 15th seeded Cilic all got through their 1st round matches in straight sets and not many troubles. 3rd seed, Alcaraz, was the first on Arthur Ashe on day 2 and he had a battle against unseeded, Argentine, Baez. Alcaraz taking the first 2 sets 7-5 before Baez had to retire in the 3rd set. Isner pleased the home crowd as he won his first match in straight sets. 9th seed, Rublev, was up against Dere from Serbia. Rublev taking the first 2 sets before Dere fought back to take the match into a 5th and final set. Rublev came through in the end but had to work very hard for that 1st round win. 25th seed Coric who had just come off winning Cincinatti was pushed all the way by Frenchman, Couacaud. Coric took the first 2 sets but just like Rublev lost the next 2 sets. He eventually took the final set 7-5. Another seed to struggle was the 11th seed, Sinner. Sinner managed to get passed Altmaier in 5 sets to keep his US Open dreams alive. Musetti vs Goffin was a great match on paper but man oh man did it not disappoint in reality. The match going all the way to a 5th set tiebreak where Musetti managed to take the super-tiebreak 11-9. What a Match! Fognini managed to come back from 2 sets down against Karatsev. The Italian will be up against Nadal in the 2nd round. These 2 have had a 5 setter in the past…will we see it again? 19th seed, Shapovalov was another player who had to win in 5 sets as he beat Huesler 6-1 in the final set. Tiafoe won the all American match against Giron in straight sets. 2nd seed, Nadal had to come back from a set down on his way to beating 21 year old Australian, Hijikata in 4 sets. 14th seed, Schwartzman, survived a scare as he found himself 2 sets down against Sock who had to retire at the beginning on the 4th set.

On the ladies side we saw straight set wins from: Pegula(8), Swiatek(1), Muguruza(9), Cirstea, Sabalenka(6), Kvitova(21), Sasnovich, Martic, Niemeier and Collins(19). Chinese lady, Zheng, managed to take her match against 16th seed, Ostapenko in 3 sets. 22nd seed, Pliskova, scraped through against unseeded Linette. Pliskova needing a 3rd set super tiebreak to beat Linette. Stephens managed to come back from a set down against Minnen to set up a potentially mouthwatering contest against 1st seed, Swiatek. Burel knocked out newly crowned Wimbledon champion and 25th seed, Rybakina in straight sets. Bencic had to work hard to beat Petkovic. Begu got the better of 32nd seed, Mertens in 3 sets. Putinseva knocked out 24th seeded American, Anisimova, in straight sets. Cornet upset the defending champion and 11th seed, Raducanu in straight sets. Raducanu expecting to drop to number 80 in the world with this 1st round defeat. 26th seed, Azarenka ended the day with a 3 set win over American Krueger.

The picks that were lost today were: Karatsev (3 picks), Goffin(1 pick), Sock (1 pick), Osaka (10 picks), Raducanu (5 picks), Mertens (3 picks), Anisimova (3 picks), Rybakina (3 picks), Ostapenko (1 pick).

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and we have a new leader. ‘Ace Ron’ moved up 13 places and leads the way after round 1. 2 points behind in 2nd sits ‘Vax Needed’. ‘Drop Shots’ moved up 6 spots and sits in 3rd place. Then there is a 4 way tie for 4th between ‘Team Kickbutt’, ‘Never Nadal Moment’, ‘Gone to Seed’ and ‘Chalk Dust’. The wooden spoon is now going to ‘Pat’s Pick’ who sits in 64th spot after round 1.

Match Results from Day 3

• Alcaraz(3) beat Baez – 7-5; 7-5; 2-0 ret
• Kwon beat Verdasco – 6-2; 6-7(4); 6-3; 6-3
• Rublev(9) beat Dere – 7-6(5); 6-3; 3-6; 4-6; 6-4
• Coric(25) beat Coucaud – 6-2; 7-6(5); 3-6; 4-6; 7-5
• Sinner(11) beat Altmaier – 5-7; 6-2; 6-1; 3-6; 6-1
• Musetti(26) beat Goffin – 3-6; 7-5; 6-4; 3-6; 7-6(11-9)
• Fognini beat Karatsev – 1-6; 5-7; 6-4; 6-1; 6-4
• Schwarztman(14) beat Sock – 3-6; 5-7; 6-0; 1-0 ret
• Nadal(2) beat Hijikata – 4-6; 6-2; 6-3; 6-3
• Shapovalov(19) beat Huesler – 2-6; 6-4; 6-4; 3-6; 6-1
• Bouzkova beat Noskova – 6-2; 6-7(3); 6-2
• Zheng beat Ostapenko(16) – 6-3; 3-6; 6-4
• Pliskova(22) beat Linette – 6-2; 4-6; 7-6(10-8)
• Stephens beat Minnen – 1-6; 6-3; 6-3
• Burel beat Rybakina(25) – 6-4; 6-4
• Badosa(4) beat Tsurenko – 3-6; 7-6(4); 6-3
• Bencic(13) beat Petkovic – 6-2; 4-6; 6-4
• Begu beat Mertens(32) – 3-6; 6-2; 6-3
• Putinseva beat Anisimova(24) – 6-3; 6-3
• Cornet beat Raducanu(11) – 6-3; 6-3
• Siniakova beat Townsend – 6-4; 4-6; 6-2
• Azarenka(26) beat Krueger – 6-1; 4-6; 6-2
• Collins(19) beat Osaka – 7-6(5); 6-3

Matches to watch day 3

• Sakkari(3) vs Wang (17:00)
• Carreno Busta(12) vs Bublik (17:00)
• Garin vs De Minaur(18) (17:00)
• Moutet vs van de Zandschulp(21) (17:00)
• Keys(20) vs Giorgi (18:15)
• Riske(29) vs Osorio Serrano (18:15)
• Kyrgios(23) vs Bonzi (19:30)
• Van Rijthoven vs Ruud(5) (19:30)
• Ruse vs Gauff(12) (20:00)
• Davidovich Fokina vs Fucsovics (20:15)
• Paul(29) vs Korda (20:15)
• Fernandez(14) vs Samsonova (23:00)
• Williams vs Kontaveit(2) (01:00)
• Draper vs Auger-Aliassime(6) (01:00)
• Medvedev(1) vs Rinderknech (02:15)
• Haddad Maia(15) vs Andreescu (03:00)

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a tennis fantasy league organiser.http://Eishonline.co.za/jftl