Carlos Alcaraz has stormed into the third round of the US Open with a blistering straight-sets victory, while Novak Djokovic overcame an early scare to advance.

Alcaraz, who could meet Djokovic in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows if the draw follows the seedings, blew away Italy’s Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in just one hour and 36 minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium main court on Wednesday.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

The 22-year-old Spanish second seed unfurled a stream of 32 winners in a dominant display against the 65th-ranked Bellucci, whose best performance in a Grand Slam came with a run to the third round at Wimbledon earlier this year.

“I played great to be honest, from the beginning until the last ball,” said Alcaraz, who will face another Italian, 32nd seed Luciano Darderi, in the next round.

“The less time I spend on court, the better for me, to go to bed early,” he added.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, Serbian legend Djokovic kept his dream of a record 25th Grand Slam singles title alive after a four-set defeat of American qualifier Zachary Svajda.

Djokovic, though, was forced to dig deep after losing the first set before claiming a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win.

The 38-year-old said that, although not at his best, he hopes to play himself into form as the tournament progresses.

“That’s what I’m hoping, the deeper I go into the tournament, the better I feel about my game,” he said.

Djokovic’s victory sees him into the third round at the US Open for a record-equalling 19th time, where he will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who defeated Argentina’s Francisco Comesana 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (0/7), 7-6 (7/4).

Advertisement

In other men’s action on Wednesday, Norwegian 12th seed Casper Ruud, the 2022 US Open finalist, lost to Belgium’s Raphael Collignon 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Fourth seed Taylor Fritz advanced safely, beating South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 6-4.

In the women’s draw, meanwhile, defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka moved to the next round with a win over unseeded Russian Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.

Sabalenka started slowly, but after taking the first set on a tie-break, asserted her control to pull away in the second. The Belarusian will play Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the third round.

“The first set was super-tight, super-aggressive. I was glad I was able to handle that pressure and put it back to her. In the second set, I felt much better in the return game.”

Britain’s Emma Raducanu continued her solid start to the tournament after dispatching Indonesian qualifier Janice Tjen in straight sets, winning 6-2, 6-1.

Tjen had become the first Indonesian player to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam in 21 years and followed that up with a first-round upset of 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova.

But she was beaten comfortably by Raducanu, who is aiming to recapture the US Open title she won as an 18-year-old qualifier in 2021. Raducanu will face ninth seed Elena Rybakina in the next round.

While Tjen headed for the exit, another player from Southeast Asia, Filipina Alexandra Eala, also saw her tournament come to an end.

Eala, the first player from the Philippines to win a Grand Slam singles match with her defeat of 14th seed Clara Tauson on Sunday, was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.

Fourth seed Jessica Pegula is also into the third round after beating Russian Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3. There was a win too for veteran Victoria Azarenka, the 36-year-old two-time Australian Open champion from Belarus, who defeated Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3.

Fifth seed Mirra Andreeva barely had to break a sweat in a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Anastasia Potapova, while 10th seed American Emma Navarro swatted aside compatriot and wildcard Caty McNally 6-2, 6-1.