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2 hours ago
8
Key events
Yup, Osaka is back, making 30-40 then, having benefitted from a net cord, delivering a gorgeous half-volleyed wrong-footing lob from the back. She leads 2-0 in the third but, as we know, is capable of tightening as she nears the finish line.
Trouble for Felix, who’s been broken at the start of set three. And Khachanov consolidates too, so leads 2-0; can Auger-Aliassime get him to the net, where his hard hands might be a problem?
Having left court between sets, Osaka returns and holds comfortably, her first game won in five. She’s hitting it cleanly again now, but Siniakova, allowed into the match, is playing with confidence.
Sky have just switched Khachanov and Auger-Aliassime off their second channel in favour of Bouzkova v Dart, which I find amazing. Surely people would rather watch the former, featuring two players of renown, than one who happens to be British? I’d have thought the audience was largely tennis fans, not patriots, but here we are.
Harriet Dart has made a slow start against Marie Bouzkova and trails 1-3 in the first, while Keys and Bondar are level at 2-2 in the decider. Oh and Amanda Anisimova, my pick for the title, has taken the first set against Lilli Tagger 6-3.
What a turnaround on Ashe! Siniakova breaks Osaka and, serving for the set, holds to 30! That’s four games in row for the Czech, and what looked a breeze is now a ruckus.
I’m really enjoying the match on Armstrong, in which Khachanov has just levelled at one set apiece against Auger-Aliassime. This is a really big tournament for the no 3 seed, a chance to change his career, really, and he’s been showing signs of improvement in recent times. But Khachanov is a proper test and, so far, there’s not much between them.
Thanks Katy. Every time I think class, Osaka’s back and ready to challenge, she isn’t. This match is in the balance now and, though I still think she’ll find a way to win here, the chances of a run to the final seem remote at this point.
I’m off for a break, so Daniel is here to take you through the denouement …
No, is the short answer. This is a messy end to the second set, whichever way it goes. Though Osaka does have the comfort of knowing that if she breaks here, the match will be hers. Osaka gets to 30-all when Siniakova smacks long, her 26th unforced error of the day, but the Czech balances that out with a fine backhand winner for 40-30. And another for game! The run of breaks is broken, and from 6-2, 5-3, Osaka has been hauled back to 5-5.
Khachanov’s 3-0 lead in the second set has turned into 4-2. Anisimova has been caught out cold against the 18-year-old Tagger, being broken in the opening game, while Keys has levelled against Bondar after taking the second set 6-4.
And the British qualifier Harriet Dart has just hit the opening ball against Marie Bouzkova, another Czech from the country’s fine production line … just as Bouzkova’s compatriot Siniakova is broken amid a flurry of errors. Osaka will serve for the match at 6-2, 5-3 … but after three successive breaks, can she hold?
Osaka recovers to deuce, but is soon facing another break point, after a wobbly 79mph second serve. Osaka’s struggling with her ball toss here, and after an aborted serve, she does land one, but she then errs with her backhand and Siniakova secures the break back. It’s Osaka 6-2, 4-3.
Osaka has break points at 15-40 against an increasingly irate Siniakova. The Czech calms herself down enough to save the first with a forehand winner, but Osaka, the ultimate hard court and baseline specialist, is a force from the back of the court on the second, and she secures the break. At 6-2, 4-2, Osaka is looking far more assured than she did in the first round … so of course she then slides break point down. Call that the commentator’s curse.
A reversal of the first set on Louis Armstrong, where Khachanov leads 3-0 in the second, having trailed by that score in the opener. So it’s Auger-Aliassime 7-6, 0-3 Khachanov. Osaka now leads Siniakova 6-2, 3-2 on serve, Keys is 3-3 in the second set against Bondar, having lost the first 7-5, and Swiatek’s victory means that Amanda Anisimova, last year’s runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka, is stepping on to court with the Austrian teenager and US Open debutant Lilli Tagger.
Swiatek is smiley and relaxed in the on-court interview, and she’s even got time to talk about the logistical headache of travelling on tour with all of her Lego sets. “I am here with a better feeling probably than any other grand slam this year,” she declares, rather ominously for everyone else.
Swiatek beats Podoroska 6-3, 6-2
Let’s get over to Grandstand, though, because Swiatek is serving for the match at 6-3, 5-2. At 30-15, Podoroska piles on the pressure, and Swiatek eventually hits beyond the baseline. But an inside-in forehand winner from Swiatek brings up match point, and her cross-court backhand is too hot for Podoroska to handle. The 2022 champion is into the third round for the loss of only five games, she’s yet to drop serve this tournament, and after an indifferent 2026, up until winning the Toronto title last month, she’s got a spring in her step. She’ll face Britain’s Harriet Dart or the Czech Marie Bouzkova next – and they should be on Court 11 shortly because the preceding doubles match appears close to finishing.
Nevermind Osaka’s basketball-inspired outfit, Auger-Aliassime is slam dunking in the style of Pete Sampras with an overhead smash for 5-4 in the tie-break, and despite a big ace down the T from Khachanov, AA accelerates to set point with a HUGE cross-court forehand winner. What timing, not only with the shot but also given the stage they’re at in the tie-break. And AA secures the first set when Khachanov crunches his attempted pass long and wide! Just as Osaka breaks Siniakova to take a 6-2 lead on Arthur Ashe.
4-1 becomes 5-2 for Osaka. Keys has conceded the first set, 7-5, to Bondar, while Auger-Aliassime, having led 3-0 and then lost four consecutive games, is into a first-set tie-break against Khachanov.
Swiatek strikes right at the start of the second set, breaking for 1-0 as she flattens a second serve before smoking a forehand, and she’s sniffing another break at 3-1 and deuce. And a netted backhand from Podoroska followed by an overcooked forehand give Swiatek the luxury of a double break. At 6-3, 4-1 she’s on course to become the day’s first single winner.
It feels rather odd saying this, given that Osaka is a two-time former US Open champion, but she’s something of a wildcard contender this fortnight, having not won a title since 2021. But over the past year she’s been building momentum, after returning from her maternity leave in 2024, and there were plenty of green shoots on the grass at Wimbledon, where she beat Aryna Sabalenka en route to the quarter-finals. And Osaka has started strongly today, leading Siniakova 3-1 and serving at 40-15. Make that game, as the 13th seed’s pace is too much for the Czech to handle.
Swiatek is serving for the first set at 5-3. And on her second set point, at her advantage, she takes it, when Podoroska prods a return wide. After starting with three holds to love, the set got closer, but the eighth seed found a way through and she’s skipping to the back of the court to start the second set. She looks up for this – and most importantly, more confident than she has done for so much of this year.
Auger-Aliassime is broken back, so from 3-0 it’s now 3-3. And Keys, the 2017 runner-up and last year’s Australian Open champion, is a break down, 4-3, against Bondar. Not that I’m really concentrating on those two matches, because I’m waiting for Osaka’s big entrance. And right on cue, here she comes, with the day version of the Allen Iverson-inspired basketball-themed outfit she wore on Tuesday night, completing her own calendar slam of sorts after her jellyfish look at the Australian Open, her Eiffel Tower dress at the French Open and her Kill Bill-inspired Japanese kimono at Wimbledon. Her play wasn’t quite as eye-catching as her outfit in the first round, so she’ll be hoping for an improved performance against Katerina Siniakova, the doubles world No 1.
It’s a similar story for Swiatek, who leads Podoroska 4-1. Make that 5-2. With her confidence seemingly restored after her title success in Toronto, having struggled badly with nerves this year, this could turn into a demolition job of old for the 2022 champion against an Argentinian player who, because of injury, has won only one grand slam match in more than two years.
The huge-hitting Khachanov, a former US Open semi-finalist himself, isn’t a straightforward second-round draw, though the 30-year-old Russian isn’t perhaps quite the force he once was, and he concedes an early break when he overhits a forehand at AA’s advantage. AA then backs up the break for 3-0; it’s been a flawless start from him.
Auger-Aliassime starts as he means to go on, with an opening hold to love. The Canadian is in a slightly strange position at this tournament: he’s at a career-high grand slam seeding of No 3 and world ranking of No 4, but he’s not really being loudly talked about in the title conversation. Twice a grand slam semi-finalist, both times at the US Open, including last year, he still needs to prove he’s got a final gear – especially after he failed to make the most of the wide-open draws at the French Open and Wimbledon this summer. He’s happier on a hard court, though, and this is by far his most successful slam.
And if you need to play catch-up with any of yesterday’s action, you can do so here:
The players are warming up on all the courts except Arthur Ashe, and even the sun has decided to make an appearance after a couple of days in hiding. There are some big names among the early runners and riders: Felix Auger-Aliassime (3) v Karen Khachanov, Iga Swiatek (8) v Nadia Podoroska and Madison Keys (22) v Anna Bondar.
Order of play - day session
11am start (4pm BST) unless stated
Arthur Ashe Stadium 11.30am (4.30pm BST)
Naomi Osaka (Jpn, 13) v Katerina Siniakova (Cze)
Taylor Fritz (USA, 9) v Mattia Bellucci (Ita)
Louis Armstrong Stadium
Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can, 3) v Karen Khachanov
Oleksandra Oliynykova (Ukr) v Alexandra Eala (Phi, 17)
Grandstand
Iga Swiatek (Pol, 8) v Nadia Podoroska (Arg)
Lilli Tagger (Aut) v Amanda Anisimova (USA, 10)
Tristan Schoolkate (Aus) v Flavio Cobolli (It, 5)
Botic van de Zandschulp (Ned) v Alex de Minaur (Aus, 6)
Stadium 17
Madison Keys (USA, 22) v Anna Bondar (Hun)
Dane Sweeny (Aus) v Lorenzo Musetti (It, 13)
Mirra Andreeva (5) v Eva Lys (Ger)
Iva Jovic (USA, 14) v Fran Jones (GB)
Court 5
Jan-Lennard Struff (Ger) v Francisco Cerundolo (Arg, 24)
Alexander Blockx (Bel, 28) v Marco Trungelliti (Arg)
Maria Sakkari (Gre, 32) v Yuliia Starodubtseva (Ukr)
Robin Montgomery (USA) and Ashlyn Krueger (USA) v Linda Noskova (Cze) and Rebecca Sramkova (Svk)
Court 6
Anastasia Potapova (Aut, 24) v Leolia Jeanjean (Fr)
Anastasia Detiuc (Cze) and Irina Khromacheva v Gabriela Dąbrowski (Can, 2) and Luisa Stefani (Bra, 2)
Cristina Bucsa (Sp) v Himeno Sakatsume (Jp)
Zachary Svajda (USA) v Arthur Gea (Fr)
Court 7
Maria Timofeeva (Uzb) v Elise Mertens (Bel, 23)
Ellen Perez (Aus, 10) and Demi Schuurs (Ned, 10) v Anastasia Tikhonova and Renata Zarazua (Mex)
Alexei Popyrin (Aus) v Alejandro Tabilo (Chi, 25)
Zizou Bergs (Bel, 31) v Jesper de Jong (Ned)
Court 10
Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) and Elena-Gabriela Ruse (Rou) v Panna Udvardy (Hun) and Laura Pigossi (Bra)
Ulrikke Eikeri (Nor, 15) and Quinn Gleason (USA, 15) v Moyuka Uchijima (Jp) and Xinyu Wang (Chn)
Ann Li (USA) and Clara Tauson (Den) v Erin Routliffe (NZ, 9) and Aldila Sutjiadi (Ina, 9)
Kimberly Birrell (Aus) and Peyton Stearns (USA) v Ena Shibahara (Jp) and Lanlana Tararudee (Tha)
Court 11
Claire Liu (USA) and Julieta Pareja (USA) v Xiyu Wang (Chn) and Yifan Xu (Chi)
Harriet Dart (GB) v Marie Bouzkova (Cze, 25)
Jakub Mensik (Cze, 17) v Jurij Rodionov (Aut)
Marie Bouzkova (Cze) and Sara Sorribes Tormo (Sp) v McCartney Kessler (USA) and Caty McNally (USA)
Court 12
Luciano Darderi (It, 21) v Dalibor Svrcina (Cze)
Qinwen Zheng (Chn) v Yulia Putintseva (Kaz)
Katerina Siniakova (Cze, 1) and Taylor Townsend (USA, 1) v Reese Brantmeier (USA) and Savannah Broadus (USA)
Yunchaokete Bu (Chi) v Michael Zheng (USA)
Court 13
Leylah Fernandez (Can) and Janice Tjen (Ina) v Nika Radisic (Slo) and Isabelle Haverlag (Ned)
DJ Bennett (USA) and Ava Esposito (USA) v Storm Hunter (Aus, 13) and Desirae Krawczyk (USA, 13)
Nikola Bartunkova (Cze) v Tatjana Maria (Ger)
Benjamin Bonzi (Fr) v Ignacio Buse (Per, 32)
Preamble
Hello, hello! And welcome to our day five coverage of the US Open, where the first round has finally concluded after this week’s rain interruptions and we’ll get the chance to have a second look at the title credentials of Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Amanda Anisimova and Felix Auger-Aliassime – along with Naomi Osaka’s latest fashion statement and the mania surrounding the Filipino phenom that is Alexandra Eala.
Britain’s Fran Jones and Harriet Dart are also in second-round action - Jones has a tough assignment against the home star in the making Iva Jovic and Dart plays the Czech 25th seed Marie Bouzkova - while Alex de Minaur, Flavio Cobolli, Lorenzo Musetti, Madison Keys and Michael Zheng, another rising American, play in the day session too (Coco Gauff, Alexander Zverev, Elena Rybakina and Gael Monfils are all in the night session).
The action begins at 11am New York time/4pm BST - which gives you just enough time to get in the mood with a Honey Deuce. Cheers!
