Zverev survives Halys scare at US Open

Alexander Zverev survived another almighty scare at the US Open as the top seed overcame Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 6-3 on Thursday to secure a place in the third round of the Grand Slam.

The French Open champion was taken the distance by Lorenzo Sonego in his opening contest and came under pressure from Halys throughout the next, forcing him to summon his resilience again and stay on track for a maiden title in New York.

“The performance was quite shit to be honest, but I won and that’s the most important thing,” Zverev said on the court following his marathon battle that lasted four hours and 33 minutes, finishing at 2.15am.

“That’s what I go to the gym for, that’s what I go to the track for, what I train for, to be able to come out on top in these difficult moments,” he said.

Zverev, the 2020 runner-up at Flushing Meadows, is competing as the top seed at a major for the first time in his career.

Zverev took the opening set on the back of a solitary break, but world No. 52 Halys came out swinging in the next to level the contest, bringing the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to life and ensuring there would be no easy route through.

Meanwhile, world No. 2 Elena Rybakina put on a dominant performance to beat Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2, 6-4, and reach the third round of the tournament on Thursday.

The Kazakh, who is looking to climb to the top of the WTA rankings with a title in New York, delivered on expectations in the night’s final session, extending her pursuit of a third Grand Slam crown.

She raced to a 3-0 lead and never looked back in the opener, closing out the set in just half an hour.

“I’m really happy with this win today, in the second set she started to go for her shots but I’m happy I managed to close it out,” she said.

Rybakina had dispelled doubts over her fitness after retiring from the Cincinnati Open in the build-up to the tournament, and she would face Yuliia Starodubtseva in the third round, after the Ukrainian completed a comeback win over 32nd seed Maria Sakkari.

“It’s true it wasn’t perfect preparation at all,” Rybakina said. “I was a bit upset watching everybody practice preparing for the tournament and I was just doing all possible recovery and gym. I’m super happy to be here,” she added.

After Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner split last year’s Grand Slams, the two superstars were expected to continue their see-saw rivalry this year.
That has not happened. Instead, injuries have foreclosed the possibility of a clash between the two champions in three of the four Grand Slams, with the Spaniard missing the French Open and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury and the Italian absent from New York because of a knee injury.
Alcaraz and Sinner are far from alone among top players missing big tournaments this year due to injury, a trend that has been a source of growing

TIGHT TIES: Throwing the opening pitch for the Nats game is the latest in a series of efforts by the Taiwanese-American astronaut to celebrate Taiwan and the US Taiwan-born astronaut Kjell Lindgren threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals’ Taiwan Heritage Day at Nationals Park on Saturday before the game against the Miami Marlins. Speaking before the Nationals’ second Taiwanese Heritage Day, Lindgren said throwing the first pitch was “right up there in terms of anxiety-provoking” with some of his past accomplishments, including two rocket launches, two atmospheric reentries and two spacewalks.

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Influencers and content creators armed with smartphones and ring lights have featured prominently in the stands at this year’s US Open, as they try to grab the spotlight away from the on-court action at one of tennis’ marquee events. About 100 content creators were given credentials for the tournament, organizers said, with 20 of those dedicated to providing coverage of the food and beverage scene alone, where caviar-topped chicken nuggets and the famed “Honey Deuce” cocktail promise viral attention.

Thousands more amateur social media hounds could be found throughout the plaza and in the stands — after shelling out for their own