New York: Ons Jabeur, the fifth seed, ended her first week in the US Open with a three sets victory against American Shelby Rogers to reach the pre-quarterfinals for the third consecutive time here on Friday.
The victory pushed Jabeur’s record against Americans to 11-1 this season and put her into the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in her career.
The Tunisian is the first player from her country to do well in the Grand Slams.
It was a disappointing loss for Rogers, who for the past two years has dethroned several top seeds here in Flushing Meadows, including last year’s victory over No. 1 Ash Barty.
On Friday, the American put together a solid two sets of tennis that had the No. 5 seed scrambling across every inch of the court, and on a few occasions even had her diving onto the court to try to stay in the point.
But when Rogers blinked and served a double fault at 6-4, 4-4, Jabeur took the opportunity and never looked back, taking seven of the last 10 games to seal the win.
Veronika Kudermetova produced a quality performance on Day 5 at the 2022 US Open, fitting her status as the No. 18 seed as she dispatched No. 91 Dalma Galfi, 6-2, 6-0, in a 47-minute serving masterclass in the Grandstand.
The 25-year-old Kudermetova forced open the first set of the baseline contest, overcoming three consecutive aces by the Hungarian one year her junior to lead 3-2. Kudermetova was particularly dominant on first serves, delivering 78% in the first set before improving to an astonishing 100% in the second set. In her first two matches, Kudermetova won all 20 service games-helped by 14 aces-in straight-set dismissals of Donna Vekic and Maryna Zanevska, respectively.
Kudermetova, who is into the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in her career, is currently enjoying an all-time high No. 18 ranking. In 2021, she won a career-record 33 matches, including a final-round appearance at Abu Dhabi (losing to Aryna Sabalenka) before securing her maiden WTA Tour singles crown at Charleston.
–IANS