Top seed Ashleigh Barty advanced to the third round of the US Open with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Clara Tauson of Denmark.
After hitting 11 aces in her opening win to take her season total past 300, Barty struck another 11 aces to get past the 18-year-old Tauson, one of eight tournament debutantes to reach the second round. The world No.78 Tauson got from 3-5 to 5-5 in the second set, saving a match point on the way. Still, Barty navigated the tricky closing stage, got back ahead with another break of her own and then served out the match.
The world No.1 Barty’s first-serve winning percentage stood high at 80%. Moreover, she converted five out of 19 break points and made 33 winners. Tauson won 46% of points on her first serve, broke her opponent twice and struck just 14 winners.
This season, Barty ranks first for titles won (five), match victories (42), finals reached (six) and Top 10 wins (seven). The reigning Wimbledon champion has no seeded opponents in her potential path to her first US Open quarterfinal.
Seventh seed Iga Swiatek, one of eleven Grand Slam champions to play the second round, survived a scare to get past France’s Fiona Ferro 3-6 7-6(3) 6-0. The world No.74 Ferro was in control in the first set, but Swiatek gradually reduced errors, edged the second set and then raced through the deciding set. In that bagel set, Swiatek faced no break points and boasted 100% first-serve points won and 100% net points won.
