- Alcaraz in straight sets win
- Medvedev and Sinner progress
- Djokovic remains favourite to lift title
Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz smoothly progressed in the defence of his US Open men’s title, securing a straight-set victory over South Africa’s Lloyd Harris. The 20-year-old faced some resistance in the third set but managed to clinch a 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) win in New York. Alcaraz, looking to become the first man to retain the US Open title since Roger Federer in 2008, is set to face Britain’s Dan Evans in the third round on Saturday.
Medvedev comes through in four sets
Third seed Daniil Medvedev faced a bit more challenge in his match, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 against Chris O’Connell. Medvedev, the Russian player who claimed his first major victory in New York in 2021, dominated the early sets and held a comfortable lead. However, he allowed O’Connell to stage a comeback in the third set before eventually prevailing.
Isner bows out
Meanwhile, the seasoned American player John Isner bid farewell to his professional career with a five-set thriller against compatriot Michael Mmoh. Isner, aged 38, succumbed to a 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 7-6 (10-7) defeat, as Mmoh displayed remarkable resilience, rallying from a match point down to secure victory in a tense fifth-set tie-break.
Italian Matteo Berrettini faced an unfortunate exit, retiring when trailing 6-4, 5-3 against France’s Arthur Rinderknech. Berrettini sustained an ankle injury while chasing the ball, leading to his decision to withdraw from the match.
Sinner cruises through
On a more positive note, compatriot Jannik Sinner, the sixth seed, cruised through with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego. Additionally, German 12th seed Alexander Zverev, the 2020 finalist, set up an intriguing clash with Grigor Dimitrov, who emerged victorious against Andy Murray, after overcoming Daniel Altmaier in a four-set battle. 19th seed Dimitrov defeated former world number one Murray, 36, 6-3 6-4 6-1 against 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov in New York. Murray, ranked 37th, has not reached the last 16 of a major since resuming his career after hip surgery in 2019. Bettors need to be aware that while Murray still has the quality to present a major challenge to any player in the world, the days of him going deep into Grand Slams could be over due to the toll taken by his recent injury problems and the recovery time he now needs.
Betting Implications
Alcaraz looks to be in superb form and a title defence would not come as a surprise. However, Djokovic is currently the bookmakers’ favourite. The Serb defeated Alcaraz in Cincinnati and, due to the early exits of Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded fifth and seventh respectively, could, on paper, have an easier passage to the final. At the time of writing Djokovic is 4/5 with bet365 with Alcaraz 8/5, Medvedev 7/1 and Sinner 14/1.
