Sport

US Open 2022: Third seed Maria Sakkari out in second round, Ons Jabur ahead

September 1, 2022
Bharat Times

US Open 2022: A day after Greece star Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out in the men’s singles first round, compatriot Maria Sakkari, who reached the semifinals in New York last year, was shown the door in the women’s singles second round.

US Open 2022: Another top seed Maria Sakari knocked out in the second round (AP Photo)

highlighted

  • Maria Sakkari lost 3 games to China’s Wang Ziyu in the second round
  • Sakkari reached the semi-finals of the US Open last year
  • Ons Jabur registers 40th win of his season

A day after Greece’s superstar and fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was knocked out In the men’s singles first round at the US Open 2022, her compatriot and women’s singles third seed Maria Sakari was shown out in the second round.

Following defending champion Emma Radukanu, Maria Sakkari was part of a major upset at the US Open 2022 as she lost 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 to unseeded Chinese Wang Xiu on Wednesday, August 31.

Last year in New York semifinalist Sakkari took charge in the early stages and progressed to a one-set lead before being disheartened by a series of unforced errors, before Wang claimed his first career win over a top-10 player.

Despite Sakkari’s superior experience, Wang’s heavy hitting from the baseline came to the fore in the second set as she took a 5–3 lead before securing it after a double-fault from Sakkari.

The two players faced each other in the decider but it was Wang who stepped up her game at crucial moments, breaking Sakkari 6–5 to win and reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

beyond the third round

Earlier in the day, 5th seed Ons Jabur put on a scintillating performance to reach the third round of women’s singles at the US Open. The Ones, who reached the final of Wimbledon 2022, defeated American Elizabeth Mandlik, daughter of 1985 US Open champion Hana Mandlikova, 7-5, 6-2.

After making good progress in 2022, Ons Jabur will be determined to move past the third round, where she lost in each of the last three editions of the US Open. Jabeur has all reason to believe she can go deeper into the tournament in New York as she has 40 wins this season, only the second-best in women’s singles on the tour, behind world No. 1 Inga Swietek.

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