Two's company: The best images from the US Open second round
From stunning upsets from Tsvetana Pironkova and Caroline Garcia to wins for Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, the best images from the second round of the US Open.
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Angelique Kerber was stretched in her encounter with Anna-Lena Friedsam, which was played under the roof. She claimed a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory in one hour 41 minutes.
Pete Staples/USTA
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No.8 seed Petra Martic had no issues overcoming Katerina Bondarenko, winning through, 6-3, 6-4 in 84 minutes.
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Petra Kvitova, the No.6 seed, hit an impressive 33 winners as she proved too strong for Kateryna Kozlova, 7-6(3), 6-2.
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Grand Slam debutant Varvara Gracheva produced an incredible comeback against Kristina Mladenovic. Trailing 1-6, 1-5, she recovered to win, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-0, saving four match points.
Rhea Nall/USTA
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Aliaksandra Sasnovich raced past No.12 seed Marketa Vondrousova, dropping just three games en route to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in 67 minutes.
Adam Glanzman/USTA
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WTA World No.93 Shelby Rogers scored an impressive win against No.11 seed Elena Rybakina, 6-1, 7-5.
Carmen Mandato/USTA
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The biggest upset of the day was authored by France’s Caroline Garcia, who ousted WTA World No.3 and top seed Karolina Pliskova, 6-1, 7-6(2).
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Camila Giorgi with a picture-perfect backhand in her second-round encounter against 2018 champion Naomi Osaka.
Simon Bruty/USTA
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The Japanese player would prove too strong for her Italian opponent as she eased to a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
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Day 4 began with several brewing upsets, including 16-year-old World No.637 Katrina Scott showing off an impressive backhand en route to taking a set lead over No.22 seed Amanda Anisimova.
Pete Staples/USTA
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However, after staving off a point to fall behind 2-4 in the second set, Anisimova took control and ran out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 winner over wildcard Scott.
Pete Staples/USTA
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No.15 seed Maria Sakkari also had to come from a set down, wth the Cincinnati quarterfinalist winning her second three-setter in a row to quell Bernarda Pera 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Adam Glanzman/USTA
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The only one of the three simultaneously brewing upsets to come off was the unranked Tsvetana Pironkova, playing her first event in over three years, backing up her first-round form by stunning Garbiñe Muguruza 7-5 6-3.
Carmen Mandato/USTA
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17-year-old Acapulco finalist Leylah Fernandez also had her eye on an upset as she took on No.2 seed Sofia Kenin.
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However, Australian Open champion Kenin was sharp in fending off Fernandez in a narrowly contested 6-4, 6-3 victory, moving into the third round for the fourth year in a row.
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Sloane Stephens also struck a blow for the seeds, with the 2017 champion defeating Olga Govortsova in straight sets to notch up consecutive wins for the first time since Wuhan last September.
Simon Bruty/USTA
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However, Sorana Cirstea delivered another upset, overcoming a 0-2 head-to-head to take out No.9 seed Johanna Konta in a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 marathon - the longest match of the tournament so far at two hours and 50 minutes.
Carmen Mandato/USTA
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The night session started with Margarita Gasparyan taking on Serena Williams for the third time, with all their meetings to date coming on different Grand Slam stages.
Simon Bruty/USTA
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The result was the same as in the Wimbledon 2015 first round and the 2016 Australian Open fourth round: Serena progressed over Gasparyan in straight sets to book a clash of former champions against Sloane Stephens.
Darren Carroll/USTA
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In an all-Belarusian reprise of a first-round clash in Flushing Meadows last year, No.5 seed Aryna Sabalenka squared off with Cincinnati champion Victoria Azarenka in a popcorn second round.
Brad Penner/USTA
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Azarenka avenged her defeat to Sabalenka last year in style, conceding just four games for a 6-1, 6-3 triumph.
Brad Penner/USTA
