South Africa’s Kevin Anderson needed just under two hours to defeat Jeremy Chardy in straight sets to advance to the third round of the 2018 US Open.
Anderson, who has made a habit of playing five sets in Grand Slams lately, got the job done in three on Wednesday. He used his big serve to his advantage, serving up 18 aces on his way to a comfortable 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
The South African came into the match with a 2-1 head-to-head record over the Frenchman and took an early lead after breaking Chardy in the third game of the opening set. Anderson got another two break points in the seventh game. He took the second one to go up 5-2. The following game was just a formality as he took the first set 6-2.
The second set started with another break of serve, which also went the way of Anderson. The rest of the set was quite uneventful as neither player earned another break point, and Anderson took a two-set lead with a 6-4 scoreline.
Chardy managed to hold serve in his opening two service games to start the third, but Anderson broke him in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead – a lead he never relinquished.
Chardy struggled to win any meaningful points on Anderson’s serve and could not find a way back into the match.
Anderson did not concede a single break point in the match and advances to the third round where he will face Denis Shapovalov.
In the women’s draw, Serena Williams set up a clash against sister Venus after claiming a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory over Carina Witthoeft. Her serve and forehand were on point when she needed them most, facing or trying to capitalise on break points.
At one stage in the first set, Williams salvaged a service game by striking five aces. Her timing and footwork looked smooth, and Williams was in fine serving rhythm, crunching 13 aces and 30 winners overall to claim a fairly easy win.
Other selected men’s results:
Rafael Nadal defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Fernando Verdasco defeated 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Milos Raonic defeated Gael Simon 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Stan Wawrinka defeated Ugo Humbert 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
Other selected women’s results:
Victoria Azarenka defeated Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2
Karolina Pliskova defeated Ana Bogdan 6-2, 6-3
Ekaterina Makarova defeated Julia Goerges 7-6 (10), 6-3
Venus Williams defeated Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-5
Photo: USOpen.org
