Last year’s finalist Kevin Anderson played yet another five-set match to outlast Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov and reach the US Open last 16 on Friday.
Anderson needed three hours and 42 minutes to book his place in the fourth round, winning a close encounter that was determined by just a handful of points in each set.
Shapovalov broke early for a 2-1 lead in the first set when Anderson’s backhand sailed long, and he went on to win the opener on his second set point when the South African was unable to block a wide serve to the backhand into play.
Anderson went off the court for a medical timeout in the second set, but he appeared to be moving well once he returned. He earned his first break point 71 minutes into the match to take a 4-2 lead. Both men held serve from there as Anderson sealed the set 6-3 to level the match.
Rain started to fall at the beginning of the third set, which brought a historic moment as it became the first match to be played under the roof of the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
First official roof closing for main draw play in Louis Armstrong Stadium…#USOpen pic.twitter.com/piFduIWFFM
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2018
There was little to separate the two as only a single point decided the next two sets. With the score 3-3 in the third, Anderson got the break as Shapovalov shanked his forehand. Anderson did not relinquish the break and took the third 6-4.
The fourth was a very tight affair after nine consecutive holds of serve. But in the 10th, as Anderson served to stay in the set, Shapovalov broke the South African’s serve to take the match to a deciding set.
Anderson got the decisive break in the third game of the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. He saved five break points in his next two service games before booking his spot in the fourth round with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams produced one of her best performances of 2018 to crush her sister Venus 6-1, 6-2.
Serena bossed the most anticipated matchup of the US Open fortnight from start to finish, troubling Venus with an unstoppable onslaught of power, precision and depth in a thoroughly dominant display. Serena did drop serve once and broke her sister four times in booking her spot in the next round in just over an hour of play.
Other selected men’s results:
Milos Raonic defeated Stan Wawrinka 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-3
Rafael Nadal defeated Karen Khachanov 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3)
John Isner defeated Dusan Lajovic 7-6(8), 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5
Other selected women’s results:
Karolina Pliskova defeated Sofia Kenin 6-4, 7-6 (2)
Sloane Stephens defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-4
Elina Svitolina defeated Qiang Wang 6-4, 6-4
Photo: Getty Images
