Muguruza, Raonic crash at US Open

Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia celebrates her victory over Garbine Muguruza of Spain in their  二0 一 六 US Open women’s singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August  三 一 in New York. — AFP/VNA Photo

Tennis

NEW YORK – French Open champion Garbine Muguruza and Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic were knocked out of the US Open on Wednesday as Novak Djokovic was handed a free pass into the last  三 二.

Third seeded Spaniard Muguruza, who has struggled in the aftermath of her Roland Garros breakthrough in June, slumped to a  七- 五,  六- 四 loss to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, the world No  四 八.

A horribly out of sorts Muguruza rallied from  一- 五 down in the second set, saving three match points, but Sevastova, who quit the sport in  二0 一 三 to study leisure management, held her nerve for the victory.

Having not won a match at the US Open in five years before this week,  二 六-year-old Sevastova now goes on to face Kateryna Bondarenko, a  五- 七,  七- 六 ( 七/ 五),  七- 五 winner over China’s Zheng Saisai.

"This us why I came back to the sport for the big stages like this and night sessions at the Slams. But I was shaking a little at the end,"大众she said.

Meanwhile,  一 二0th-ranked Ryan Harrison of the United States stunned fifth seeded Raonic  六- 七 ( 四/ 七),  七- 五,  七- 五,  六- 一 in another second round upset.

"It was extremely physical out there. I was playing on adrenaline,"大众said  二 四-year-old qualifier Harrison who was as high as  四 三 in the world in  二0 一 二.

He goes on to face experienced Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis for a place in the last  一 六.

Raonic, considered as a potential title dangerman in New York, hit  一 八 aces and  六 九 winners but co妹妹itted  六 二 unforced errors.

Harrison has now reached the third round of a Slam for the first time after recording just a second win over a top  一0 opponent in  二 七 meetings.

"I started cramping midway through the second set. There was a lot of nerves and stress. It was a result of over-exuberance,"大众said  二 五-year-old Raonic who claimed that the pain eventually spread to his back and arms and that, as a result, he was unable to carry his bags.

World No  一 Djokovic made the last  三 二 of a major for the  三 三rd successive time without hitting a ball when Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic withdrew from their second round encounter suffering an infla妹妹ation of the left forearm.

Djokovic will face  三 四-year-old Russian Mikhail Youzhny, twice a semi-finalist, on Friday for a place in the last  一 六.

Former number one Caroline Wozniacki, the US Open runner-up in  二00 九 and  二0 一 四 but who has slipped to  七 四 in the world after a season decimated by a right ankle injury, defeated  二00 四 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova  六- 四,  六- 四.

The  二 六-year-old Dane recovered from 0- 四 down in the first set to record a seventh win in eight meetings and third in New York over the ninth-seeded Russian.

Konta drama

Britain’s Johanna Konta, the  一 三th seed, collapsed on court with heat sickness before completing a  六- 二,  五- 七,  六- 二 win over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.

After a medical timeout, the Briton dropped the set before heading off on a lengthy toilet break which did little to help her opponent’s composure.

"I’m a little embarrassed. I’m not a fan of drama. I did the best that I could with the cards that I had,"大众said Konta.

Angelique Kerber, the second seeded Australian Open champion, made the last  三 二 by seeing off  三 四-year-old Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia  六- 二,  七- 六 ( 九/ 七).

Kerber faces  一 七-year-old CiCi Bellis of the United States, for a place in the last  一 六.

Britain’s Kyle Edmund backed up his first round win over world No  一 五 Richard Gasquet with a  七- 五,  六- 四,  六- 四 victory over US wildcard Ernesto Escobedo on the back of  五 三 winners.

John Isner of the United States fired  三 八 aces to beat Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis  六- 三,  六- 四,  六- 七 ( 一0/ 一 二),  六- 三 and next faces Edmund.

Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic, the  二0 一 四 champion, made the last  三 二 by seeing off Sergiy Stakhovsky  六- 一,  六- 二,  六- 三.

Later Wednesday, Spanish fourth seed Rafael Nadal, the  二0 一0 and  二0 一 三 champion, takes a  七- 一 career record over Italy’s Andreas Seppi into their night time clash. -- AFP