NEW YORK (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO THURSDAY
Serena Williams is right back in Arthur Ashe Stadium for a night match, and this time she’ll have her big sister beside her. Serena, who reached the third round in singles by winning Wednesday, and Venus are teaming up in doubles for the first time since the 2018 French Open. They open the night session against the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in first-round action. The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam championships in doubles, including two at the U.S. Open. That match will be followed by No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal against Fabio Fognini, who beat the four-time U.S. Open champion in New York in 2015 — the first time Nadal ever lost a match after winning the first two sets. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek opens the day session in Ashe against 2017 champion Sloane Stephens, followed by No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz against Federico Coria.
THURSDAY’S FORECAST
Mostly sunny. High of 87 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius).
WEDNESDAY’S KEY RESULTS
Women’s Second Round: Serena Williams beat No. 2 Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2; Wang Xiyu beat No. 3 Maria Sakkari 3-6, 7-5, 7-5; No. 5 Ons Jabeur beat Elizabeth Mandlik 7-5, 6-2; No. 12 Coco Gauff beat Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-2, 7-6 (4); Liudmila Samsonova beat No. 14 Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 7-6 (3); No. 17 Caroline Garcia beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-1; No. 20 Madison Keys beat Camila Giorgi 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6); Aledsandra Krunic beat No 23 Barbora Krejcikova 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Men’s Second Round: No. 5 Casper Ruud beat Tim van Rijthovan 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; Jack Draper beat No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; No. 23 Nick Kyrgios beat Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; No. 29 Tommy Paul beat Sebastian Korda 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Andy Murray beat Emilio Nava 5-7, 6-3, 6-1, 6-0.
STAT OF THE DAY
23-2 — Serena Williams’ record in her past 25 matchups against opponents ranked No. 1 or No. 2 after her victory over No. 2 Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday night.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’ve mostly been kind of blocking everything out, but then at the same time, I’ve been embracing a little bit of it, because I also want to enjoy the moment.” — Williams, on how she balances focusing on her matches while there is so much celebration of her career happening at the U.S. Open.
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