By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev flew into the third round after an avian disruption at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, as American Jessica Pegula crushed compatriot Sofia Kenin on another rainswept day that wreaked havoc with the tournament schedule.
Medvedev, the 2021 winner, beat U.S. wildcard Sebastian Gorzny 6-1 6-3 7-5 to start the action on Louis Armstrong Stadium, where two birds landing on the net became the biggest source of frustration for the mercurial Russian who said the chair umpire took too long to call for the point to be replayed before regaining his composure to banish the demons of his first-round exit 12 months ago.
The third-ranked Pegula needed just 56 minutes to dismantle 2020 Australian Open winner Kenin 6-3 6-1 in the first match on Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a meeting with the 2021 Canadian runner-up Leylah Fernandez.
The first round of the tournament spilled over into a fourth day on the outer courts, after relentless rain on Tuesday disrupted the schedule.
Opening the action on the Grandstand court, Alex Michelsen upset fellow American and 16th seed Brandon Nakashima 6-3 6-4 6-4 in their second-round match.
Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur, whose Tuesday night match on Grandstand was postponed, will play his opener against Italian qualifier Andrea Guerrieri on Court 11.
Fans can look forward to a stellar evening programme on Ashe, where Aryna Sabalenka continues her quest for a third straight title against qualifier Polina Iatcenko, while Carlos Alcaraz plays Portugal’s Jaime Faria in his title defence.
American fan favourite Frances Tiafoe kicks off the night session on Armstrong against Japan’s Rei Sakamoto, followed by a clash between Czech Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova and Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee.
American Ben Shelton plays in the second match of the day on Ashe against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, and 2017 champion Sloane Stephens is second up on Armstrong against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by Ed Osmond)
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