Quick Served: Day 4 — Things Are Heating Up
Andy Roddick is back to break down the day's drama and results.
With top Americans and other contenders advancing to the third round, Andy shares in-depth analysis of their performances and what we can expect in their upcoming matches.
He also offers his candid take on the day’s most heated moment, the Jelena Ostapenko–Taylor Townsend exchange. While Andy admits he “likes meltdowns”, he wasn’t impressed by several aspects of that back-and-forth.
Don’t miss Andy’s full reaction to the clash and his complete Day 4 recap!
*Results from end of play on August 27.
Court Confrontation
A quick recap of that heated moment. Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got into their intense exchange after Townsend’s 7-5, 6-1 victory. The American said Ostapenko told her she has “no class”, “no education.” Ostapenko later said she took issue with Townsend not ‘apologizing’ for a net ball and for how she handled their pre-match warmup. Townsend fired back and said she “let her racket talk.”
Watch Andy’s full reaction to the post-match exchange.
One last ‘meltdown’ note: Medvedev was fined for his outburst during his first round match.
Alcaraz & Sabalenka Shine in Primetime
No drama for Carlos Alcaraz as he cruised by Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-0, 6-3, redeeming himself after a second round loss at Flushing Meadows last year. The No. 2 seed has won all 27 of his service games through the first two rounds and will face No. 32 seed Luciano Darderi next.
Aryna Sabalenka won another tiebreak to tack onto her record-breaking 2025 season and beat Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (4), 6-2 to close out play on Arthur Ashe. The World No. 1 reached the third round of the US Open for the fifth straight year and will next face No. 31 Leylah Fernandez.
Meanwhile on Louis Armstrong Wednesday night, No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini swept 17-year-old American Iva Jovic and No. 6 Ben Shelton beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Men’s Recap
Going The Distance
Six five-set battles thrilled fans Wednesday, with three underdogs and three Frenchmen emerging victorious. Raphael Collignon, ranked No. 107, stunned No. 12 seed Casper Ruud. Qualifier Jerome Kym edged out No. 30 Brandon Nakashima in a four-hour, twenty-minute marathon. And then, 35-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff upset No. 11 Holger Rune in another gritty match that went the distance.
Big tests lie ahead: Kym will meet No. 4 Taylor Fritz, Collignon faces No. 20 Jiri Lehecka, and Struff battles No. 17 Frances Tiafoe in the third round.
Then it was France’s turn for the dramatics. Benjamin Bonzi came back from two sets down to beat Marcos Giron. Arthur Rinderknech knocked out No. 18 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Ugo Blanchet eliminated No. 16 Jakub Mensik. Adrian Mannarino won his match in four sets, completing the daily sweep for Frenchmen.
Novak Being Novak
With every win at a major comes a new milestone for Novak Djokovic. By beating American Zachary Svajda, he claimed his 191st hard-court win in Grand Slams, tying Roger Federer for the most ever. He also matched Federer’s record for the most US Open third-round appearances by a man in the Open Era, with 19.
Elsewhere on the grounds: No. 21 Tomas Machac beat 19-year-old Joao Fonseca and Cameron Norrie got past Francisco Comesana.
Tough news from Jack Draper. The No. 5 seed withdrew from the US Open due to an arm injury. As a result, Zizou Bergs advances to the third round via a walkover.
Women’s Recap
On Early, Advanced Early
Wednesday’s action began with Americans Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro (No. 4 & No. 10 seeds) picking up straight set wins in under 80 minutes. Pegula will meet two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka in the third round, while Navarro takes on two-time major winner Barbora Krejcikova.
There are some other intriguing third round matchups to look forward to after No. 9 Elena Rybakina and No. 5 Mirra Andreeva secured their wins. Rybakina will meet 2021 Champion Emma Raducanu and Andreeva will play Taylor Townsend, in front of what will be an expected high-energy home crowd.
Underdogs set Underrated Matchup
Priscilla Hon, ranked No. 126, upset No. 17 seed Liudmila Samsonova to reach the third round for the first time at a major. Ann Li, an American ranked No. 58, upset No. 16 seed Belinda Bencic 6-3, 6-3. Li and Hon will meet in Friday’s third round.
After scoring historic wins for their home countries, Alexandra Eala (Philippines) and Janice Tjen (Indonesia) lost their second round matches. Eala lost to Cristina Bucsa, while Tjen was eliminated by Raducanu.
Are You Keeping Up With Quick Served ?
1 — Two players age 37+ have reached the men’s singles Round of 32 at consecutive majors for the first time in the Open Era (Adrian Mannarino & Novak Djokovic).
75 — Novak Djokovic passed Roger Federer for most third round appearances at a Grand Slam (75).
100 — Victoria Azarenka is now the fifth player in the Open Era with 100+ wins at hard court Grand Slam events joining Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, and the Williams sisters.
Quick Served Day 3 poll question results: 58% of you answered that Jannik Sinner impressed you the most out of the top seeds who won on Tuesday.
Primetime Preview: Wednesday, August 27
7:00 PM: No. 3 Alexander Zverev vs. Jacob Fearnley
7:00 PM: Donna Vekic vs. No. 3 Coco Gauff
8:30 PM: Nuno Borges vs. No. 14 Tommy Paul
9:00 PM: No. 8 Amanda Anisimova vs. Maya Joint
All match times are in Eastern Time.
Thursday’s Full Schedule of Play.
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