And, just like that we are halfway through the US Open. Not that there has been a dearth of action in the tournament, both on and off-court. Day 6 in Flushing Meadows finally saw Roger Federer get a win in straight sets and Rafael Nadal out-muscle his opponent en route to victory.
Then, there was also the unceremonious ouster of Fabio Fognini from the Major.
Dive in for all the on and off-court action from day six at the US Open.
The big news
Federer cruises, Nadal rampages
Third seed and five-time former champion Federer finally settled into an easy rhythm in his third-round match against fellow veteran Feliciano Lopez. The 19-time Grand Slam champion who had hobbled into the third round after winning two successive five-setters, won in straight sets against the Spaniard, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to reach the fourth round at the US Open.
Federer’s reward for reaching the second week – a meeting against Philipp Kohlschreiber, against whom he has a 11-0 win-to-loss record. Meanwhile, his head-to-head against Lopez remained just as untarnished even as he improved it to 13-0.
In the top-quarter of the men’s singles top-half, Nadal also remained on-course with a fiery 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 win over Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer. The first two sets in the match took over an hour each, before Nadal stormed back to win the latter two sets in 71 minutes.
The two-time former champion also improved his head-to-head against Mayer, who had made it to the main draw as a lucky loser, to 4-0.
Foul-mouthed Fognini gets his marching orders
Fabio Fognini lost his first-round men’s singles match to countryman Stefano Travaglia 6-4, 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-0. But, beyond the loss itself, it’s the way events played out for the world No 26 that will haunt him for a long time.
While the 30-year-old continued to show his frustrations in the course of the match several times, he also stepped over the line in abusing the chair umpire Louise Engzelle in gutter Italian. While he was docked $24,000 in fines for his outburst in the match, on Saturday, the United States Tennis Association also suspended him from the tournament.
At the time of his ouster from the tournament, Fognini and his compatriot Simone Bolelli had made it to the third round of the men’s doubles.
Shot of the day:
From the sidelines:
Been a long time
Philipp Kohlschreiber joined Mischa Zverev in the last 16, the first time in 13 years that two German men made the fourth round. Tommy Haas and Nicholas Kiefer were the last pair in 2004.
Yes, that was pretty stupid
Reporter to Naomi Osaka after her loss to Kaia Kanepi:
“Stupid question: Why did you win today?” Osaka: “I didn’t win.”
Big time player
America’s world no 91 Jennifer Brady has won just seven tour-level main draw matches in 2017 but all have come at the Slams. She won three in Australia, one at Wimbledon and on Saturday defeated Monica Niculescu for her third at the US Open.
Private business
Elina Svitolina has been busy shopping in Manhattan on her off days at the US Open, but she won’t reveal what she’s been buying. “It’s a bit personal,” said the Ukraine fourth seed.
Old timers’ Saturday night
Roger Federer, 36, and his opponent Feliciano Lopez, 35, struck a blow for the older generation in their third round match – it was the oldest match-up at the US Open in the round of 32 since 1970 when Pancho Gonzales played Niki Pilic.
Quotable quotes:
“I’m not going to be talking about gambling. You have other questions or not? We’re finished.”
– Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov fumes at reporters after his name was linked to a betting investigation.
“In June last year, I didn’t care if I didn’t play tennis again. I needed a break from tennis and the longer the break the better.”
– Kaia Kanepi on her illness and injury battles which sidelined her for best part of two years. On Saturday, she reached the last 16 of the US Open.
“The bigger question is how does the US Open let him play two matches in doubles before making a decision. Cant take more than 48 hours to decide.”
– India’s Rohan Bopanna reacting on Twitter to the decision to boot Fabio Fognini out of the US Open.
“That’s not why you play tennis. You play tennis to win matches and play well together. As it does happen, we’ve both made an impact in our countries. She has inspired people to play tennis in her country. Hopefully I’ve done the same in India. If it inspires people, we will welcome it.”
– India’s Sania Mirza on her doubles partnership with Peng Shuai of China.
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