Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek flashed their No. 1 form on Thursday with powerful performances that moved them into the third round of the U.S.
Open. Sinner downed Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in one hour 39 minutes. Sinner dropped the first set in his opening match in New York but didn't encounter much trouble facing his second straight American on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Italian earned his 50th victory of the season, including his ATP Tour-leading 30th on hard courts. Later, Swiatek raced by Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-0, 6-1, winning the first set in just 23 minutes and finishing off the match in 65.
It took the 2022 U.S. Open champion longer than that to play the second set alone in her first-round match, when she needed a tiebreaker that she eventually closed out in 72 minutes. "I just felt the rhythm was much better," Swiatek said. "I was a bit tense in my last match, so today I just wanted to focus on the right things." Meanwhile, Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe opened their U.S.