Key events
*Ruse 6-4, 1-1 Badosa (*denotes server) Badosa came back guns blazing to take the first game and Ruse, despite a time-violation warning, shakes it off to take the second.
Coco Gauff will be getting underway on Arthur Ashe soon, the No 3 seed taking on Elina Svitolina. This will be Gauff’s first time facing a seeded player in her title defence. Svitolina is a three-time semi-finalist at grand slams and has reached at least the last eight in 11 slams.
Zheng Qinwen wins the first set 6-2 against Jule Niemeier. It started off quite even on Grandstand but the Olympic champion put together a commanding four game streak. Niemeier had a medical timeout before the final set.
*Ruse 6-4 Badosa (*denotes server) It’s 30-0 to Ruse but that poor serve was bound to catch up to her eventually and a double fault makes it break point for Badosa. But she can’t see it out and the Romanian takes the set with a backhand.
Ruse 5-4 Badosa* (*denotes server) Ruse is visibly fired up now and the game takes a matter of moments as she puts Badosa on the back foot immediately. She now serves for the set.
*Ruse 4-4 Badosa (*denotes server) Nothing has been easy for either player in this first set so far and both are sliding up and down the scale of excellent play and erratic play. After a second deuce the Romanian manages the game with a short forehand that Badosa can’t get to.
Ruse, the qualifier, has won three points on her first serve. And it is 4-4. The Louis Armstrong effect, I guess?
Ruse 3-4 Badosa* (*denotes server) Badosa is forcing Ruse to move a lot more and it is causing a lot of unforced errors for the Romanian – nine in total in this match so far. It is a nervy game though as the two alternate their points. Badosa is also struggling with first serves, only hitting 48% of them by the time we reach 40-40. Two aces earn the Spaniard the hold and she takes the lead.
*Ruse 3-3 Badosa (*denotes server) Ruse comes into this game having not won a single point off her first serve. Badosa takes advantage by moving away and hitting a couple of forehands that are hard for Ruse to read. A double fault from Ruse brings a break point for Badosa and Ruse nets a backhand. All tied up!
Ruse 3-2 Badosa* (*denotes server) We get to 40-15 and Badosa is clearly struggling. At this point, she has served 18 points and only won five of them. My limited Spanish comes in handy here. Her coach tells her to concentrate on making her first serve before a ‘Vamos’. She finally finds the first serve to bail herself out of trouble and makes it 40-40 before saving three break points.
*Ruse 3-1 Badosa (*denotes server) Ruse’s second-serve is too short with very little spin or slice on it and Badosa pounces on it immediately. It is an obvious weakness in the Romanian’s game. But she manages to get to 40-15 after the Spaniard hits several forehand shots well out and she sees out the game.
Ruse 2-1 Badosa* (*denotes server) Badosa is a good mover but Ruse gets inside the court really quickly which eliminates time for the opponent and even someone as mobile as the Spaniard can struggle with some of those shots. Ruse gets the advantage with her firing backhand and then a forehand to see out the game. Three consecutive breaks of serve in this match. Are we living in some alternative universe on Louis Armstrong where players prefer to not serve?
*Ruse 1-1 Badosa (*denotes server) Badosa manages to sprint towards a Ruse dropshot and hits a winner. She gets to 40-0 with an inch-perfect forehand and the players trade breaks after Ruse hits a shot well-wide. Ruse’s serve isn’t as accurate as it could be. It goes right in the middle, making it very easy for opponents to attack and putting her under pressure immediately.
Ruse 1-0 Badosa* (*denotes server) The 26th seed gets us underway and is immediately under pressure after going down 0-40. The Romanian then hits the game winner after Badosa hits it short, immediately pouncing and moving up from the baseline. Our first break!
The weather is overcast in New York but we have confirmation that play should start in time. We start with Gabriela Rusev Paula Badosa on Louis Armstrong and Zheng Qinwen v Jule Niemeier on Grandstand.
After the first two rounds in the men’s singles tournament, Andrey Rublev leads in the most winners hit with 111. The sixth seed fought back from two two sets down to beat Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The match, which took place in grueling heat conditions, was completed in four hours and six minutes. He continues his campaign for a first slam title today against Jiri Lehecka.
Our Brit watch has proved to be a mixed bag. Katie Boulter suffered one of her most disappointing defeats of the season, crashing out 7-5, 7-5 to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro despite being the favourite. But Jack Draper eased into the third round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over the Argentine Facundo Díaz Acosta and Dan Evans’s statement 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Mariano Navone came two days after he battled through the longest match in the history of the US Open, recovering from 0-4 down in the fifth set to defeat Karen Khachanov in five sets after five hours, 35 minutes.
The Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp managed a massive victory against Carlos Alcaraz in a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win last night on Arthur Ashe.
Having established himself as such a reliable performer in the biggest tournaments, this defeat marks the first time that Alcaraz has lost to a player ranked outside of the top 15 at a grand slam since the French Open in 2021, when he was 18 years old and ranked 97th in the world. It is also his earliest loss at a grand slam since that same year.
With the win, Van de Zandschulp has become the fourth unseeded player in 2000s to defeat in straight sets a Top three seeded at the men’s singles US Open tournament.
Catch up on how it all went down with Tumaini Carayol’s report.
Preamble
Hello all and welcome to our blog for day five of the 2024 US Open.
Day four was a tasty one. The world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz crashed out in straight sets while Britain’s Jack Draper and Dan Evans marched on.
And so much to look forward to today. The defending champion Coco Gauff and the Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen continue their campaigns as do Ben Shelton, Andrey Rublev, Paula Badosa and more.
Join me for all the build-up, news and action as we see who will reach the fourth round.
And, as always, if you have any thoughts, questions, queries, musings or predictions feel free to send me an email, which you can find at the top of this blog.