Canada’s Leylah Fernandez was eliminated from the U.S. Open following a defeat to third seed Jessica Pegula of the United States in the third round. Fernandez, a 23-year-old from Laval, Que., started strong with a 6-1 first set win but ultimately lost 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Pegula made a crucial break in the second set to take a 4-2 lead. Fernandez fought back to reduce Pegula’s lead to 5-4 but Pegula secured the set. Pegula’s third break in the third set gave her a 3-1 lead, and she maintained it to win the match in two hours and 10 minutes.
Despite her singles loss, Fernandez is still competing in the doubles event with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen. They are set to play against the ninth-seeded pair of Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia in the second round.
In another match, Carlos Alcaraz defeated China’s Yibing Wu 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Alcaraz, the second seed, continues his journey to defend the U.S. Open title when he faces Tommy Paul in the fourth round.
Aryna Sabalenka faced challenges in her match but managed to advance to the fourth round by defeating Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4. Sabalenka, the top seed, will face Taylor Townsend in the Round of 16 as she aims to win her third consecutive U.S. Open title.
In a surprising turn of events, Serena and Venus Williams were knocked out of the U.S. Open women’s doubles after losing in a match tiebreaker to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint. The sisters, former dominant forces in women’s doubles, experienced a tough defeat despite their previous successes in the tournament.
In a later match, Ben Shelton overcame Denis Shapovalov in a four-set victory, advancing to the fourth round in New York. Shelton, who recently won the National Bank Open in Montreal, will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round after defeating Shapovalov 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.
