CAROLINE WOZNIACKI BECAME the fourth top-10 woman to exit the US Open after just two rounds when she lost 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 to Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova overnight.
Former world number one Wozniacki, the runner-up in 2009 and 2014, had won all seven of her previous meetings against Makarova.
She joins second seed Simona Halep, sixth-seeded defending champion Angelique Kerber and Britain’s Johanna Konta, the seventh seed, in crashing out of the tournament.
Elsewhere Maria Sharapova battled back to reach the third round while next-generation rising stars Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios crashed out.
Sharapova, who downed Halep in her first Grand Slam match after a 15-month doping ban, defeated Hungary’s Timea Babos 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-1.
“It wasn’t my best tennis,” Sharapova said. “It was scrappy tennis but sometimes those kind of matches are a lot of fun and this was one of those days.”
Fourth seed Zverev, whose five ATP titles this year include a win over Roger Federer in this month’s Montreal final, fell to 61st-ranked Croatian Borna Coric 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/4).
The 20-year-old German had been the highest-ranked player in his half of an injury-hit Open draw.
“It’s upsetting because the draw is pretty open in the bottom part,” Zverev said. “I felt like I should have been the favorite there. I just played a very, very bad match, so it’s unfortunate.”
Zverev’s ouster left John Isner the top-ranked player in his draw quarter and Croatia’s Marin Cilic the best in his half of the draw.
Wimbledon runner-up Cilic, the 2014 US Open winner, reached the third round by beating Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Canadian 18-year-old qualifier Denis Shapovalov defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) to book a third-round date with Britain’s Kyle Edmund.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” Shapovalov said.
Shapovalov became the youngest man in the third round of a Grand Slam since Bernard Tomic at the 2011 Australian Open and at the US Open since American Donald Young in 2007.
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza reached the US Open third round for the first time by beating China’s 92nd-ranked Duan Ying-Ying 6-4, 6-0.
“I had like a curse and I broke it finally. I’m so happy,” Muguruza said. “I just put the heart on the court. I knew I had to be all the time fighting for the ball and in the end I won.”
Another top spot hopeful is seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who beat France’s Oceane Dodin 7-5, 6-4.
Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:
