NEW YORK — World number one Iga Swiatek chipped away at American Sloane Stephens’ defensive play to roll into the third round of the US Open 6-3 6-2 on her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut.
No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz beat Federico Coria of Argentina 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 to reach the third round.
The 2017 champion Stephens saved eight of 12 break points but once again could not fend off the Pole’s offensive barrage after losing to her in straight sets last month in the Cincinnati third round.
A day after Williams eliminated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit, with No. 3 Maria Sakkari losing, Swiatek perhaps looms as an even bigger threat to win a seventh title this year, something nobody has done since Williams in 2014.
Past US Open champions Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu have also been eliminated, along with 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez.
Swiatek came to the US Open just 4-4 since the end of her 37-match winning streak earlier this year, but has dropped just eight games through two rounds. She needed only 1 hour, 14 minutes to beat Stephens, having no trouble with her first match in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Honestly, I just tried to have the same kind of motivation or attitude as any other court, because it´s the best way for me to perform good,” Swiatek said.
Four-time champion Rafael Nadal was following them against Fabio Fognini.
Other winners included No. 8 Jessica Pegula, No. 13 Belinda Bencic and No. 26 Victoria Azarenka, who didn’t get a handshake from Marta Kostyuk after beating the Ukrainian player.
“I just don´t think it´s the right thing to do in the circumstances I´m in right now,” Kostyuk said of a handshake, instead offering only a racket tap at the end.
No. 11 Jannik Sinner and No. 15 Marin Cilic, the 2015 US Open champion, advanced, but No. 25 Borna Coric was upset by American Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 7-6 (10), 6-1. Brooksby reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows as a 20-year-old last year, winning a set from Novak Djokovic.
Dan Evans continued his excellent record at the US Open by beating James Duckworth to reach the third round for the fifth time.
The British number two has only once failed to make the last 32 when he has been in the main draw and progressed to the fourth round 12 months ago.
Having lost only six games to Jiri Vesely in the first round, Evans looked set for another comfortable afternoon against Australian Duckworth when he eased into a two-set lead.
But Duckworth, ranked 83rd, took his first break point of the match in the ninth game of the third set and then had an early break in the fourth before Evans fought back to clinch a 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory.
The 20th seed did not hide his delight at the end, spreading his arms wide and running to the net after taking his first match point with a backhand pass threaded down the line.
Evans said: “It was getting difficult. I was in control and then I thought he played very well to get back in.
“I was just happy to get off, really. It was nice to win that match to get to the third round. It’s a match I’m on paper supposed to win. It was my goal to get to where I needed to get to in the seeding spots, do my job, and then go from there.”
Evans had a lot of support, including from Tim Henman, who was watching courtside.
The pair has very similar game styles, and Evans said: “I speak to him quite often. He’s obviously a reassuring figure to have by the side of the court. He’s close probably to getting me a coaching fine pretty quickly.”
American Jenson Brooksby earned a spot in the third round by upsetting No. 25 seed Borna Coric 6-4, 7-6 (10), 6-1.
Brooksby reached the fourth round last year at age 20, taking a set from Novak Djokovic before falling. He was the youngest American to get that far since Andy Roddick reached the 2002 quarterfinals at the same age.
Coric just won the hard-court tune-up in Cincinnati, but Brooksby pulled away after winning the 77-minute second set in the tiebreaker.
Brooksby will play No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz or Federico Coria on Saturday.
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