Nick Kyrgios & Frances Tiafoe Headline Prime Time Action Tonight in New York!
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Seven-time Grand Slam singles champ Venus Williams leads off for DC with a win. (Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
The 2019 US Open is underway and the Kastles biggest stars have come out to play!
Kastles superstar and two-time US Open singles champion Venus Williams got the action started yesterday. The former world #1 shattered San Jose champ Saisai Zheng, 6-1, 6-0, to advance to the second round of the women’s singles championship. The lopsided scoreline was an accurate reflection of just how thoroughly dominant the Kastles star was in her opening match. There wasn’t a weakness in sight!
The Kastles star served with ruthless authority, claiming 80% of her 1st-serve points, moved beautifully throughout the match, and dominated the mid-court with her swinging volleys.
The signature moment in the match occurred in the first game of the second set, when Williams raced forward to reach for a low backhand, but then won the point with a leaping forehand volley. In total, she clocked 24 winners to only 11 unforced errors and sealed the match with an ace.
Venus will look to replicate that stellar form in her next match against #5 seed Elina Svitolina, who defeated 17-year-old American Whitney Osuigwe in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5, in the first round. Svitolina leads their career head-to-head, 2-1, and won their last meeting in Paris earlier this summer in the first round of the French Open.
Yoshi Nishioka advanced in four sets in New York. (Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
The match lasted nearly three hours and featured numerous, marathon rallies and sensational shots from both players. In addition to an assortment of dropshots and lobs, Giron wowed the crowd with a tweener, and appeared to have the match under control early on. He went two-for-two on breakpoint chances to take the first set.
But the momentum shifted in the games and sets that followed, as Nishioka began to attack Giron’s second serve, finally breaking the American in the third game of the second set. From there, Nishioka seemed to gain the upper hand, particularly in the long rallies, as he continually drew errors by picking on Giron’s backhand. After comfortably serving out the second set, the world #59 broke early in each of the remaining sets and only faced resistance on his own service game late in the fourth at 4-3, when Giron was able to break him. Nishioka promptly broke right back, then held to take the match.
Next up, Nishioka faces Philadelphia Freedoms star Feliciano Lopez, who also scored a four-set victory over big-serving American, Taylor Fritz. Nishioka won their sole prior meeting, at the Miami Open in 2016, in straight sets.
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Kastles all-star Frances Tiafoe looks to shine in the Big Apple. (Photo: Rich Kessler)
Nick & Frances Headline Prime Time Action Tonight beginning at 5 p.m. EST!
Tonight, Kastles all-star Frances Tiafoe will look to shine in the Big Apple. The DC phenom and current world #52 will play Croatian giant and ace machine Ivo Karlovic in his opening match of the tournament last up on Court 17, around 5 p.m. The two have never met before. If Tiafoe prevails, he could face #6 seed and three-time Masters 1000 champ Alexander Zverev in the next round. Zverev leads their career head-to-head 3-1.
Then reigning Citi Open champ and #28 seed Nick Kyrgios will take center stage against WTT star Steve Johnson in the last match on Louie Armstrong, around 8:30 p.m. Placed in the bottom half of the draw, the Aussie superstar is on a collision course with #8 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, with whom he partnered in men’s doubles in DC and beat in a thrilling third-set tiebreak, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7), in the semifinals in singles. The pair could meet in the third round in New York.
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