Angie Kerber (4) and Caroline Garcia (6) were drawn to play each other in the quarter finals of the 2018 US Open, but events on Day Six served to put this potential match up at risk.
Garcia took the best part of two hours to squeeze past Monica Puig in her second round match, but she triumphed in the finish, and she faced Carla Suárez Navarro (30) in the third round.
The pair had met twice before, including earlier this year in Madrid, with Garcia winning on both occasions.
Carla made the round of sixteen here both last year and 2016, after also achieving that mark in 2011 - she was a quarter finalist in 2013.
Caroline’s best efforts in New York had been third rounds in 2016 and 2017, something repeated to this point in 2018.
Today, the players were generally strong on serve in the opening set, apart from the exchange of a break apiece early.
Carla levelled at 5-5 with an ace, and it appeared likely that a tie break would be necessary. Especially given the strong comeback from Caroline after she trailed 15-30 next game - forehand helping out.
However, the Spaniard lost focus when serving to stay in the set, falling down set points to the sixth seed. A backhand crosscourt winner sealed the deal for Garcia and she led 7-5.
A determined Suárez Navarro broke in the first game of set two, and with neither player facing a break point for the rest of the set, the match was levelled at 5-7 6-4.
Again in the decider serve was dominant, Carla saving the only break point she faced (in the sixth game) while Caroline was steady when down 5-5 15-40, following a double fault. The remedy came with a forehand winner and a big serve.
The match was decided with a tie break, as the US Open is the only major where the final set does not go to advantage.
Carla used her stellar single handed backhand to force a French error, and that was the only point in the tie break taken against the serve.
Fittingly, a backhand winner on the first match point rocketed Carla Suárez Navarro into her third successive US Open round of sixteen.
Meanwhile, Dominika Cibulková (29) also came back from a set down, against Wimbledon champion Angie Kerber (4) to cause another upset 3-6 6-3 6-3
After a first set, in which she was broken three times, and where 16 unforced errors flowed off the Slovakian racquet, Cibulková over the remaining two sets hit 32 winners to Kerber’s 11, while the unforced error count was 23 to Cibulková and 16 to Kerber.
Essentially the German player was hit off the court by an inspired Cibulková.
The much hyped clash between Roger Federer (2) and Nick Kyrgios (30) was enthralling in the early stages as the Australian held serve easily, and had the Swiss master in trouble, taken to deuce in the fifth game, and then 0-40 in the seventh. Roger saved those three break points, and one more, was taken to deuce a few more times, before holding serve for 4-3.
That’s where the match effectively ended.
Kyrgios won two of the next ten games, one of the lost games being the tenth and final game of set one, where Federer virtually stole a 6-4 lead.
Set two was a 6-1 walk in the park for Roger, while Nick was taking a walk somewhere else, and set three was just wrapping up things for the second seed 7-5
Other third round results:
Women
- Madison Keys (14) defeated Aleksandra Krunic 4-6 6-1 6-2, and she will play Dominika Cibulková in the round of sixteen
- Marketa Vondrousova defeated Kiki Bertens (13) 7-6(4) 2-6 7-6(1)
- Lesia Tsurenko defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-0, is yet to drop a set, and will play Marketa Vondrousova in the round of sixteen
- Naomi Osaka (20) defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-0 6-0, is yet to drop a set and has won 36 games out of the 43 she has played
- Maria Sharapova (22) defeated Jelena Ostapenko (10) 6-3 6-2, and she will play Carla Suárez Navarro in the round of sixteen
- Aryna Sabalenka (26) defeated Petra Kvitová (5) 7-5 6-1, and she will play Naomi Osaka in the round of sixteen
Men
- John Millman defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4 4-6 6-1 6-3, and he will play Roger Federer in the round of sixteen
- Joao Sousa defeated Lucas Pouille (17) 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(4) 7-6(5)
- Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Sascha Zverev (4) 6-7(1) 6-4 6-1 6-3
- Kei Nishikori (21) defeated Diego Schwartzman (13) 6-4 6-4 5-7 6-1, and he will play Philipp Kohlschreiber in the round of sixteen
- David Goffin (10) defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 6-1 7-6(4)
- Novak Djokovic (6) defeated Richard Gasquet (26) 6-2 6-3 6-3, and he will play Joao Sousa in the round of sixteen
- Alex de Minaur and Marin Cilic were tied at two sets apiece after the Australian teenager shocked the seventh seed and 2014 champion by taking the opening two. Cilic mounted the expected revival and was serving first in the decider. de Minaur had break point for a 3-2 lead but Cilic squashed that, proceeded to hold serve, and then packed the Australian’s bags for his long trip home. Although de Minaur saved match points when down 2-5 and 0-40, and broke Cilic for 4-5, the seventh seed ultimately had the experience which was a little too much for Alex in the final analysis. 4-6 3-6 6-3 6-4 7-5, and Marin will play David Goffin in the round of sixteen
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