The Latest: Halep in US Open 3rd round, 1st time in 5 years
NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):
___
1:25 p.m.
Simona Halep is into the third round of the U.S. Open for the first time since 2016.
The No. 12 seed rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Kristina Kucova at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where their match was moved after Naomi Osaka’s opponent withdrew from their scheduled match.
Halep has won two Grand Slam titles but struggled at the U.S. Open. She lost in the first round in consecutive appearances in 2017 and 2018 and hadn’t gone past the second round since reaching the quarterfinals in 2016.
She completed her victory under the closed roof while play was suspended again on the outer courts after rain returned.
___
12:45 p.m.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Ons Jabeur had quick victories to reach the third round of the U.S. Open.
The ninth-seeded Muguruza, a two-time Grand Slam champion, beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-2. She could next face No. 18 seed Victoria Azarenka, who reached her third U.S. Open final last year.
The 20th-seeded Jabeur routed Maria Camila Osorio Serrano 6-0, 6-1 in 53 minutes.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka was the first player to reach the third round when opponent Olga Danilovic of Serbia withdrew for medical reasons.
___
11:50 a.m.
Play has started on the U.S. Open’s outside courts after they were dried following morning rain.
No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev and 15th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov were among the players who got started late after play was delayed on the courts that aren’t covered.
More rain was expected throughout the day in the New York area on Wednesday.
Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium both have roofs that can be closed.
___
11:05 a.m.
Naomi Osaka has advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open after her second-round opponent withdrew for medical reasons.
The defending champion was set to play Olga Danilovic of Serbia in the first match of the day in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The U.S. Tennis Association said the match between women’s No. 12 seed Simona Halep and Kristina Kucova would move to Ashe.
___
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
