The Latest: Muguruza beats Azarenka in 3rd round of US Open

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):

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2:40 p.m.

Garbiñe Muguruza has matched her best run at the U.S. Open by reaching the fourth round.

The two-time Grand Slam champion beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Muguruza has won Wimbledon and the French Open, but the No. 9 seed from Spain had reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows just once, in 2017.

Azarenka was runner-up in New York last year for the third time. The No. 18 seed from Belarus was eliminated when she double-faulted on match point.

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1:45 p.m.

Simona Halep fought through a marathon first-set tiebreaker and eventually beat Elena Rybakina 7-6 (11), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the U.S. Open fourth round for the first time in five years.

The No. 12-seeded Halep needed seven set points to finally win the tiebreaker — after she was broken at love when serving for the set at 6-5.

She eventually won it when Rybakina double-faulted, then worked her way to the round of 16 for the first time since reaching the quarterfinals in 2016.

Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion, had lost in the first round of the U.S. Open in both 2017 and 2018.

Rybakina, the No. 19 seed, was a quarterfinalist at the French Open, where she beat Serena Williams.

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11:30 a.m.

Naomi Osaka is expected to be back on the court for the first time since the first night of the U.S. Open when she faces Leylah Fernandez in a third-round evening match.

The defending champion received a walkover into the third round when opponent Olga Danilovic withdrew Wednesday with a viral illness unrelated to COVID-19.

Action started Friday morning under a second straight day of sunny skies and comfortable temperatures following the heavy rain and wind that pounded the area Wednesday night.

Three-time U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka was set to open play on Arthur Ashe Stadium against two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza.

Sloane Stephens and Angelique Kerber were to meet in another marquee women’s match, while Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev were all on the men’s schedule.

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