The 30th clash between the Williams sisters was upstaged at the US Open on Friday by a classic encounter between Rafael Nadal and Karen Khachanov.
Nadal eventually fought off the young Russian over four sets in nearly four-and-a-half hours to continue the defence of his title. It was a very different story for Serena Williams as she blasted past Venus 6-1 6-2 in just an hour and 11 minutes.
Defending women’s champion Sloane Stephens impressed in beating Victoria Azarenka while Milos Raonic ended the run of 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka. Last year’s runner-up Kevin Anderson toughed out Denis Shapovalov in five sets.
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Having a smashing time
Although officially frowned upon, a good racket smash normally goes down well with the crowd. Dominic Thiem showed impressive commitment when his frustration boiled over while down a break early in the third set against Taylor Fritz, slamming his racket four times into the court and then giving the remnants to a delighted young fan.
The Austrian was a little sheepish afterwards, saying: “I’m very sorry for that. A lot of bad things were going through my mind as everyone could see.”
Pulling in a crowd
The US Open has an increased capacity this season with the opening of the rebuilt Louis Armstrong Stadium. Flushing Meadows’ second court is also hosting a separate night session for the first time and on Friday the overall attendance exceeded 70,000 for the first time ever, setting a new record of 70,162.
Saturday highlights
After the furore surrounding the intervention from umpire Mohamed Lahyani during his last match, Nick Kyrgios will hope to let his tennis do the talking when he faces Roger Federer.
The pair have met three times before, although never over five sets, with each clash going to a deciding tie-break. Federer leads 2-1 but will know what a danger the mercurial Australian presents.
Novak Djokovic gets the evening slot against Richard Gasquet while the pick of the women’s matches sees Maria Sharapova take on last year’s French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
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