After an almost three-hour battle, fifth-seeded Ons Jabeur prevailed over Marie Bouzkova in three sets to go to the round of 16 at the US Open.
Jabeur, last year’s runner-up, defeated Bouzkova, the 31st seed from the Czech Republic and a player who was handicapped by a thigh ailment, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Jabeur, a 29-year-old Tunisian living in New York, has been sick for quite some time.
When asked about her victory, she stated, “Hopefully I’ll continue with this warrior symbol.” She completed the race in 2 hours and 56 minutes.
“I enjoy a good battle. In my body, I have complete faith. I have no doubt that I can win the whole thing in three sets.
It’s no joke to feel unwell for the first time. The competition has been a great test of my abilities and has proven to me that I can go very far.
In her pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam trophy, Jabeur will face Zheng Qinwen, the 23rd seed from China, in her next encounter at Flushing Meadows.
Marketa Vondrousova, the Wimbledon champion, defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in 56 minutes during the evening session on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
In a match that began at about 23:30 local time, the ninth-seeded Czech Vondrousova easily defeated the 22nd-seeded Russian by a score of 6-2, 6-1.
She then faces Peyton Stearns, the American ranked 59th in the world, who defeated the British No. 1 in Katie Boulter.
The progress of Sabalenka and Pegula continues.
Aryna Sabalenka, the number two seed from Belarus, defeated the number one seed from France, Clara Burel, 6-1, 6-1.
Sabalenka has reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon since winning the Australian Open earlier this year.
If she wins in New York and beats the result of defending champion Iga Swiatek, she will become the new world number one and displace the Pole.
Following her 6-3, 6-4 victory against Greet Minnen of Belgium in the first round, Sabalenka will face the No. 13 seed Daria Kasatkina.
To continue her quest to become the first home singles champion since Sloane Stephens in 2017, third-seeded Jessica Pegula held off a comeback from Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
The American, who is now 29 years old, has made it to the semifinals of six Grand Slam championships.
After defeating 26th seed Svitolina 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, Pegula will play fellow American Madison Keys in the fourth round.
Keys, who lost to Stephens in the 2017 final, defeated Liudmila Samsonova of Russia in three sets (5-7, 6-2, 6-2).
Svitolina is going on hiatus after a productive year.
After having her daughter Skai in October, Svitolina returned to Grand Slam tennis and quickly advanced to the quarterfinals at the French Open. At Wimbledon, she went one better, reaching the semifinals.
The former world number three’s comeback has gone better than she could have hoped for, despite the fact that she was unable to reproduce her success on the hard courts in New York.
After coming back to the court in March, the 27-year-old set a goal for herself: to crack the top 100.
I was surprised by how well I played at Wimbledon. I played great at Roland Garros, too,” she proclaimed.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with the tournaments I’ve played, and I’m very close to the top 20 for the season.”
Svitolina admitted she was “disappointed” by her third-round departure at Flushing Meadows, but she also said she planned to use the time off to bond with her daughter.
“I just want to take some time off right now to recover physically and go again,” the Ukrainian, who was wearing strapping on her right ankle, explained.
“I’m not sure how much time off I’ll take; I’ll have to wait and see what the doctors recommend.”
I’m looking forward to getting home because I haven’t seen my daughter in a long time.
Sabalenka cites Wozniacki as a “inspiration”
Twenty-five-year-old Aryna Sabalenka calls former world number one Caroline Wozniacki’s comeback a “inspiration” before the Dane’s match against American sixth seed Jana Gauff on Sunday (not before 19:00 BST).
Wozniacki, now 33 years old, retired in 2020 to focus on her family. After having two children, she returned to tennis in August and made it to the second week of the tournament at Flushing Meadows.
I think it’s fantastic,” Sabalenka remarked. After taking three and a half years off to raise her two children, she is back to playing at a high level.
“In my opinion, once you reach this pinnacle, you can never return to the ground. This reassures me that, should I decide to leave for a baby in the future, I will have opportunities to return. She’s an incredible role model, and I couldn’t be happier for her.
Wozniacki’s “really quick” recovery has impressed Keys, the 17th seed from the United States.
