Ashleigh Barty moved through to the US Open third round after outlasting Lauren Davis in straight sets in New York.
French Open winner Barty – the second seed – was pushed in a hard-fought 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.
Barty rallied from 4-2 down in the second set before prevailing in a tie-break to set up a clash with either 30th seed Maria Sakkari or Peng Shuai in round three.
The Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd was treated to a high-quality affair as Barty and Davis went toe-to-toe under the lights – the baseline rallies tense and fierce.
Davis broke back immediately after falling 2-0 behind early, however the American – with her left leg heavily strapped – was unable to fend off a fourth break point in the fourth game as she eventually found herself 4-1 down.
Barty wrapped up the 47-minute first set on the racquet of Davis, who – while only having one more unforced error than the former – managed just three winners compared to 13.
Davis refused to be overawed in the second set, with the 25-year-old's continued aggression helping her keep pace before breaking and consolidating for a 4-2 advantage.
Barty was kept pressed behind the baseline in the sixth game as she hit the net on three occasions – wasting a pair of break points.
Davis played well in the second set and while she failed to serve it out at 5-4 as Barty won four of six games, she saved three match points to force a tie-break.
However, that was as good as it got for Davis, who was unable to maintain her charge as she was swept aside in the tie-break.
Comments
SHARE