US Open 2019: Barty beats brave Davis

Second seed Ashleigh Barty was pushed in a hard-fought 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.

Published : Aug 29, 2019 09:40 IST

US Open second seed Ashleigh Barty

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.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN Ashleigh Barty [2] bt Lauren Davis 6-2 7-6 (7-2)

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Barty – 35/39 Davis –  13/34

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Barty – 8/2 Davis – 1/6

BREAK POINTS WON Barty – 4/18 Davis – 2/3

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE Barty – 54 Davis – 63

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE Barty – 76/52 Davis – 54/47

TOTAL POINTS Barty – 94 Davis – 77