US Open: Rublev eliminated, Medvedev and Pegula cruise to the next round

The second round of the US Open continued this Wednesday with quite a bit of drama. The world number 23, Russian Andrey Rublev, was eliminated after losing in four sets to Spaniard Daniel Merida 6:7 (3:7), 6:2, 6:4, 6:4.

Men

Merida reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career, where he will meet American Alex Michelsen. Earlier, the tournament's 7th seed, Daniil Medvedev, defeated local player Sebastian Gorzny, ranked 731st in the world, 1:6, 3:6, 5:7.

"I was happy with the level I showed on the court. I love this court and I love you," said Daniil Medvedev after the match.

Women

Jessica Pegula (world number 3) lost only four games in the American derby against Sofia Kenin and won 3:6, 1:6 after 56 minutes. Pegula, who reached the final in 2024, commented:

"I knew today was going to be tough. Sonya has given me a lot of trouble in the past. She is a great player and a champion, so I just tried to stay focused on what I needed to do. I love challenging myself, as a person and as a player. To play this sport you need a lot of passion, and you need to be a little crazy and a little neurotic. I love working on things, I love working hard and I just love the pursuit of improvement in every area. I know I will never reach perfection, but that is exactly the goal."

In the third round, the American will meet Leylah Fernandez, who previously reached the US Open final. Jasmine Paolini also advanced to the next round after defeating Italian Lucrezia Stefanini 4:6, 1:6 in 1 hour and 17 minutes, and she will face Sorana Cirstea (world number 17) in the next stage, who defeated Frenchwoman Diane Parry 2:6, 5:7.

In other matches: Diana Shnaider (15, Russia) - Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 1:6, 6:7 (4); Leylah Fernandez (31, Canada) - Mananchaya Sawangkaew 4:6, 1:6.