WTANew YorkNo.5 seed Ons Jabeur defeated Elizabeth Mandlik to become the first player into the US Open third round on Wednesday, and was joined by Wang Xiyu, who upset No.3 seed Maria Sakkari in three sets.Former junior No.1 Wang’s improvement in 2022 has flown under the radar, but the Chinese 21-year-old burst out on the major stage with the first Top 10 win of her career.Since April, Wang has compiled a 29-13 record to climb from No.150 to her present career-high of No.75. This stretch has included four finals – three at ITF level, and the Valencia 125 in July -- before a semifinal run in Washington and a quarterfinal in Granby over the past month. By contrast, last year’s semifinalist Sakkari came into the US Open with a meagre 1-3 record in her lead-up tournaments.Wang’s left-handed forehand was the star shot of the day, garnering her 26 of her 35 winners; a highly effective pattern that became very familiar was a heavy crosscourt to open the court followed by a searing down-the-line winner. But over the first two sets, her consistency and ability to deal with Sakkari’s first serve were more questionable.In the second set, Wang twice went up a break, only for errors to creep in when ahead. Having served 11 aces in her first-round win over Diane Parry, Wang committed 12 double faults against Sakkari. In the end, she required a double fault from the Greek to get over the line in the second set.But after falling behind 3-1 in the decider, Wang was supremely impressive as she ironed out her mistakes and gritted out a number of extended exchanges. Both players’ levels rose as the match approached its climax, but Wang’s greater control and aggression netted her two consecutive winners to reach match point in the final game. She converted for a 2-hour, 43-minute triumph when Sakkari sent a backhand wide.In the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, Wang will face either No.29 seed Alison Riske-Amritraj or Camila Osorio in a bid to make the second week.Jabeur sails smoothJabeur was the first victor of Day 3, reaching the third round of the US Open for the third year in a row with a 1-hour, 14-minute win.It was rarely plain sailing against the impressive Mandlik, one of this summer’s breakout talents. The 21-year-old had already gotten a taste of pushing a Top 10 player to the limit in San Jose a month ago, when she was barely edged out in the second round by Paula Badosa in a third-set tiebreak. Jabeur will next face No.31 seed Shelby Rogers, who booked her place in the third round of the US Open for the fifth time with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova. Jabeur owns a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Rogers.
