US Open 2019: Elina Svitolina sees off Venus Williams to reach third round
- Published
Venus Williams (left) was also defeated by Elina Svitolina at this year's French Open
US Open 2019 |
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Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 26 Aug - 8 Sep |
Coverage: Live text and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra commentary on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app. Click here for Live Guide. |
Fifth seed Elina Svitolina had five match points saved before she eventually defeated Venus Williams 6-4 6-4 to reach the US Open third round.
The Ukrainian, 24, missed several opportunities to seal the win in a 17-minute ninth game of the second set.
She eventually secured victory when a forehand from 2000 and 2001 champion Williams, 39, went long.
Earlier, third seed Karolina Pliskova reached the third round with a straight-set win over Mariam Bolkvadze.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Svitolina, who has reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in the past two years, will now play either Rebecca Peterson of Sweden or compatriot and 32nd seed Dayana Yastremska.
"It was an incredible match. We saw it was incredibly tough and only a few points divided the match," said Svitolina.
Pliskova dominates Bolkvadze
Pliskova reached the final of the US Open in 2016, losing to Angelique Kerber
Pliskova, 27, dominated to win 6-1 6-4 against Georgian Bolkvadze, ranked 202 in the world, under the roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Czech, a finalist in 2016 at Flushing Meadows, hit nine aces in 66 minutes to maintain her bid to regain the world number one ranking.
She faces either Tunisian Ons Jabeur or Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich next.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Madison Keys became the first American to advance to the third round with a 6-4 6-1 win over China's Zhu Lin.
She will face either Sofia Kenin or Laura Siegemund in the next round.
Britons Johanna Konta and Dan Evans will play their US Open second-round matches on Thursday after Wednesday's matches on the uncovered outside courts were cancelled because of rain.