NEW YORK (Reuters) – World number one Daniil Medvedev maintained his strong start to his U.S. Open title defence on Wednesday, dispatching France’s Arthur Rinderknech 6-2 7-5 6-3 in the Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the third round.
After an inconsistent run-up to Flushing Meadows, Medvedev gained momentum after his straight-sets win over Stefan Kozlov in the first round on Monday and picked up where he left off against Rinderknech.
Russian Medvedev frustrated Rinderknech with his flawless shot placement and pounced on the Frenchman’s serve to keep him pinned back on the baseline, while also saving all three break points he faced.
Medvedev capitalised on several unforced errors from Rinderknech to easily clinch the opening set and although he faced greater resistance from the world number 58 in the second, he was able to break through and prevent a tiebreak.
The 26-year-old dictated play with penetrating groundstrokes and got the crucial break in the third set by claiming the fifth game, before racing to victory in two hours and 10 minutes.
Awaiting Medvedev in the third round will be Wu Yibing, who became the first Chinese man to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows after beating fellow qualifier Nuno Borges of Portugal 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4 6-4.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru)
