Dimitrov and Monfils Into US Open Third Round
Seventh-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov powered his way into the third-round at Flushing Meadows early Friday, racing past Israel’s Duda Sela 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. Dimitrov won seven break points and only allowed one of his own on the way to the straight set victory.
The eighth-ranked player in the world had his serve working. He won 71 percent of his first serve points and ripped six aces in comparison to none for Sela. His fastest serve was clocked at 132 miles per hour and only allowed 19 total points on his first serve.
“We’ve played quite a few times and I know he can be tricky,” said Dimitrov. “I thought I played really composed tennis out there.”
Dimitrov moves on to play the winner of David Goffin and Joao Sousa who were in action on Court 7 shortly after Dimitrov claimed victory.
Frenchman Gael Monfils rolled past Alejandro Gonzalez of Colombia 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to earn a spot in the third-round. The 20th seed ripped 45 winners to get past the unseeded Gonzalez and picked up his 15th career win at the US Open in the process. He will meet either fellow countryman Richard Gasquet or Paolo Lorenzi in the next round.
Kevin Anderson fought back from a set down to upend Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz early Friday. The 18th seeded South African fired 15 aces, and came back from a tough first-set tiebreaker loss to knock off Janowicz 6-7(8), 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. The third-round entry for Anderson equals his best US Open performances which came in 2010 and 2011.
“He’s a really tough player,” Anderson said of Janowicz. “I think I felt a little bit tight after that last match coming out here, didn’t get off to the start I wanted but just stayed patient with myself. I didn’t get too upset and I think it showed.”
Fourth-seeded David Ferrer had the easiest time advancing on Friday. The Spaniard got a walkover into the third-round after his opponent Bernard Tomic withdrew with a left hip injury prior to the match.
Feliciano Lopez, the 19th seed, and Marin Cilic, the 14th seed, also advanced into the third-round early Friday.
