WHAT HAPPENED: Aliaksandra Sasnovich equaled her finest US Open showing of two years ago in reaching the third round, with a 6-1, 6-2 trouncing of No. 12 seed Marketa Vondrousova on Wednesday.
After a brief delay to start the match after early morning rains at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Sasnovich took little time in advancing in 65 minutes.
The 26-year-old from Belarus dominated the 2019 French Open runner-up from the opening game with a service break and never trailed.
Sasnovich controlled play with strong baseline play, some well-disguised drop shots and big serving. She had 13 winners, won 62 points, compared to 39 for Vondrousova, and turned away all six break points she faced. Sasnovich broke serve four times, twice in each set.
The only little hiccup in her day came in the last game, as Sasnovich needed three match points to finally secure the victory, when Vondrousova's forehand passing shot clipped the net and went wide.
As sharp as Sasnovich was, Vondrousova was that scratchy. Making her return to the tournament after sitting out last year with a wrist injury that resulted in surgery 12 months ago, the 21-year-old left-hander looked tentative and listless with her movement and sprayed 21 errors around Court 12.
WHAT IT MEANS: Just a few weeks ago, Sasnovich lost in the qualifying of the Prague tournament. Now she has a chance with another win to equal her finest Grand Slam result—the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2018. She awaits the winner of the later match between No. 23 Yulia Putintseva and Vera Lapko.
MATCH POINT: For the highly touted 2019 French Open runner-up Vondrousova, it has been tough going since her return this year after wrist surgery 12 months ago. She lost in the Australian Open and the Western & Southern Open first round, with her best showing the Adelaide quarterfinals. Can she regain her winning form?
