WHAT HAPPENED: Firepower triumphed over experience in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Day 6 as No. 18 seed Diana Shnaider steamrolled veteran Sara Errani, 6-2, 6-2, in a routine third-round encounter at the 2024 US Open.
“It was a great match. I’m really proud of myself and the effort I put in today and [throughout] the year,” Shnaider said on court following the match. “It’s very special to be in the second week of a Grand Slam in the U.S.”
The contest pitted Shnaider’s controlled aggression against the tireless retrieving game of the Italian, a former world No. 5, now ranked No. 96.
Errani indeed found success in interspersing delicate drop shots, angled volleys, surprise lobs, and enviable finesse, which earned the former doubles No. 1 a career Golden Slam earlier this month when she and Jasmine Paolini won gold in women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics. (Coincidentally, it was over Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva in a third-set tiebreak).
She just didn’t do it often enough.
Errani, who at 37 is nearly twice the age of her 20-year-old opponent, struggled to keep up with the big-swinging lefty. In fact, Shnaider’s only letdown occurred in the third game when she relinquished an early break due to a smattering of unforced errors. But she quickly regrouped, blasting 19 winners to just 5 for Errani to capture the first set, 6-2.
In the second set, Shnaider continued hammering Errani’s precise, but non-threatening, first serve which averaged just 73 miles per hour. In contrast, Shnaider ripped first serves averaging 91 miles per hour and, earlier in the tournament, even unleashed a 121 mile per hour zinger that remains the second fastest among the entire women’s singles field.
Shnaider closed out the match in just over an hour. In all, she belted 31 winners, 21 from the forehand side.
WHAT IT MEANS: Errani, who owns nine WTA titles, is making her 12th appearance at the US Open where her best result was a semifinal run in 2012. This was her first Grand Slam third round since the 2021 Australian Open. Her last Top 20 win dates back to 2016 Sydney, when she topped then-No. 2 Carla Suarez Navarro.
Shnaider, who is known for her trademark bandana and imposing all-court game, is enjoying a career-high ranking on the strength of three singles titles on all different surfaces: Hua Hin (hard court), Budapest (clay), and Bad Homburg (grass)—the only player to achieve the feat this season.
Shnaider, who earned ACC Freshman of the Year honors at North Carolina State, is making her US Open debut and sixth appearance overall at a Grand Slam tournament. Playing in her first-ever Grand Slam Round of 16. she will next face No. 5 Jessica Pegula.
“I’m very happy and proud of myself,” Shnaider said. “It didn’t come just in one moment or in one month. Sometimes I’ve had very hard times. I’m just glad I managed it and found my way.”
MATCH POINT: Shnaider earned the first Top 10 win of her career three weeks ago by defeating then-No. 2 Coco Gauff in Toronto. Can she keep the momentum going with a win over Pegula?
