Ruse 2-1 Badosa* (*denotes server) Badosa is a good mover but Ruse gets inside the court really quickly which eliminates time for the opponent and even someone as mobile as the Spaniard can struggle with some of those shots. Ruse gets the advantage with her firing backhand and then a forehand to see out the game. Three consecutive breaks of serve in this match. Are we living in some alternative universe on Louis Armstrong where players prefer to not serve?

*Ruse 1-1 Badosa (*denotes server) Badosa manages to sprint towards a Ruse dropshot and hits a winner. She gets to 40-0 with an inch-perfect forehand and the players trade breaks after Ruse hits a shot well-wide. Ruse’s serve isn’t as accurate as it could be. It goes right in the middle, making it very easy for opponents to attack and putting her under pressure immediately.

Ruse 1-0 Badosa* (*denotes server) The 26th seed gets us underway and is immediately under pressure after going down 0-40. The Romanian then hits the game winner after Badosa hits it short, immediately pouncing and moving up from the baseline. Our first break!

The weather is overcast in New York but we have confirmation that play should start in time. We start with Gabriela Rusev Paula Badosa on Louis Armstrong and Zheng Qinwen v Jule Niemeier on Grandstand.

After the first two rounds in the men’s singles tournament, Andrey Rublev leads in the most winners hit with 111. The sixth seed fought back from two two sets down to beat Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The match, which took place in grueling heat conditions, was completed in four hours and six minutes. He continues his campaign for a first slam title today against Jiri Lehecka.

Our Brit watch has proved to be a mixed bag. Katie Boulter suffered one of her most disappointing defeats of the season, crashing out 7-5, 7-5 to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro despite being the favourite. But Jack Draper eased into the third round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over the Argentine Facundo Díaz Acosta and Dan Evans’s statement 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Mariano Navone came two days after he battled through the longest match in the history of the US Open, recovering from 0-4 down in the fifth set to defeat Karen Khachanov in five sets after five hours, 35 minutes.

The Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp managed a massive victory against Carlos Alcaraz in a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 win last night on Arthur Ashe.

Having established himself as such a reliable performer in the biggest tournaments, this defeat marks the first time that Alcaraz has lost to a player ranked outside of the top 15 at a grand slam since the French Open in 2021, when he was 18 years old and ranked 97th in the world. It is also his earliest loss at a grand slam since that same year.

With the win, Van de Zandschulp has become the fourth unseeded player in 2000s to defeat in straight sets a Top three seeded at the men’s singles US Open tournament.

Catch up on how it all went down with Tumaini Carayol’s report.

Preamble