Staff Reporter.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza battled past former world number one Victoria Azarenka to reach the fourth round of the US Open.
Ninth seed Muguruza, who has never been past the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, took the win 6-4 3-6 6-2.
“This year so far it’s working, so I just want to keep going,” Muguruza said.
Elsewhere, 12th seed Simona Halep also reached round four with a three-set win over Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
Both players have been finalists at the Australian Open, also played on a hard court. But the US Open had proved a more difficult puzzle.
Halep had lost in the first round in 2017 and 2018 — the latter the first time that had happened to the No. 1 seed in the first round at the tournament — and her success this time was tough to expect after she missed Wimbledon and the French Open with a calf injury.
While fourth seed Karolina Pliskova needed a third-set tie-break to beat Amanda Anisimova in round two.
The Czech 29-year-old survived an early-exit scare to win 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (9-7) and will face Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in round three.
Halep, who has struggled with injuries this year, edged past Rybakina 7-6 (13-11) 4-6 6-3.
The 29-year-old will face either fifth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine or Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the next round.