Madison Keys, of the United States, serves to Tereza Smitkova, of the Czech Republic, during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, in New York. — AP Photo NEW YORK — Young American Madison Keys reached the third round at the US Open Tennis Championship for the first time.
The 19th-seeded Keys needed just 54 minutes to beat 100th-ranked Tereza Smitkova of Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 Wednesday in a matchup of 20-year-olds.?Keys has now advanced to at least the third round at every major this year, which started with her breakthrough run to the semifinals at the Australian Open.
Keys, who didn't face a break point Wednesday, could meet Serena Williams in the fourth round. Before that, she could play 15th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat her in three sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Daria Kasatkina is a lucky winner.
The 133rd-ranked Russian teen lost in US Open qualifying Friday, but when third-seeded Maria Sharapova withdrew Sunday because of an injury, Kasatkina was suddenly in her first Grand Slam main draw as a "lucky loser."
She proceeded to upset 38th-ranked Daria Gavrilova in the first round the next day, then won again Wednesday to become the first lucky loser to reach the women's third round since 1993.
Kasatkina defeated 79th-ranked Ana Konjuh 6-4, 6-4. In a quarter of the draw full of upsets, she will face yet another unseeded player in the next round, 40th-ranked Kristina Mladenovic or 98th-ranked Bojana Jovanovski. — AP
