Osaka, Eala, Keys Advance as Auger-Aliassime Falls

Naomi Osaka, Alexandra Eala and Madison Keys secured places in the third round of the women’s singles at the U.S. Open, while Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a surprise exit in the men’s event.

Auger-Aliassime, the No.3 seed, became the tournament’s highest-ranked player to leave the competition. Earlier, No.4 seed Novak Djokovic had also crashed out in the opening round.

The Canadian struggled physically during his match against Karen Khachanov, eventually losing 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Auger-Aliassime said he felt dizzy and was seeing spots, making it impossible for him to recover.

“Karen is a great player. Look, I cannot beat him or anybody in this draw feeling the way I felt today,” the Canadian said. “If I cannot move, we’re not talking about tennis here.”

Meanwhile, Osaka recovered from a major dip in form to beat Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 on Thursday. The No.13 seed won the opening set in 30 minutes and moved 4-2 ahead in the second, but 20 unforced errors allowed Siniakova to fight back.

Osaka quickly regained control in the deciding set, breaking for a 2-0 lead before finishing a 19-shot rally with a winning volley.

Eala also progressed comfortably, defeating Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4 in straight sets.

Keys, the 2017 U.S. Open runner-up, survived a dramatic battle against Anna Bondar. She saved five match points before winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (10-5).

“That was something, huh? No stress, though, we all knew I had it right?” Keys joked to the fans afterward.

Can Osaka, Eala and Keys continue their impressive runs in New York?