Add Category
A year after New York City played host to the biggest moments of Ajla Tomljanović's career, her 2023 campaign has ended in heartbreak, with another injury forcing her to withdraw from the tournament.
Key points:
- Saville tore her ACL in September and only returned to tennis in June
- Świątek said the match had a "weird rhythm" and "wasn't easy" despite the straight-sets win
- Ajla Tomljanović is the only Australian woman left in the draw, playing later this morning
On the men's side, Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata scored the biggest win of his career, taking down 57th-ranked Márton Fucsovics to reach the third round at a major for the first time.
But there are now no Aussie women left in the singles draw after Tomljanović's injury and Daria Saville's 6-3, 6-4 loss to world number one Iga Świątek.
Tomljanović was set to take on 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina just a few hours later, but she handed the Kazakh a walkover victory when an arm injury forced her to pull out of the match.
"My body still needs time to adjust to the intensity of high level tennis," she wrote on Instagram.
"I'm proud of the work we did to get here but it was just a little too early.
"Thank you to the NY fans for all the support, Monday afternoon was good for my soul. Back to work for me."
Tomljanović's opening-round win over Panna Udvardy was her first match of 2023 after most of the year was wiped out by a knee injury.
It also marked her return to Flushing Meadows after a 2022 quarterfinal run that included a sensational third-round win over retiring Serena Williams.
Saville drove Świątek mad at times with her relentless retrieving and crafty tactics, but the defending champion never wavered en route to a 6-3, 6-4 win to extend her unbeaten streak at Flushing Meadows to nine matches.
She has never lost in a major to a player outside the top 100.
Saville only resumed playing in June after nine months out recovering from a torn ACL.
But the one-time top-20 star defied her ranking of 322nd in the world to put the top seed through the wringer on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Saville upset Świątek with clever drop shots, lobs and moon balls to drag the four-time grand slam champion out of her rhythm and draw 22 unforced errors from the title favourite.
Świątek was even hit with a time violation after exceeding the shot clock trying to serve out the match after one particularly lung-busting rally to bring up match point.
"For sure it wasn't easy," Świątek said.
"The rhythm of the match was really weird, so I'm happy that I just tried to play my game and play aggressively with a lot of tenacity.
"I'm just happy to be in the third round."
Hijikata eases into third round for first time
Australian wildcard Hijikata continued his breakout season with a storming second-round win over Fucsovics in New York.
Hijikata crushed the higher-ranked Hungarian 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 to surge into a grand slam third round in just under two hours.
The 22-year-old broke Fucsovics seven times without dropping his own serve even once in a thunderous display that sets up a likely last-32 crack at Norwegian fifth seed Casper Ruud.
Hijikata's watershed win came just two days after the Sydneysider was left rocked by a fatal shooting at his girlfriend's American college, the University of North Carolina, where he also spent two years studying.
He will pocket the biggest cheque of his career, a guaranteed $US191,000 ($298,250), after eclipsing his previous best grand slam run.
That came at this year's Australian Open in Melbourne, where he reached the second round before also claiming the doubles title, his maiden major, partnering countryman Jason Kubler.
Hijikata's latest victory pushes his live ranking to number 92 in the world, one spot below Kubler, who was forced out in the first round with a leg injury.
Márton Fucsovics
LoadingABC/AAP