Aryna Sabalenka Faces Tough Questions After Dominant Win
Aryna Sabalenka had already done the easy part.
Fifty-three minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium, a 6-1 6-1 demolition of Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko, and the world No 1 was cruising towards a third straight US Open title defence with the sort of cold efficiency that has become her trademark in New York.
Then came the questions.
Sabalenka bristles at ‘parties’ line of questioning
For the second match in a row, Sabalenka’s post-win press conference turned prickly when a reporter again raised her off-court activities and brand appearances, hinting they might be distracting from her Grand Slam preparation.
“You guys are, like, a joke,” Sabalenka snapped, cutting across the line of inquiry before it could build.
“Parties, fun. Like, why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? What kind of question is that?
“Just because I posted, like, some activities with brands, and you think that I've been partying, not training? The question, like, what is that?”
The reporter tried to clarify: “I'm saying that there are a lot of events and things like that. I'm not saying you go to the parties.”
Sabalenka didn’t let it slide.
“You literally said that. Next question.”
The exchange turned awkward. The reporter attempted to walk it back: “For everyone who is unclear, I'm not suggesting that Aryna is having fun at these parties.”
“Thanks, yeah,” Sabalenka replied, her irritation obvious.
“I'm saying that she makes a lot of appearances and there's a lot to do and lots of events, OK?” the reporter continued.
“OK. Move on,” came the answer.
The tone in the room never quite recovered. Another question tried to pivot back to tennis: “So, now that the tournament has started, do you find you're getting quite serious and combative?”
Sabalenka’s response was as sharp as her forehand.
“Oh, yeah, I wasn't serious before that. Next question. Think before you say stuff.”
On court, though, there is no doubt about her focus. The two-time defending champion is hunting a third consecutive title in New York, a feat that would place her alongside Serena Williams and Chris Evert in the Open Era. She faces Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday, chasing a 17th straight win at Flushing Meadows.
The mood around her may be tense. Her tennis is anything but.
Alcaraz powers through after early scare
On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz flirted with danger, then slammed the door.
The defending champion dropped the opening set 4-6 to Portugal’s Jaime Faria, looked briefly unsettled, then ripped through the match with the kind of surge that has become his signature. The response was brutal: 6-0 6-3 6-2 to reach the third round and keep his title defence on track.
He won eight games in a row after falling behind, turning a tricky evening into a statement.
“After that I just tried to be focused, tried to stay calm and I'm thinking that good things are going to happen again,” said Alcaraz, who has now stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 16 matches.
Once he steadied, Faria had little room to breathe. The Spaniard’s intensity rose, his patterns clicked, and the contest slipped away from the underdog in a blur of forehands and suffocating court coverage.
A family story revived: Ignacio Buse’s breakthrough
On an outer court, a different kind of history stirred.
Peru’s Ignacio Buse, seeded 32nd, ground through a five-set marathon to claim his first US Open main-draw victory, 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-7(6) 6-1 over American Marcos Giron in three hours and 48 minutes on Court Six.
The win carried extra weight. Buse added a new chapter to his family’s story in New York, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who last won a match at the US Open in 1958.
He finished the job with a backhand volley, a bold closing touch that drew loud cheers from his team and the pockets of fans who had stayed for the full distance.
“It's difficult to find the calm in those situations, but in the fifth set, I just tried to recover mentally,” Ignacio said.
“It's a mental battle out there. I just stayed calm. It's a very special moment.”
In a tournament that so often belongs to the giants, this was one of those days when a side court carried its own kind of electricity.
Tsitsipas and Tiafoe grind their way through
Stefanos Tsitsipas also found himself in a scrap. The Greek, fresh from stunning 10th seed Arthur Fils in the first round, had to claw back from a set down against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris.
He edged through 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, leaning on his serve and tightening his baseline game just enough when it mattered. The third set tiebreak proved the hinge; once Tsitsipas grabbed it, Harris’ resistance slowly ebbed.
Next up for Tsitsipas is Czech 18th seed Jiri Lehecka, a matchup that promises clean hitting and very little margin for error.
For American fans, Frances Tiafoe kept the home hopes alive.
The 11th seed handled Japanese qualifier Rei Sakamoto 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 7-5, a straight-sets win that still asked questions of his nerve. Tiafoe had to work hard in the second-set tiebreak and close out a tight third, but he found enough first serves and big forehands when the pressure rose.
With the United States still waiting for a men’s champion in New York since 2003, every step Tiafoe takes carries a little extra weight. The burden hasn’t crushed him yet. It seems to sharpen him.
Sabalenka bristling in the interview room, Alcaraz accelerating through the gears, a Peruvian reviving a family legacy, and Tiafoe shouldering a nation’s hope — the US Open is only just into its early rounds, and already the storylines are running hot.
