NEW YORK (AP) – Serena Williams’ drive for her 24th major championship continues at the U.S. Open The 38-year-old Williams has advanced to the third round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Margarita Gasparyan. Williams improved her career record to 20-0 in the second round at Flushing Meadows and will play Sloane Stephens in the next round. Williams leads the series 5-1. Williams had 27 winners and seven aces to put away Gasparyan. Stephens continued her path toward a second U.S. Open championship with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Olga Govortsova.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray was beaten in his second-round match as he continues to work his way back from a pair of hip operations. Felix Auger-Aliassime dispatched Murray, 6-2. 6-3, 6-4. It was a successful day for the No. 2 singles seeds. Dominic Thiem earned a spot in the third round on his 27th birthday, posting a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over over Sumit Nagal. American Sofia Kenin has won her second-round match at the U.S. Open against unseeded Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3. Kenin had more winners than unforced errors and never faced a break point. Daniil Medvedev beat Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the third round. Victoria Azarenka won the battle of the Belarusians with a 6-1, 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. There was a pair of top-10 upsets on the women’s side. Romania’s Sorana Cirstea knocked off No. 9 Johanna Konta, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 to earn her spot in the third round. Tsvetana Pironkova has reached Round 3 in her first tournament following a three-year maternity break, beating No. 10-seeded Garbine Muguruza, 7-5, 6-3.