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Former world number one Maria Sharapova rallied to reach the third round of the US Open on Wednesday while a right shoulder injury sent Australian 14th-seed Nick Kyrgios packing.
Sharapova, who downed second-ranked Simona Halep in her first Grand Slam match after a 15-month doping ban, defeated Hungary's 59th-ranked Timea Babos 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"I felt like going into the match I just wanted to get it done," Sharapova said.
"It wasn't my best tennis. It was scrappy tennis but sometimes those kind of matches are a lot of fun and this was one of those days."
Russia's Maria Sharapova after defeating Hungary's Timea Babos during their 2017 US Open Women's Singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on August 30, 2017. /AFP Photo
The 30-year-old Russian became the first player into the third round at Flushing Meadows. She will next face an American, either Sofia Kenin or Sachia Vickery, for a berth in the last 16.
Sharapova, whose five Grand Slam titles include the 2006 US Open, tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open, her most recent Grand Slam appearance until this week.
On the men's side, Kyrgios, the 14th-seed and highest-ranked obstacle in Roger Federer's quarter-final path, hurt his shoulder in a 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 first-round loss to 235th-ranked Aussie John Millman.
Australia's Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Australia's John Millman at the US Open Tennis, August 30, 2017, in New York. /AFP Photo
"Early in the third set I hit one serve and I never felt the same after that," Kyrgios said. "Something didn't feel right in my arm."
Kyrgios, 22, grabbed his right shoulder after a serve in the fourth game of the third set, having a ballboy grab his right arm to try and ease the pain at one stage.
Austrian sixth-seed Dominic Thiem finished off Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. The two-time French Open semi-finalist is the highest-ranked rival to Federer and Nadal on their side of the draw.
(AFP)
