Sports01 September, 20262 min read
Aryna Sabalenka Beats Polina Iatcenko 6-1 6-1 in US Open Second Round
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Sabalenka beat Polina Iatcenko 6-1 6-1 in 53 minutes in the US Open second round. The win was one of Sabalenka’s quickest Grand Slam victories.
Sabalenka’s US Open win
Aryna Sabalenka earned a 53-minute US Open second-round win over Polina Iatcenko, beating the debutant 6-1 6-1 as she kept her momentum in the tournament.
Despite the quick victory, Sabalenka showed tension in her post-match news conference after taking umbrage at a reporter’s suggestion that she had been attending "lots of parties" in the build-up to the US Open.
Sabalenka, who is 28 and aiming to win her first major title of a season that includes a rare 'three-peat' bid, responded: "What kind of question is that? Just because I posted some activities with brands, you think that I've been partying [and] not training?"
She then pushed back when asked if she was "getting serious" now the tournament was under way, saying: "Oh yeah, I wasn't serious before that. Next question."
Sabalenka will play Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova in the third round after the match, with the BBC noting her confidence boost from the ruthless manner of the win.
Fury vs Joshua standoff
Tyson Fury labelled Anthony Joshua a “coward” as the pair faced a tense wait over whether their long-awaited all-British heavyweight bout can be agreed.
The fight had been expected to finally settle their differences and face off in November, but the likelihood of that happening is diminishing as an agreement over the venue has yet to be reached.
Fury said negotiations were becoming “quite tiring” and described the repeated locations being discussed, including “England, Ireland, Vegas, New York, back to England, back to Ireland, back to New York,” while insisting he had “Zero stipulations.”
Fury’s central accusation was direct, as he told Joshua: "I feel like you’re being a coward. I feel like you don’t want the fight and you’re just conning everybody."
Queensbury’s Frank Warren told Sky Sports News his fighter was “100%” signed up for the fight, adding: "It is signed by Tyson," as the standoff continued over where it would be staged.
Badosa reaches Gauff
Paula Badosa advanced to face Coco Gauff at the US Open after a night of intense anguish in Flushing Meadows, where rain forced her match with Daria Kasatkina to be interrupted in two occasions. Badosa, who is 28 and currently in the puesto 87 del ranking, said she barely slept after a match that extended for more than a day, and she admitted: "No conseguía dormir, estaba muy tensa". After wasting three match points the night before, she resumed on Wednesday and won 6-1, 6-4, with the Cadena 3 report saying the rain also led to ten matches being suspended or not able to start on Tuesday.
Badosa framed the emotional strain around the disruption, commenting: "No ha sido fácil, todo estaba completamente controlado ayer" as she tried to close out the encounter. The same report said Jessica Pegula and Daniil Medvedev advanced to the third round with victories, while Brandon Nakashima (16) and Andrey Rublev (23) were eliminated in the first round.