Sakkari and Bencic cruise to the 2nd week of the US Open

Maria Sakkari and Belinda Bencic played great matches to move on the the 2nd week of the US Open with wins over Kvitova and Pegula.

Maria Sakkari stepped out at 18:00 CET against Petra Kvitova and the Greek played her best match yet to defeat Kvitova 6-4 6-3. Kvitova has been in patchy form throughout the North American hard-court swing and today was more or less the same. It was error after error for Kvitova who tallied 33 in total compared to only 16 winners.

Sakkari on the other hand played a very balanced style of tennis and everything worked rather well. She served sensationally from start to finish hitting 9 aces while converting 89 % of her 1st serves. A 19-16 winner-error ratio also helped and the Greek moves to the 2nd week.

Joining her in R4 and the 2nd week will be Olympic Gold Medalist Belinda Bencic who smashed Jessica Pegula in straight sets taking just a bit over an hour. Bencic played a very impressive match from the start hitting winners left and right. Pegula had moments of brilliance but it was not consistent enough.

Bencic also had a very good read on her opponent's serve causing major problems. Pegula on the other hand had a rough day returning slamming many wide. Winner to mistakes were similar in both players but Bencic was simply more consistent. She continues her great form moving to the 2nd week.