New York - 09/05

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Ace Cream's daily newsletter during Masters 1000s and Grand Slams, every morning at 8:30am.

Today is Saturday, September 5, in New York it's 2:30am and it's 21 degrees. Okay, let's get going.

Today at breakfast

• 🇮🇹 Paolini out in the third round against Cirstea
• 🇪🇸 Alcaraz breezes past Wu, gets Tommy Paul in the round of 16
• 🇨🇿 Muchova and Svitolina out to Navarro and Kalinskaya
• 🇧🇾 Sabalenka and Pegula move on, Townsend eliminates Shnaider
• 🇬🇷 Tsitsipas comes back to beat Lehecka, Medvedev and Tiafoe also advance
• 🇮🇹 Cobolli and Darderi on court today for the third round
• 🇺🇸 The Williams sisters go out on their doubles debut
• 🇺🇸 Shelton gets past Shapovalov in four sets

WHAT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT:

🇮🇹 Paolini Falls To Cirstea

Sorana Cirstea defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and fifteen minutes. The Romanian, 36 years old and the 16th seed, had never beaten the Italian before yesterday. Paolini broke serve first in both sets and was broken right back both times, finishing with 25 unforced errors to her opponent's 16.

The score makes it sound shorter than it actually was, because in the second set Paolini came within a point of clawing her way back and then lost the thread on her own serve. The sense is that the problem isn't the shots themselves, which still work fine when she decides to take control, but the time she needs to trust them inside a big point. Cirstea will face Pegula in the round of 16, and that's when we'll find out if this version of the Romanian holds up against someone who won't hand her anything.

🇪🇸 Alcaraz Breezes Past Wu, Gets Paul

Carlos Alcaraz beat Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in two hours and twenty minutes on Arthur Ashe, converting seven of his fifteen break points. It's his first tournament since April, after the layoff for his right wrist injury, and Tommy Paul awaits him in the round of 16, after eliminating Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3.

In his on-court interview he said something that matters more than the score:

> "I feel better than I expected. Physically I thought I'd be in bad shape after the first match, but I'm recovering well,"

which explains why he's been getting through rounds without dropping a set. He leads Paul 6-2 in their head-to-head, but the American is playing at home and comes off a five-setter, two facts pulling in opposite directions. The tournament is starting to ask something of him now.

🇨🇿 Muchova And Svitolina Out To Navarro And Kalinskaya

Emma Navarro eliminated Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5, while Anna Kalinskaya beat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Two seeds from the top half go out on the same afternoon.

Navarro always plays this kind of match in New York, long in the rallies and short on the scoreboard, and against Muchova she won on exactly the ground where the Czech usually takes over. Kalinskaya, on the other hand, settled a match that had leveled out after the second set by taking charge in the third instead of waiting for things to sort themselves out. The women's draw is thinning out fast in the half that looked the most stacked.

🇧🇾 Sabalenka And Pegula Advance, Townsend Eliminates Shnaider

Aryna Sabalenka got past Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 with 29 winners and 10 aces, Jessica Pegula turned it around against Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, and Taylor Townsend beat Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7, 6-3. Marta Kostyuk also advanced over Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2, as did Linda Noskova over Ann Li in three sets.

Sabalenka is still not dropping a set and spending the bare minimum of time on court, which is roughly how she built her last two editions here. Pegula, on the other hand, had to lose a set 1-6 before finding her game, and for someone who carries the weight of the New York crowd, that's not a small thing. Townsend was taken to a third set for the first time this tournament, after two rounds closed out without conceding anything, and she won it anyway.

🇬🇷 Tsitsipas Comes Back Against Lehecka, Medvedev And Tiafoe Advance

Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped the first set 2-6 to Jiri Lehecka and then won 6-1, 7-6, 6-1. Daniil Medvedev handled Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and Frances Tiafoe beat Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, holding serve consistently and making almost no mistakes.

The tiebreak in the third set was the moment Tsitsipas's match stopped hanging in the balance, and from there the Czech never found the court again. Medvedev is doing the thing he does best in New York, winning matches where almost nothing happens and reaching the second week with fresh legs. Tiafoe is a problem for anyone on this hard court when he serves like this, and his side of the draw just got a lot lighter.

🇺🇸 The Williams sisters stop in the first round

Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint beat Venus and Serena Williams 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(7) in three hours and two minutes. It was the sisters' return to a Slam draw together after 2022, granted on a wild card, and it ended on their first outing.

The Williams won the second set in a tie-break 8-6 and lost the third 10-7 in the ten-point tie-break that decides the final set at Slams. Three hours of tennis for two tie-breaks, one each. In August, in Cincinnati, they also went out in the first round.

🇺🇸 Shelton comes through against Shapovalov

Ben Shelton beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 in a little over three hours and twenty minutes on the Arthur Ashe, in a match that started late because the Williams doubles had come before it on the same court. One tie-break each in the first two sets, then the match straightened out in the American's favour.

From the third set onwards Shelton never went back to a tie-break, and those are the two sets in which the difference on serve stopped being reversible. He reaches the round of 16 with three hours and twenty minutes in his legs, which on this hard court weigh as much as the scoreline.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY:

• Darderi vs Sweeny - Court 5, third match from 5:00pm Italian time, after two doubles matches. Third round for the Italian against the Australian who eliminated Musetti, and it's the most direct way to find out how much of that win was down to Sweeny.
• Cobolli vs Blockx - Armstrong, second match from 5:00pm Italian time. Cobolli won the first round after four hours and twelve minutes and the second in four sets, Blockx got past Trungelliti also in four.
• Fritz vs Cerundolo - Ashe, from 5:30pm Italian time. Fritz gave up just two games to Bellucci, Cerundolo came through a five-setter against Struff.
• Gauff vs Bucsa - Ashe, not before 7:30pm Italian time. Gauff hasn't dropped a set yet.
• Swiatek vs Bouzkova - Grandstand, after Keys-Zheng. Closing on the same court, Rybakina against Starodubtseva, not before 11:00pm Italian time.
• Zverev vs Tabilo - Ashe, night session: second match after Jovic-Eala, which opens at 1:00am Italian time. Zverev has gone the distance in five sets in both previous rounds. In the same slot on Armstrong, Osaka-Mertens and Mensik-Tien.

Further reading

• US Open: Paolini still lacking confidence. Cirstea beats her in two comfortable sets
• US Open, Alcaraz isn't at 100% yet but reaches the round of 16: now Tommy Paul
• When Darderi plays Sweeny: date, time and where to watch
• US Open 2026 results and highlights from Friday's bracket
• US Open 2026: order of play for Arthur Ashe, Louis Armstrong and more

Enjoy your breakfast and have a good day.

See you tomorrow at 8:30am with TIE-Breakfast