The new Louis Armstrong Stadium turned into the graveyard of women's top seeds. On Monday, Kanepi began the 2018 edition upsetting No.1 Halep, today Lesia Tsurenko shocked No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-2 to claim her seventh Top 10 win, all coming on American hardcourts as she previously defeated No.7 Bouchard and No.10 Petkovic (2015 Indian Wells), No.9 Muguruza (2015 Toronto and 2018 Cincinnati), No.8 Karolina Pliskova (2015 New Haven) and No.6 Safarova (2015 US Open). The void could create a tremendous opportunity for Bertens or Kvitova to make their first Us Open semifinal. Tsurenko received two medical time-outs on his right arm and struggled to find power on serve, but Wozniacki lacked ball pace and suffered when the Ukrainian attacked her forehand. The Ukrainian won the majority of rallies lasting over 9 shots (notably they played 25 of those in the opening eight games) and finished the match striking 20 winners to Wozniacki's 6 and 38 unforced errors to 35. The Ukrainian came back from 3-1 down in the first set and sensed the vulnerability of Wozniacki's forehand side in the second set to complete two breaks and reach the third round of the US Open for the second time in two years. Wozniacki, WTA Insider reported on Twitter, gave a lot of credit to Tsurenko. “She was playing smarter than me. She played the game that I was supposed to be playing. I tried to play aggressive because I saw openings. The court is a little bit slower I think. I should have made better adjustments. I just didn’t." Having moved past the first round in all the majors of the season for the first time in her career, she coolly completed her maiden top 5 victory to book a third-round meeting with Katerina Siniakova who survived a titanic three-setter against Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4 6-7(3) 7-6(4). In a battle of entertaining rallies, Siniakova offered the Australian the opportunity to serve out the match at 6-5 in the second set. The Czech went on to lose the tie-break that followed but use angles to dictate the game in the third and maximize a better shot selection to put six Czech women into the third round, the most of any nation. Maria Sharapova extended to 21 straight matches her winning streak in night matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Russian came back from a break down in the second set to beat 6-2 7-5 Sorana Cirstea who looked inconsistent in the first set. In the second the Romanian raised her level while Sharapova looked affected by uncertainties and double faults. Cirstea, looking to advance to the third round at the US Open for just the second time in her career, served for the second set, but Sharapova fought back to extend her US Open record to 37-10, third for most wins among active players. Ranked No.22 this fortnight, owning the second-best winning percentage in first-round matches at Grand Slam level among active players (behind S.Williams 68-1, and ahead of A.Radwanska 45-4, who fell 1r at this year’s US Open), Sharapova claimed her seventh victory out of seven clashes against Romanians in the majors, defeating Olaru (2010 Wimbledon), Cadantu (2012 Roland Garros), Halep (2014 Roland Garros, 2017 US Open), Dulgheru (2014 US Open) and Begu (2015 Wimbledon). Owning a 355-99 (.781) career win-loss record on hard courts, second only to Serena Williams among active players, Sharapova will meet No.10 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the third round. The Latvian has now won the last seven second-round encounters at the Grand Slam level dating back to the 2015 US Open. But she had to dig deep to overcome 4-6 6-3 6-4 American Taylor Townsend, making her first second-round appearance at the US Open and bidding to match best Grand Slam result. Ostapenko, who owns a 2-1 record against US players at Grand Slams, clinched her 26th major match win as she blasted her high-risk groundstrokes, finishing the match with 52 winners and 47 unforced errors. Townsend, who registered her first main draw win in New York at the fourth attempt in the first round, is now 0-7 against Top 10 players. Ostapenko managed to survive to 14 double faults and will bid to avenge the 6-7 6-4 7-5 defeat suffered the last time she crossed Sharapova's path, in Rome earlier this year. “I played like s...” Eugenie Bouchard openly assessed her inconsistent performance in her second-round 6-4 6-3 loss to Marketa Vondrousova. “On the court, I really didn't feel like myself," Bouchard said. "That's very disappointing, considering how good I felt in my last couple matches. I think I'll have to take a lot of positives from the past couple weeks." The Canadian, who made 32 unforced errors to the opponent's 25, won just 59 percent of first serve points and lost her serve six times including the final game. "Lefties are always tough," Bouchard said of her opponent. "It's a different spin. You don't see it often. She got a lot of balls back, made me feel that pressure kind of. But there were like 10 things I could have done better, so... it's more about me." Vondrousova, who reached a career-high WTA ranking of No. 50 in March after her fourth-round showing in Indian Wells, ended a run of eight straight sets won by Bouchard. She will now face the first seeded opponent of her campaign, Cincinnati champion Kiki Bertens, the No. 13 seed, in the third round. No.14 seed Madison Keys, one of just four players this year to reach the quarterfinals or better at two of the first three Grand Slams, continued brilliantly as the 2017 Us Open runner-up eased into the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over compatriot Bernarda Pera, who has now competed in the main draw of all four Grand Slams for the first time in her career. Making her seventh main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows, seeded for her 14th consecutive major, Keys won the tenth out of 14 Grand Slam matches against American opponents. Keys, who came within a game of defeat in their lone meeting earlier this season at Charleston, holds a 16-6 mark in second-round matches at Grand Slam level. "I feel really good about today," said Keys, who won 75.1% of service games in 2018, the fifth-best record on tour, behind Goerges, Barty, Konta and Kvitova, during her post-match press conference. "I think I definitely brought my game up to a better level in the second set, so happy with it." Perfectly aware that the biggest thing is to not put pressure on herself, Keys will face Aleksandra Krunic, after the Serbian No.1 dispatched Kirsten Flipkens 6-1 6-3. Krunic beat Keys in three sets in the second round of her breakthrough campaign at 2014 US Open, but Keys won their only next meeting in Stanford in 2015. French fans won't see the battle between the former friends Caroline Garcia and Kiki Mladenovic as the latter surrendered 6-1 4-6 6-4 to Carla Suarez Navarro, the only Spanish woman remained in the draw. “I had a minor right thigh injury,” said Mladenovic, unable to defend a 3-1 lead in the decider, “that affected me. Yesterday the doctors said to me there was nothing to worry about, and today things improved as I take a medicine on court. But I was already a set down and came back is never easy. However, I believe I played well in the second and third sets”. ↓ SHOW RESULTS ↓<doc-sep>The women’s tournament is without its top two seeds heading into the third round after Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki joined Simona Halep in making a shock early exit. Like Halep’s first-round loss to Kaia Kanepi, Wozniacki could have no complaints after being well beaten by Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-4 6-2. The Dane said: “I started off pretty well, then I think I played well in parts of the first set, just trying to stay aggressive. But she was playing smarter than me. She played the game that I was supposed to be playing.” After breaking her grand slam duck in Melbourne after so many years of trying, it has not been a great season for Wozniacki, barring a title in Eastbourne in June. She has failed to go beyond the fourth round at any of the three slams since, with this defeat following a second-round loss against Ekaterina Makarova at Wimbledon. Wozniacki said: “This part of the season is usually a part of the season I really look forward to, one I really play well. I definitely would have wished to have played more and gone further. All I can do now is regroup, think what I can do, and also just make sure my body is 100 per cent. “I’m always going to say it’s a great season because I won my first major. If I hadn’t won in Australia, we would be talking differently. But I did. I’m very proud of that. It’s something that nobody can ever take away from me.” Over on Arthur Ashe, Maria Sharapova avoided more late-night drama, recovering from a break down in the second set to defeat Sorana Cirstea 6-2 7-5 and set up an exciting clash with Jelena Ostapenko. No-one has risen more swiftly up the ranks in women’s tennis this season than Aryna Sabalenka, and the Belarusian is looking to do some damage in New York. Sabalenka began the season ranked 78 but now sits just inside the top 20 and, at 20, is the youngest of that elite group. After beating four top-10 players in a sequence of results building up to this tournament that culminated with her first WTA Tour title in New Haven, Sabalenka defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-3 7-6 (9-7) to reach the third round at a grand slam for the first time. Petra Kvitova will play Aryna Sabalenka in the third round in New York. Photograph: Alex Pantling/Getty She said: “Of course this is unbelievable for me and I’m really in shock right now because it was such a great summer for me. I didn’t expect it to be that good and I’m so happy with this level I show on the court.” The third round is usually where grand slams come alive and there will certainly be plenty of eyes on Sabalenka’s next clash with fifth seed Petra Kvitova, who is showing strong form in New York and defeated China’s Wang Yafan 7-5 6-3. Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber survived a lengthy tussle with Swede Johanna Larsson. The German looked to be cruising at a set and a break up and served for the match, only for Larsson to hit back and take it to a decider, which fourth seed Kerber edged for a 6-2 5-7 6-4 triumph. Sixth seed Caroline Garcia was also pushed hard in a 6-2 1-6 6-4 victory over Monica Puig while there were also wins for Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys and Kiki Bertens. Eleventh seed Daria Kasatkina was beaten, though, the Wimbledon quarter-finalist falling 6-2 7-6 (7/3) to Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Dominika Cibulkova defeated Hsieh Su-wei but was astonished to be penalised two points for arriving back late following the heat break at the end of the second set. The Slovakian said: “It’s a 10-minute break, but they don’t consider that we walk from Court 17. It took me, I think, more than three minutes walking through the people, because there were so many fans. “And then the umpire, she just told me, ‘OK, it’s going to be 0-30’, and I couldn’t believe it. I think it’s not right to get two-point penalties because of this.”<doc-sep>Sandra Harwitt Special to USA TODAY Sports NEW YORK — Caroline Wozniacki won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, but she was not able to back that win with further success at the remaining majors this season. The second-seeded Wozniacki tumbled in the second round of the US Open to 36th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday night. “I think I started off pretty well, played well in parts of the first set, being aggressive” Wozniacki said. “She was playing smarter than me. She was playing the game I was supposed to be playing. I should’ve made better adjustments. “I’ll always say it’s been a great season because I won my first Grand Slam,” she added. “I won in Australia, and I’m very proud of that.” Tsurenko’s best result at the US Open was the fourth round in 2016. MORE:Did US Open umpire go too far with pep talk for Kyrgios? MORE:Don't take Williams sisters' showdown at US Open for granted MORE:US Open players, fans try to cope with the heat, wait for a break “I was just going point-by-point,” said Tsurenko, who will play Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the third round. “I wasn’t thinking about it. I’m a little proud of myself and I was just feeling the atmosphere and support of my team, and everybody who came here to watch this match.” Wozniacki is a two-time US Open finalist (2009, 2014). Wozniacki, who posted 35 unforced errors to only six winners, seemed flustered and uncomfortable throughout the encounter. She initially had a 3-1 lead in the first set but couldn’t hold onto the advantage. In the second set, Tsurenko broke Wozniacki’s serve on a second break point in the fifth game, which was all she needed. The new Louis Armstrong has already proven unlucky for three top women, all Grand Slam champions. Top-seeded Simona Halep was upset when playing the inaugural match on the new stadium Monday. The 12th-seeded Garbine Muguruza fell to Czech qualifier Karolina Muchova on Wednesday night. Wozniacki’s been on a second-round losing streak of late, starting with a second-round departure at Wimbledon, then at Montreal and Cincinnati this summer. In Montreal, she held three match points in the third set before falling to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. In Cincinnati, she retired from her match with a knee injury to Kiki Bertens.<doc-sep>
Lesia Tsurenko scored her second Top 10 win in three weeks under the lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium, shocking Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. NEW YORK, NY, USA - Lesia Tsurenko surged to an emphatic upset over World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki, stunning the Australian Open champion, 6-4, 6-2 to end the night session on Louis Armstrong Stadium. A two-time champion at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Tsurenko has been on site since the first day of the Qualifying Tournament to support fellow Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, and has been playing some of her best tennis this summer. She knocked out two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza at the Western & Southern Open for her first Top 10 win since 2015, and earned another against Wozniacki on Thursday night, securing victory after one hour and 41 minutes on court. "I have a good experience of playing night matches with the high humidity because of two titles in Acapulco." - Lesia Tsurenko "I actually think that my win against Muguruza in Cincinnati and some victories there gave me the confidence that I can play well," Tsurenko said. "I was here early. I prepared well. I got many sessions with my coach and also with the other players playing points. "I think I was completely ready for this tournament. Plus I took that confidence from the Cincinnati tournament. I finally feel good with my lower back. I had issues in Montréal and Cincinnati. So I feel really good." Wozniacki has struggled with multiple injuries this summer, retiring from her match in Cincinnati with a left knee injury, but appeared in solid form on Tuesday when she beat 2011 champion Samantha Stosur in straight sets, and took a 3-1 lead to start her match against the Ukrainian veteran. "I think I started off pretty well, then I think I played well in parts of the first set, just trying to stay aggressive," Wozniacki said after the match. "She was playing smarter than me. She played the game that I was supposed to be playing. She got a lot of balls back. She played with the angles. She waited for the short ball. When the short ball came, she played aggressive. She went back and kept the ball in play when she had to. "I tried to play aggressive because I saw openings. I saw balls that I felt like I could finish off, I felt like I could hit big on. "The court is a little bit slower. I should have made better adjustments. I just didn't. Then I was trying to play a little bit higher, maybe change the rhythm, but it just wasn't really going my way. I think the problem also was my serve and returns weren't great today. I feel like if maybe I'd served better, I could have put more pressure on her." Tsurenko turned the tables from there, winning four straight games - including a marathon eighth game to consolidate her break of serve - and gamely served out the opening set. "Today was a funny day because I had a nice warm-up in the morning, but then I was stuck in traffic. I was late for my warm-up. I was just hitting on Armstrong for 15 minutes, then they started the men's match. So I went to serve on the Practice court. At least I tried a little bit. "Of course, I like the court so much, it's not so big as Ashe Stadium, but still very noisy. It was so humid today, like my towels are completely wet. It was really tough to hold the racquet. "But I think the weather will be better. Maybe rain tomorrow, but not so hot as first round match. It was really hot on first match." The former World No.29 only got stronger from there, nabbing the only two service breaks of the second set to clinch the upset and reach the third round of the US Open for the second time in two years. Seeds 1 and 2 have fallen... Tsurenko knocks out Wozniacki to set up a R3 encounter against Siniakova.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/K35beI4KiF — US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2018 In all, Tsurenko struck a solid 20 winners to 38 unforced errord - seven of which were double faults - while Wozniacki managed just six winners in two sets, ultimately undone by 33 unforced errors off the ground. Up next for the 29-year-old is Czech youngster Katerina Siniakova.