With a straight-sets victory of 6-3, 6-4, Jasmine Paolini defeated Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva to secure her place in the US Open round of 16, marking her entry into the tournament’s second week. The Italian player will face Czech Karolina Muchova, whom she has never lost to in their three previous meetings. Muchova famously reached the semifinals at Flushing Meadows last year, defeating the current World No. 5 in straight sets (7-5, 6-2).
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner also advanced to the round of 16. The South Tyrolean, as he did against Michelsen, dispatched Australia’s Christopher O’Connell in under two hours (6-1, 6-4, 6-2) and will now face Tommy Paul (scheduled for the night between Monday and Tuesday, starting at 2:30 AM). With early exits from Djokovic and Alcaraz, the path seems clear for Sinner, but underestimating his opponents could be costly. Currently, his main threat appears to be Alexander Zverev.
The rest of the Italian contingent was less fortunate. Flavio Cobolli bowed out in the round of 32, fighting hard but ultimately falling in three sets to Daniil Medvedev (3-6, 4-6, 3-6). Arnaldi was also defeated, losing to Australia’s Jordan Thompson (7-5, 6-2, 7-6). Lorenzo Musetti, who had previously celebrated a marathon victory against Miomir Kecmanovic with a shirtless celebration, succumbed to American Brandon Nakashima, who was later eliminated in four sets by Alexander Zverev, now a quarterfinalist. On the WTA side, Sara Errani exited the tournament after a 6-2, 6-2 defeat by Russia’s Diana Shnaider.
Sinner makes history: first Italian to win the US Open
08 Sep - 23:01 •
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There was further disappointment in the men’s doubles as Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori were ousted in the round of 16 by the German duo of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, who triumphed in a three-set tiebreak (7-6, 10-4).
However, Vavassori quickly avenged the loss by teaming up with Sara Errani in the mixed doubles, eliminating the American pair Mateas-McDonald in straight sets. The Italian duo will face Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei and Poland’s Jan Zielinski in the quarterfinals.
