American Ashlyn Krueger notches another impressive US Open upset

Young American Ashlyn Krueger continued her Grand Slam breakthrough Thursday, upsetting No. 21 Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the U.S. Open.

“On days like these, you don’t really have to think so much,” Krueger said. “So it was just a lot of really good things for me. Serve, return, moving the ball around, playing aggressive tennis.”

Being in the last 32 is a big step for the 20-year-old Texan, but doing it stateside means even more.

“Definitely. It’s always going to be special playing at home,” said Krueger, whose mother played tennis at Iowa State and started her in the game. “I’m just very excited to do it in New York. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with it, for sure, but I’m happy to get through.”

Coming into Flushing Meadows, Krueger had never won a main-draw match at any major, going 0-6 before this week.

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Now, after beating Shuai Zhang in her opener and Andreeva in straight sets, her confidence is buoyed.

“Yeah, I think when I played Tuesday, it was a lot of relief, getting it under your belt, so it’s not like, ‘Oh, 0-7,’ anymore. So that’s really great. And then continuing to play good tennis. So I’m excited about that,” Krueger said.

“I’ve been doing the same thing, I think more relaxed, just trying to stay positive and have fun with my team. … A lot of it stems from being relaxed outside of the tennis court. And when you get wins, obviously you get more confident. But enjoying myself outside of tennis and just being myself on the court, that’s where my confidence comes from. So then, I can play better tennis because of it.”

Krueger’s foe was even younger than her at just 17. Still, after reaching the semifinals at the French Open, Andreeva was favored Thursday.

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But unlike Krueger’s 0-6, 6-1, 7-5 rally in the first round, there was no comeback needed Thursday.

Next, she has No. 16 seed Liudmila Samsonova, who beat Czech Marie Bouzkova.

Asked her ultimate goals, Krueger — who praised Jessica Pegula and Victoria Azarenka as mentors — replied, “Be the best that I can be. Top 10, win a Slam, what everyone says.”

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No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina was forced to withdraw due to injury, sending French qualifier Jessika Ponchet through to the third round.

Ponchet had been 0-5 in major main draws before her opening victory over Zheng Saisai.

This time, she didn’t even have to lift her racquet on Court 17 to move on again.

“Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from my match today due to my injuries,” Rybakina said in a statement. “I did not want to finish the last Grand Slam of the year this way, but I have to listen to my body, and I hope I can close out the remainder of the year strong.”

Both top seeds moved on in straight sets: Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 over American Alex Michelsen; and Iga Swiatek 6-0, 6-1 over qualifier Ena Shibahara.

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