By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Defending champion Coco Gauff and 12th seed Taylor Fritz capped a terrific day at Flushing Meadows for the home hopes, as several Americans moved onto the U.S. Open third round.
Gauff cleaned up early mistakes to beat unseeded German Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-0, setting up a meeting with 2019 semi-finalist Elina Svitolina of Ukraine following her victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"It was a tricky match. I mean, she's not someone that sometimes you play and you feel great after," said Gauff. "It was just about execution."
Fritz closed out the action on Louis Armstrong Stadium with a convincing 6-3 7-6(1) 6-1 defeat of Italian Matteo Berrettini and was delighted with his level after a nervy opener against Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
"I came in really focused. I felt like I was just locked in every point, something I was kind of upset with myself about my first-round match," Fritz said.
"I was just ready to go. Matteo is an extremely good player, a super tough second round. So I came in extra locked in."
Big-hitting Frances Tiafoe and former finalist Madison Keys did their bit to boost the American charge earlier in the day.
Tiafoe, who reached the New York semi-finals in 2022 and this year was a runner-up in his final tune-up event, was in complete control when Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko retired at 6-4 6-1 1-0.
"Happy to get it done. Hate to win it that way but overall I thought I actually played pretty well today," Tiafoe said after a stress-free victory during which he changed shirts five times.
He next plays 21-year-old compatriot Ben Shelton, who electrified the home crowds last year with a run to the semi-finals and had no problem getting past Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-4 6-4 at the Grandstand.
The left-handed Shelton sent over 17 aces and walloped Bautista Agut with 60 winners, feeding off the energy of the boisterous home crowd amid stifling heat.
Shelton eliminated Tiafoe in straight sets in the quarter-final a year ago and promised a "popcorn-type match" when the two meet again.
"You guys made this draw so it's exciting," Shelton said.
Keys, making her 13th main-draw appearance at the U.S. Open, beat Australia's Maya Joint 6-4 6-0, striking first when she converted on her third break-point opportunity for a 4-3 lead en route to wrapping up the opening set on her serve.
The 29-year-old American opened the second with another break and sprinted to the finish line in 62 minutes.
"After the first set I feel like I made a few adjustments on my returns just to put a little bit more pressure on her," said Keys, who retired from her two previous tournaments at Wimbledon and Toronto.
"And I felt like once I was able to get a little bit out ahead I really just ran with the moment and was able to close it out really well."
Up next for Keys, who lost to fellow American Sloane Stephens in the 2017 U.S. Open final, is a clash with Belgian Elise Mertens.
Wimbledon quarter-finalist Emma Navarro also moved on by hammering Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus 6-1 6-1 and faces Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk next.
Peyton Stearns stunned 12th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1 7-6(3) to advance, and will next face Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic.
It was not all good news for the American contingent at Flushing Meadows, though, as unseeded Taylor Townsend fell 6-3 7-5 to Spanish 26th seed Paula Badosa and Iva Jovic was beaten 4-6 6-4 7-5 by Ekaterina Alexandrova.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York and Frank Pingue in Toronto; additional reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; editing by Clare Fallon and Peter Rutherford)
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