U.S. Open tennis: Swiatek, Sinner sweeps, Alcaraz, Hurkacz upsets highlight Day 4

Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner breezed through their second-round matches, while Carlos Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz suffered upset losses on Day 4 of the 2024 U.S. Open . The Grand Slam will run through Sept. 8.

Alcaraz's straight-sets loss to No. 74 Bostic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands was the most shocking result Thursday in Flushing, N.Y. The Spaniard, ranked No. 3 in the world, entered the second-round match on a 15-match unbeaten streak in Grand Slams, a run including Wimbledon and French Open singles titles.

"I came here with not as much energy as I thought that I was going to," Alcaraz told reporters. "But I mean, I don't want to put that as an excuse."

The Spaniard said he felt van de Zandschulp played "really good tennis" and the he couldn't increase his level.

Alcaraz converted just 2 of 5 break points and had his serve broken six times in the 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 loss. Van de Zandschulp totaled 22 winners and 21 unforced errors, compared to 21 and 27 for his favored foe.

Alcaraz, who also played in the Summer Olympics -- where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the gold medal match -- said he also needed more rest.

"It was a fight against myself, in my mind, during the match," Alcaraz said. "In tennis, you are playing against someone that wants the same as you -- to win the match -- and you have to be as calm as you can, just to think better in the match and try to do good things.

"I was playing against the opponent, and I was playing against myself, in my mind. A lot of emotions that I couldn't control."

Van de Zandschulp will now face No. 25 Jack Draper of Great Britain in the third round.

No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland was another Day 4 upset victim. He lost 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-5 to No. 32 Jordan Thompson of Australia. Thompson totaled 13 aces, converted 5 of 10 break point opportunities and logged 36 winners and 17 unforced errors. Hurkacz registered six aces, converted 2 of 7 break point chances and logged 29 winners and 34 unforced errors.

Thompson will meet No. 30 Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in his third-round match.

Fellow Italian Jannik Sinner was the top player to advance through the men's singles circuit Thursday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The world No. 1 needed just 99 minutes to dispatch No. 49 Alex Michelsen of the United States.

Sinner broke the American's serve eight times in the 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 thrashing at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He will face No. 87 Christopher O'Connell of Australia in the third round. The winner of that match will battle No. 14 Tommy Paul of the United States or No. 143 Gabriel Diallo of Canada for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Paul, who lost in the fourth round last year in Flushing, beat No. 97 Max Purcell of Australia in straight sets in his second-round match.

No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia and No. 10 Alex de Minaur of Australia were the other top men to advance through Thursday's second-round singles matches.

In women's singles play, Swiatek needed just 65 minutes to dominate No. 217 Ena Shibahara of Japan, advancing to the third round with a 6-0, 6-1 triumph. She totaled four aces, converted 5 of 9 break point opportunities and registered 13 winners and just six unforced errors. Shibahara totaled one aces, failed to earn a break point chance and logged nine winners and 28 unforced errors.

Swiatek will meet No. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the third round. No. 5 Jasmine Paolini of Italy and No. 6 Jessica Pegula of the United States were the other top women's players to advance on Day 4. No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan withdrew from the tournament because of a back injury.

No. 52 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic also ousted No. 88 Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-3, 7-6(5) in another second-round match, which lasted 94 minutes.

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng of China will be among the top women involved in singles matches Friday in Flushing.

No. 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany, No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia, No. 8 Casper Ruud of Norway, No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and No. 12 Taylor Fritz of the United States will be among the top men to play on Day 5.

Fellow Americans Ben Shelton (No. 13) and Frances Tiafoe (No. 20) also are set to meet in a third-round match Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Friday's third-round coverage will air from noon to 6 p.m. EDT on ESPN and from 6 to 11 p.m. on ESPN2.