US Open Lookahead: Fernandez follows Osaka win with Kerber

NEW YORK (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO SUNDAY

Leylah Fernandez hits the court for the first time since the 18-year-old Canadian defeated defending champion Naomi Osaka. Fernandez’s knee-to-the-ground, quick-redirect style at the baseline is reminiscent of another lefty, Angelique Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion who won the 2016 U.S. Open. Fernandez will try and beat a second straight U.S. Open champion when she plays Kerber. She’s not the only 18 year old pulling off surprises in the tournament. Carlos Alcaraz upset No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and now plays qualifier Peter Gojowczyk. Gojowczyk is among a trio of qualifiers in the fourth round for the first time since the tournament began keeping qualifying records in 1982. Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina takes on No. 12 Simona Halep. Men’s No. 2 Daniil Medvedev plays Daniel Evans.

SUNDAY’S FORECAST

Sunny. High of 77.

SATURDAY’S WEATHER

Mostly sunny. High of 79.

SATURDAY’S KEY RESULTS

Women’s Third Round: Shelby Rogers beat No. 1 Ash Barty 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (5); No. 4 Karolina Pliskova beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2; No. 6 Bianca Andresscu beat Greet Minnen 6-1, 6-2; No. 7 Iga Swiatek beat Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; No. 11 Belinda Bencic beat No. 23 Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4; No. 17 Maria Sakkari beat No. 10 Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-3;

Men’s Third Round: No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat Kei Nishikori 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-2; No. 6 Matteo Berrettini beat Ilya Ivashka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; No. 13 Jannik Sinner beat No. 17 Gael Monfils 7-6 (1), 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4; Jenson Brooksby beat No. 21 Aslan Karatsev 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; No. 22 Reilly Opelka beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4.

STAT OF THE DAY

2 — Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner are the first pair of Italians to reach the fourth round in U.S. Open history.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Maybe he’s feeling that inside a lot of pressure, but I don’t know. I couldn’t see it during the match.” — Kei Nishikori,

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More AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP

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