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Carlos Alcaraz progressed to the second round with a walkover while Venus Williams sufferred one of the worst losses of her career on Day 2 of the 2023 US Open. Surprisingly, all four matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium ended in straight sets, with each of them lasting less than an hour and a half.
Dominic Koepfer was trailing Carlos Alcaraz 2-6, 2-3 when he rolled his ankle while moving backwards, forcing him to retire from the match. On the other hand, Greet Minnen took a little over an hour to register a 6-1, 6-1 win over Venus Williams.
There weren't any upsets on the men's side, and Daniil Medvedev progressed 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 to the next round. The women's side, however, had a stunner on Court 5 with Yafan Wang defeating last year's semifinalist Caroline Garcia, 6-4, 6-1. Third seed Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, registered a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 over Camila Giorgi at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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Fans took to Twitter to express their dissappointment at the one-sided outcomes on Day 2, with journalist Jose Morgado echoing a similar sentiment too.
"Folks, that was *not* a good #USOpen day. We will be back tomorrow," he wrote.
Morgado also shared the results from Arthur Ashe Stadium on Day 2 while stating that it was probably one of the "worst days ever on a Grand Slam center court".
"One of the worst ever days on a Grand Slam centre court, that's for sure...," he posted.
On a lighter note, one fan sent their "condolences" to those with tickets to the night matches at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"Venus got cleared in 1h and now Koepfer retired. My condolences to people with tickets for Ashe," they wrote.
Here are a few more reactions:
Carlos Alcaraz to play Lloyd Harris in R2 of US Open
Carlos Alcaraz is set to take on Lloyd Harris in the second round of the 2023 US Open on Thursday, August 31.
After a spectacular victory at Wimbledon, the Spaniard most recently competed in the Cincinnati Masters, where he fell to Novak Djokovic in the title clash. The 20-year-old goes into the match against Harris on the back of a walkover in the first round as his opponent Dominic Koepfer was forced to retire due to a freak ankle injury.
Lloyd Harris, meanwhile, registered a straight-sets win over Guido Pella in the first round. The South African's best results this season have been reaching the final of Challenger Nonthaburi 2, the semifinals of Challenger Tenerife and the quarterfinals of Challenger Cary.
This will be the first on-court encounter between the two players.
