US Open 2023: 5 biggest upsets on Day 3 ft. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Petra Kvitova

Modified Aug 31, 2023 08:39 GMT

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Petra Kvitova were among the top seeds eliminated on day 3 of the 2023 US Open.

Day 3 of the 2023 US Open saw most of the usual suspects moving on in convincing fashion.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek eased past Daria Saville in straight sets to notch up her ninth consecutive win at the US Open. Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic's quest for a 24th Major continued with another routine win, this time over Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Elena Rybakina didn't even have to hit a single shot to advance further as a walkover from Ajla Tomljanovic sent her into the next round. Meanwhile, home favorite Tommy Paul staged a massive comeback to defeat Roman Safiullin in five sets.

However, there were quite a few big names who bit the dust on Wednesday. Here's a look at some of the prominent names whose US Open journey came to an end on Day 3 of the tournament:

#1 Stefanos Tsitsipas goes down to Dominic Stricker

Seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was the day's first casualty. Contesting the first match of the day on Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Greek was expected to make it past his relatively inexperiened opponent, Dominic Stricker.

However, Stricker had other plans in mind. He was undaunted by the opposition or the stage and went toe to toe with Tsitsipas right from the start. The 21-year-old captured the first set, but lost the next two in closely contested tie-breaks.

Tsitsipas led 5-3 in the fourth set and was a couple of points away from winning, but Stricker stormed back to clinch the set in another tie-break. The Swiss youngster pulled ahead in the deciding set to complete a stunning 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory.

This was Stricker's first win over a top 10 player. He will take on Benjamin Bonzi in the next round and will be aiming to continue his dream debut in New York.

As for Tsitsipas, this was yet another poor showing at the US Open. He has failed to make it to the second week here in all of his attempts.

#2 Casper Ruud sent packing by Zhizhen Zhang

Zhizhen Zhang scored the biggest win of his career by outlasting World No. 5 and last year's US Open runner-up Casper Ruud in the second round. The Chinese became the first man from his country to score a victory against a player ranked in the top five since the inception of the ATP rankings.

It was a thrilling back-and-forth encounter between the two. Ruud trailed by two sets to one, but when he captured the fourth set in dominant fashion without the loss of a game, it looked like the stage was set for his comeback.

However, Zhang composed himself and took the lead in the decider, which he held on to wrap up a momentous 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 win. He'll face Rinky Hijikata for a spot in the fourth round on Friday.

#3 Former US Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka knocked out by Zhu Lin

Former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka's US Open campaign came to an abrupt end against Zhu Lin.

The Belarusian, who reached the final in New York on three occasions, was on the backfoot right from the start. Azarenka was outplayed in most of the rallies and couldn't make any inroads on her opponent's service games either.

As a result, Lin scored a rather convincing 6-3, 6-3 victory to reach the third round here for the first time.

Lin had reached the fourth round of a Major for the first time earlier this season at the Australian Open. Back then it was Azarenka who had eliminated her from the tournament, so the Chinese has now avenged her previous defeat.

She'll go up against Belinda Bencic in the next round.

#4 Taylor Townsend edges past Beatriz Haddad Maia

After a year of memorable results in doubles, Taylor Townsend has a reason to celebrate in singles as well. The American scored a 7-6 (1), 7-5 victory over 19th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.

This marks Townsend's best showing at a Major in singles this season. She has already reached a Grand Slam final in doubles this season, having finished as the runner-up at the French Open alongside Leylah Fernandez.

Townsend reached the fourth round at the US Open in singles back in 2019. She'll now be eyeing to repeat the feat once again, but will first need to find a way to get past World No. 10 Karolina Muchova in the next round.

#5 Caroline Wozniacki comes out on top in a battle of Grand Slam champions to oust Petra Kvitova

Caroline Wozniacki, competing in her first Grand Slam tournament since 2020, defeated fellow Major champion Petra Kvitova 7-5, 7-6 (5) on Day 3 of the US Open. The Dane trailed 4-2 in the first set, but dug deep to turn the tables on her opponent.

Wozniacki then held a couple of match points on Kvitova's serve at 5-4 in the second set, but the latter fended them off for a gutsy hold of serve. The set soon went into a tie-break, with the former World No. 1 gaining the upper hand to score the best win of her comeback so far.

Wozniacki's next opponent is Jennifer Brady, who's in the midst of her own comeback as well. The American scored a three-set win over Magda Linette to reach the third round.

Edited by Rohit