Stosur in a hurry, sets third-round date with Errani

Samantha Stosur, the last woman to beat Serena Williams at the US Open four years ago, and two-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka made the third round on Thursday.

Australian 22nd seed Stosur breezed past Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina — one of two mothers to have reached the second round — 6-1, 6-1.

Stosur, 31, fired eight aces with no double faults and hit 29 winners in her quickfire win, which gave her a third-round encounter against Italian 16th seed Sara Errani.

Despite the victory, Stosur hit out at organisers, who she claims have blundered over transport for players as well as practice court arrangements. Stosur said she was forced to switch courts on Wednesday when Serena Williams needed a place to practice.

“She kicked me off my practice court. A few issues,” said the Australian.

Azarenka, seeded 20, made the final in 2012 and 2013, losing to Williams in three sets on both occasions.

The Belarusian, playing in just her 13th tournament of an injury-hit season, saw off 2009 semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, 7-5, 6-4.

“She doesn’t give you much time. She came out firing and I had to fight and dig deep,” said the 26-year-old.

Errani made the next stage by seeing off Latvian qualifier Jelena Ostapenko 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 with German 18th seed Andrea Petkovic defeating Russia’s Elena Vesnina 6-3, 7-6(4).

Struggling with dizziness and shut out in the first set, 16th-seeded Errani rallied to win her second-round match.

The diminutive Italian took a medical timeout after dropping the first five games, complaining of dizziness. The soft-serving Errani was broken nine times but found a way to beat the 18-year-old Ostapenko in 2 hours on a hot, humid day.

Errani said she woke up not feeling well, blaming the powerful air conditioning of New York hotels.

But the 2012 French Open runner-up could rely on her experience against the 114th-ranked Latvian, who was playing in her first US Open. Ostapenko was unable to hold serve once in the final set, getting broken in her final six service games.

On Wednesday, Serena Williams moved a step closer to a calendar Grand Slam.

Defending men’s champion Marin Cilic and two-time winner Rafael Nadal and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic also eased into the third round with straight-set wins.

Bidding to become just the fourth woman to win all four Slams in the same year, no one has more riding on the Flushing Meadows fortnight than Williams, who continued her quest with an error-strewn 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens. The 110th-ranked Bertens put up a valiant fight and had Williams, who struggled with her serve firing 10 double faults, on the ropes in the opening set.

However, the 33-year-old American’s class shone through in the second set as she broke Bertens three times to seal her 23rd consecutive US Open victory. “I never stop. I keep going and give the best effort that I can,” Williams said after raising her 2015 match record to 50-2.

Williams was joined in the third round by sister Venus who outlasted Irina Falconi 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 to set up an intriguing clash with Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic, one of only two players to beat Serena this season.

After playing his opening match on an outside court, Cilic took his title defence back to a sweltering Arthur Ashe Stadium and looked right at home, storming into the third round with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win over Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy.

Two-time champion Nadal got his second round contest off to a sluggish start but the eighth-seeded Spaniard was quickly in control, dispatching Diego Schwartzman 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 as the Argentine saw his record against top 10 opponents drop to 0-6.

Djokovic, a five-time US Open finalist but winning just once in 2011, was in imperious form strolling into the third round with a clinical 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over Austrian Andreas Haider-Mauer.

In doubles, top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan lost in the first round as the record-breaking US brothers went through a season without a Grand Slam for the first time since 2004. They were beaten by compatriots Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3.

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis began their campaign with a 6-2, 6-2 dispatch of Americans Claire Liu & Taylor Fritz . — Agencies