Qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse notched a huge upset Wednesday by recording a 6-4, 7-5 takedown of Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the second round of the U.S. Open in New York.
The Romanian had eight aces and won 20 of 32 points off Krejcikova’s second serve. She also had 28 winners and just 15 unforced errors.
“I have no words,” said Ruse of the massive victory that earns her a third-round match against No. 26 seed Paula Badosa of Spain.
“I just cannot believe it. It was such a good match for me. Barbora is such a good player, she wins so many matches. It’s just a dream for me. I really don’t know how I did it.”
The victory was Ruse’s second against a top 10 player. The other came against Badosa in the first round at Dubai in 2022. On Wednesday, Badosa advanced with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Taylor Townsend.
Krejcikova, seeded eighth, never got her game going against Ruse. The Czech committed seven double faults and had 24 unforced errors. She hit 27 winners.
After her Wimbledon victory, Krejcikova faced a lot of outside demands and admitted it was part of the reason for the early U.S. Open exit.
“I enjoyed it, but on the other hand it took a lot of energy from me,” Krejcikova said. “I mean, I’m still trying to figure out how to get everything together and how to just find a good balance.”
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States each lost just four total games while cruising to second-round wins.
Sabalenka downed Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 6-1, and Gauff topped Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-0.
“I think I played well overall,” Gauff said. “I think I can just serve better. That would have helped in the first set.”
No. 7 Qinwen Zheng of China rallied for a 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-2 victory over Erika Andreeva of Russia.
The United States’ Peyton Stearns upset No. 12 Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-1, 7-6 (3).
No. 14 Madison Keys needed just 63 minutes to finish a 6-4, 6-0 win over Australian qualifier Maya Joint. Keys held a 19-8 edge in winners against Joint, an 18-year-old who intends to play college tennis for Texas.
“I’m definitely really happy with how I played that match today,” Keys said. “I feel like she came out playing really well. It took a little time to get used to her ball, but once I figured some things out, I was happy how I was able to keep the momentum going.”
Keys meets No. 33 Elise Mertens of Belgium in the third round. Mertens moved on with a sharp 6-3, 6-2 win over Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia.
Other seeded winners were No. 13 Emma Navarro of the United States, No. 19 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, No. 20 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, No. 24 Donna Vekic of Croatia, No. 27 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.
China’s Yafan Wang and Germany’s Jule Niemeier also advanced.
–Field Level Media
