Marcos Baghdatis has cruised through to the second round of the US Open Grand Slam this week, beating out Japanese qualifier Go Soeda in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.
It took Baghdatis just one hour and 31 minutes to win the match, showing his form is back on track after he took himself out of a preliminary tournament in the US, citing personal reasons.
During the match, Baghdatis had to receive treatment for a left knee injury, sustained while chasing down a short ball towards the end of the second set. He went on to dominate the third set, overcoming the pain to start strong in New York.
He goes on to face Kevin Anderson as he bids to reach the third round in the US Open for the first time.
Kyrgios defiant but bested by Ferrer
Australian youngster Nick Kyrgios has put up a brave fight in the opening round of the US Open, playing against fourth seed David Ferrer.
Kyrgios, 18, was defiant in the opening set and gave Ferrer a run for his money, only faltering in the last two with unforced errors. Ferrer took the win in three sets, beating Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
As the youngest player in the men’s singles, it was Kyrgios’ second grand slam appearance of the year, after he made it to the second round of the French Open.
Kyrgios’ attention will now turn to trying to earn a Davis Cup berth next month.
Kyrgios will be part of a five-man team to play against Poland and he will travel to Munich in the coming weeks to train alongside Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic.
His current world ranking is 214, up from 838 at the start of the year.