US Open, day 4 women’s roundup: Serena sets Stephens clash, 3 top-10 seeds out on day of mom power

Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Tsvetana Pironkova made up the mothers on tour who marched into the third round of the US Open on Thursday, accounting for two of the three top-10 upsets.

Unranked Bulgarian Pironkova – playing her first tournament in three years after a break to have her first child – prolonged her participation with a 7-5, 6-3 upset of Spanish 10th Garbine Muguruza.

Former world number one Williams also advanced later Thursday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan.

Williams and Pironkova were later joined by Azarenka, another former world number one who beat Belarussian compatriot and fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-1, 6-3.

The 38-year-old Williams closed out the first set with ease before a slight wobble in the second when she was broken twice by Gasparyan. Williams’ straight sets win in 1hr 33min on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court put her into a third-round meeting with former champion Sloane Stephens, who overcame Belarusian Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-2.

Williams, 38, looked in imperious form in the opening set, serving well and unfurling some thunderous groundstrokes to keep Gasparyan on the back foot. However she didn’t have it all her own way in the second, being broken twice by Gasparyan who clawed her way back to 4-4.

Second seed Sofia Kenin continued her impressive form this year with a straightforward 6-4, 6-3 victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez to progress into the third round.

She will take on 27th seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, who she defeated on her way to her Australian Open win, for a place in the fourth round

British ninth seed Jo Konta joined the early casualty list, losing in three sets to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.

Konta, a quarter-finalist at last year’s US Open, was beaten 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 4-6 in a hard-fought contest that lasted just under three hours.

Cirstea, ranked 77th in the world, will now play 20th seed Karolina Muchova in the third round. It is only the third time in 11 appearances in the main draw at the US Open that the 30-year-old Cirstea has reached the third round.

Seventh seed Madison Keys of the USA also progressed, making light work of Spain’s Aliona Bolsova 6-2, 6-1.