US Open: No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova falls in straight sets to Caroline Garcia

Yahoo Sports Staff
Updated ·3 min read
Karolina Pliskova is still seeking her first Grand Slam title. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Karolina Pliskova is still seeking her first Grand Slam title. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The US Open returned to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this week with no fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s a roundup of Wednesday’s action.

No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova falls

No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova didn’t seem bothered by the strange circumstances of the 2020 US Open in a straight-sets win in the opening round.

That was not the case in Round 2, a stunning 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) loss to Caroline Garcia in the first major upset of the tournament. Pliskova had no answers early as Garcia opened the match by winning the first five games.

She managed to avoid a first-set shutout in picking up the sixth game. But Garcia held serve in the next game to secure the set.

Pliskova smashes racket

Garcia then broke Pliskova for the first game of the second set, prompting the normally reserved Pliskova to slam her racket on the court.

Pliskova eventually found her rhythm and broke Garcia to tie the set at 4-4 to put the pressure back on her opponent.

But when the second set went to a tiebreak, Garcia regained her mettle and cruised, 7-2 to secure the upset. It was her first win over a top-10 player in a Grand Slam tournament. Garcia advances to face No. 28 seed Jennifer Brady in the third round.

Pliskova, 28, remains in pursuit of her first Grand Slam title.

Caroline Garcia fended off a second-set rally after a dominant first set against Karolina Pliskova. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Caroline Garcia fended off a second-set rally after a dominant first set against Karolina Pliskova. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Dkjokovic rallies after dropping first set

Novak Djokovic avoided a similar fate to Pliskova after dropping the first set of his second-round match to Kyle Edmund in a tiebreak.

The No. 1 seed in the men’s draw never let Edmund close again, controlling the rest of the match en route to a 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory. Djokovic advances to a third-round matchup against No. 28 Jan-Lennard Struff.

The world No. 1 is in search of his fourth US Open championship and 18th career Grand Slam title.

Naomi Osaka advances, honors Elijah McClain

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 02: Naomi Osaka of Japan walks in wearing a mask with the name Elijah McClain on it before her Women’s Singles second round match against Camila Giorgi of Italy on Day Three of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 2, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. McClain was shot and killed by police on Aurora, Colorado August 24, 2020. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Naomi Osaka kept up with her social justice messaging at the US Open on Wednesday. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

After wearing a mask with Breonna Taylor’s name to her first-round win over Misaki Doi, Naomi Osaka vowed that she planned to honor more victims of police violence during her US Open run.

She followed through on Wednesday, showing up to Arthur Ashe Stadium with a mask bearing the name of Elijah McClain to her second-round win over Camila Giorgi. McClain was a 23-year-old Black man who died in 2019 after police in Aurora, Colorado placed him in a chokehold called a cartoid hold intended to restrict blood flow to the brain.

Osaka defeated Giorgi, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to third-round play. That presumably means she will honor another victim of police violence at her next match against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk after announcing on Monday that she arrived to New York with 7 masks with 7 different names that would carry her to an appearance in the final round.

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