NEW YORK, Sept 4 : American third seed Jessica Pegula fought back from a set down and Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Friday, while the Williams sisters were due to take the court again in doubles action.

A day after Madison Keys saved five match points to stay alive, her compatriot Pegula recovered from a rocking opening set to down 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez 1-6 6-4 6-3.

Pegula, the 2024 runner-up, has a shot at achieving her childhood dream of reaching the world number one ranking in Flushing and is one of three players who could dethrone Sabalenka. She will play Romanian Sorana Cirstea next.

Cirstea knocked out Italian 19th seed Jasmine Paolini in earlier action on the outer courts.

Sabalenka launched 10 aces to blaze past Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 6-4, pausing only to complain about the smell of cannabis on the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium in a comprehensive victory.

“I was like, ‘Guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please to not do it around the tennis courts’. It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” the Belarusian told reporters. 

Ukraine’s 11th seed Marta Kostyuk beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-2, inching closer to punching her ticket for a maiden trip to the WTA Finals.

WILLIAMS SISTERS REUNITE

Venus and Serena Williams return to Flushing Meadows later on Friday, when the twice U.S. Open women’s doubles champions open the night session in Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Few expected to see the pair play together again after their 2022 appearance in New York, in what many presumed to be Serena’s farewell season. The sisters reunited in Cincinnati last month amid Serena’s renaissance campaign, but lost in the opener to Kostyuk and American Peyton Stearns.

The home fans will have two men’s contenders to cheer for, as well, in the evening programme, as Ben Shelton plays Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe plays Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot.