Aryna Sabalenka competes during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Polina Kudermetova 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the women's singles second round, while Spain's Carlos Alcaraz overpowered Mattia Bellucci of Italy 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 to sail into the men's singles third round of the 2025 US Open on Wednesday.

World No. 1 Sabalenka started slow in the face of Kudermetova, similar to her first-round match against Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland. After a hard-fought win in the first set tie-breaker, the three-time Grand Slam winner found her rhythm in the second set to clinch victory.

"The first set I was super tight. It was more about serve and the first shot. I was glad I was able to handle the pressure and give it back to [Kudermetova]. In the second set, I felt much better on my return game, and my serve was better," said Sabalenka, who is targeting her first Grand Slam title this year.

Second-seeded Alcaraz had a more comfortable straight-sets victory over Bellucci. "I set up some goals at the beginning of the match, and I'm trying to follow [them] since the first ball until the last ball. That's something that helped me a lot to stay in the match, to stay positive, to stay aggressive all the time. Not having ups and downs," the Spaniard said.

Other women's top seeds also cruised into the third round, as home star Jessica Pegula beat Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3, and fifth seed Mirra Andreeva eased past Anastasia Potapova 6-1, 6-3.

On the men's side, fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States claimed victory over South Africa's Lloyd Harris 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4, while 38-year-old veteran Novak Djokovic of Serbia saw off America's Zachary Svajda 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the second round.

In other men's singles matches, Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff shocked 11th seed Holger Rune of Denmark in a five-set marathon 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, and 23-year-old Raphael Collignon of Belgium upset 12th seed Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. ■

Polina Kudermetova hits a return during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Aryna Sabalenka hits a return during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Polina Kudermetova hits a return during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Aryna Sabalenka hits a return during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Polina Kudermetova hits a return during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Aryna Sabalenka hits a return during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Polina Kudermetova hits a return during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Aryna Sabalenka celebrates scoring during the women's singles second round match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Aryna Sabalenka (front) of Belarus and Polina Kudermetova of Russia hug after the women's singles second round match at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Carlos Alcaraz hits a return during the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Mattia Bellucci hits a return during the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Carlos Alcaraz hits a return during the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Mattia Bellucci hits a return during the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Carlos Alcaraz hits a return during the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Mattia Bellucci hits a return during the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after winning

the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Carlos Alcaraz (R) greets Mattia Bellucci after the men's singles second round match between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Mattia Bellucci of Italy at the 2025 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)