Each and every match involving Venus Williams and Serena Williams—especially when they’re playing together, or against one another—is historic, a standout scene in a classic novel. But if the sisters’ 7-6(5), 6-4 loss to the Czech team of Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka at the 2022 US Open was the brief conclusion of their epic doubles career, it was also suitably dramatic. The result hinged on a first-set tiebreak that easily could have gone either way.
Also dramatic: Rafael Nadal won his Round 2 singles match against Italy’s Fabio Fognini, but not without a surprising result in the first set and a freak accident in the fourth. Like the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s opening match, he dropped the first set—but managed to win the next three.
Day 4 at the 2022 US Open saw plenty of doubles play, including the first mixed doubles matches. Familiar pairings and new teams engaged in fast-paced, four-player fun.
Finally, a number of seeded stars won their Round 2 singles matches—including No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 8 Jessica Pegula of the United States on the women’s side, and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and No. 9 Andrey Rublev in the men’s draw.
The sisters have won the women’s doubles tournament at the US Open twice, during two different decades: in 1999 and again in 2009. Watching them play together, their iconic status quickly melts—and you realize just how much fun the siblings are having.
That was true even in defeat on Thursday evening, especially during the first set. Venus and Serena fist-bumped, cheered one another, huddled and whispered strategies behind closed fists. And even though they were unable to clinch an incredibly tense first-set tiebreak—truly the turning point of the match, and possibly the entire women’s doubles tournament—the sisters had the crowd behind them.
Nadal sustains another injury, still wins:
His chronic foot issue. His abdominal tear, sustained during Wimbledon. Now his nose?
As in his opening round match against Rinky Hijikata of Australia, Nadal dropped the first set of his second-round match against Fabio Fognini—a dangerous veteran from Italy who famously defeated the former world No. 1 in the third round at the 2015 US Open.
Nadal came back, as he almost always does, winning 6-4 in a 52-minute second set and 6-2 in a 37-minute third set. But halfway through a 6-1 fourth and final set, Nadal accidentally bounced his racquet against the ground while returning–and bloodied his nose in the process.
After a scary medical timeout that saw Rafa lying on the ground, wincing in pain—one that seemed to last a lifetime—Nadal returned to the court and finished out the match. With a victory, of course.
Has any other player struggled so much with his body—and yet continued to win? Nadal is now 21-0 at Grand Slams this year, despite his Wimbledon semifinal withdrawal.
“You need to stay humble, you need to accept the situation,” he said post-match. “It hasn’t been an easy month for me, so I know this kind of stuff can happen. It’s another opportunity for me. I’m still alive after a match like this. That means a lot.”
In singles, fan favorites and top-ranked players continued to win:
Spain’s Alcaraz, the No. 3 seed in men’s singles, defeated Argentina’s Federico Coria in straight sets: 6-2, 6-1, 7-5. In women’s singles, Swiatek of Poland—the No. 1 seed and reigning Roland Garros champion, who has had a bumpy summer following a record-breaking 37-match winning streak that spanned this winter and spring—won 6-3, 6-2 over Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open winner.
Other Top 10 seeds, including No. 7 Cameron Norrie and No. 9 Rublev, won their Round 2 matches. The women’s No. 4 seed, Paula Badosa, was ousted by Croatian Petra Martic, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles matches galore, including mixed:
Some of tennis’ biggest stars, including Nick Kyrgios of Australia and Leylah Fernandez of Canada, won today—just not in singles.
Kyrgios and men’s doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis—who recently faced one another in their singles opener, with the former coming out on top—defeated Hugo Gaston and Lorenzo Musetti. Fernandez and Aussie Daria Saville squeaked a win over Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, who were seeded second in the women’s doubles tournament.
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