U.S. Open tennis: Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens cruise into third round

Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Serena Williams and Sloane Stephens will meet in the third round of the U.S. Open after both players posted dominant wins Thursday in Queens, N.Y.

The third-seeded Williams -- searching for her 24th career Grand Slam singles title -- improved her career record to 20-0 in the second round at Flushing Meadows with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Margarita Gasparyan.

Williams had 27 winners and seven aces to cruise past Gasparyan. She now holds a 5-2 record since tennis resumed from the coronavirus pandemic break.

Earlier Thursday, Stephens continued her path toward a second U.S. Open championship with an equally dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over Olga Govortsova. The No. 26 seed won the tournament in 2017 but lost in the first round of last year's U.S. Open.

Williams holds a 5-1 advantage over Stephens in their series.

In other second-round matches on the women's side, unseeded Tsvetana Pironkova had a 7-5, 6-3 upset win over No. 10 seed Garbine Muguruza. It is Pironkova's first tournament following a three-year break to give birth to her son, Alexander.

"If you make a good schedule and have the right motivation, you can combine the two things -- motherhood and being a professional tennis player," Pironkova said. "It takes a lot of work but, you know, everything takes work."

Reigning Australian Open champion and No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin also moved into the third round with a straight-sets victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez. Seventh-seeded American Madison Keys beat Aliona Bolsova 6-2, 6-1 to advance.

Victoria Azarenka posted an upset win over fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-1, 6-3. Sorana Cirstea beat No. 9 seed Johanna Konta in three sets in another upset Thursday.

On the men's side, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Australian Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the third round of the U.S. Open. It marks the third consecutive year that Medvedev -- the 2019 runner-up -- has reached the third round at the event.

No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem also earned a spot in the next round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Sumit Nagal. Thiem, who turned 27 Thursday, faces 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the third round.

No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini, 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov and No. 8 seed Roberto Bautista Agut also advanced. No. 14 Grigor Dimitrov and 25th-seeded Milos Raonic were eliminated in Thursday's second round.