UCLA at the US Open: Day 5
August 28, 2023 | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
FRIDAY, SEPT. 1
UCLA men's tennis alumnus Jean-Julien Rojer, who collected two doubles wins Friday, is one of four Bruins still in action at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mackenzie McDonald is alive in men's doubles play, while former women's standouts Jennifer Brady and Ena Shibahara still have tennis to play in the women's and mixed doubles fields, respectively.
Rojer and partner Marcelo Arévalo, seeded fourth as a pair, are through two rounds on the men's side. The tandem has yet to surrender more than three games in a set, most recently taking down Matteo Arnaldi and Bart Stevens 6-2, 6-3 Friday. Rojer and Arévalo took down David Pel and Denys Molchanov by a 6-1, 6-2 score in Thursday's first round. The fifth-seeded combination of Rojer and Ellen Perez, meanwhile, prevailed in a 7-6(2), 7-6(7) mixed doubles thriller opposite Lloyd Glasspool and Chan Hao-ching Friday.
McDonald and Maria Mateas dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Alex Michelson and Robin Montgomery in mixed doubles Friday. McDonald's time in New York is not up, however, as he and partner Andreas Mies tackle 16th-seeded Robin Haase/Nikola Mektic and the men's second round Saturday.
Brady, who is making her first appearance at a Grand Slam since 2021, had her singles run stopped in the third round Friday in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 decision at the hands of Caroline Wozniacki. Brady will try to reach the women's doubles third round next, as she and Luisa Stefani knocked off Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 6-4 Thursday.
Shibahara and partner Mate Pavic outlasted Máximo González and Nadiia Kichenok 6-7(4), 6-3, 1-0(9) in the mixed doubles first round Friday. Shibahara and Pavic take on the third-seeded team of Arévalo and Hsieh Su-wei Saturday.
Maxime Cressy had his time at the event stopped Thursday when he and Fabrice Martin were edged out for a spot in the men's doubles second round by Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 30
More than two years removed from her most recent Grand Slam appearance, Jennifer Brady defeated 24th-seeded Magda Linette of Poland to earn a spot in the women's singles third round at the US Open. A 2020 semifinalist in the tournament, Brady outlasted her opponent for 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 decision in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Bruins Mackenzie McDonald and Ena Shibahara were also in action, with McDonald advancing in men's doubles.
Brady used a break of serve to build a 3-0 first-set advantage and never looked back en route to her early advantage. Linette, who reached the Australian Open singles semifinals earlier this year, took the final five games of Set 2 to respond. Brady bounced back to claim four of the first five games in the deciding set and answered a Linette break with one of her own before closing it out.
It was a day of mixed results for McDonald, who suffered a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 loss at the hands of Borna Gojo. McDonald had reached the second round with a four-set victory against World No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada Monday. McDonald bounced back in men's doubles action, though, alongside Andreas Mies of Germany. Early offsetting breaks led to a first-set tiebreaker with Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche. McDonald and Mies went on to seize the final four points for a 7-4 decision. The second saw McDonald and Mies take the final five games and a 7-6(4), 6-1 win.
The seventh-seeded combination of Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama went the distance versus Americans Clervie Ngounoue and Robin Montgomery, but was felled in the third set. A break by Ngounoue and Montgomery at 4-3 was the final one in a 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-3 decision.
Have a night, Jennifer Brady!
โ US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2023
The comeback continues! pic.twitter.com/kmdD7cS5Xr
MONDAY, AUG. 28
Big wins in the men's and women's singles draws highlighted Day 1 for the UCLA tennis programs at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Playing in her first US Open since making a surprise run to the tournament's semifinals, former UCLA women's tennis standout Jennifer Brady was victorious on the women's side. Then, in evening play, Mackenzie McDonald downed the men's 15th seed to advance out of the first round for the second time in three years.
Brady opened against Kimberly Birrell of Australia, who is ranked No. 111 in the world. Birrell earned a break of serve at 1-1 in the first set, but Brady quickly answered and went up a break at 4-2. Brady added another at 4-3 and subsequently held serve for the set. Two breaks each in the second resulted in a tiebreaker, which Brady claimed after collecting the final four points. The 6-3, 7-6(4) decision advanced her to the second round, where she meets 24th-seeded Magda Linette of Poland Wednesday.
McDonald set the tone early opposite World No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, seizing the first set by way of a 7-5 tiebreaker result. Auger-Aliassime answered 6-4 in the second, but McDonald was not fazed. He would take six of seven third-set games to move closer to victory in the best-of-five format. Knotted at 3-3 in the fourth, McDonald broke Auger-Aliassime and never looked back, holding for the 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win and a Wednesday matchup with Borna Gojo or Hugo Dellien.
Bruin Marcos Giron also played in the men's draw, falling to 21st-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain by a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 score. Giron entered play ranked No. 62, having earned a marquee win versus then-No. 6 Holger Rune of Denmark earlier this month in Toronto.
Set to participate in doubles play in the coming days are Brady (women's), McDonald (men's and mixed), Maxime Cressy (men's) Jean-Julien Rojer (men's and mixed) and Ena Shibahara (women's and mixed).
Welcome back, Jennifer Brady!
โ US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2023
The American records her first win at the #USOpen since 2020. pic.twitter.com/yXoCNL8iGj
Felix Auger-Aliassime makes another early exit at a Grand Slam, this time it's a defeat from ???? Mackenzie McDonald. pic.twitter.com/Qt5PST40jl
โ US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 29, 2023