Top-ranked Australian Ashleigh Barty qualified for the third round of the US Open on Thursday as New York struggled to recover from a deadly storm and flash flooding.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida killed at least eight people and triggered a rare state of emergency for the city, inundating subways and turning roads into rivers.

With abandoned cars strewn through the streets near the National Tennis Center and many highways closed, only a handful of spectators watched into a cavernous Arthur Ashe stadium as Barty sent 18-year-old Danish Clara Tauson 6-1, 7- 5.

Barty sent a long backhand to give up a break in Game 10 of the second set while serving for the game, but kept his cool, hit back and held again to win in 90 minutes.

“I’ve always been a pretty calm person,” Barty said. “It’s definitely part of my game.”

Barty, who will then face American Shelby Rogers or Romanian Sorana Cirstea, is aiming for her third career Grand Slam title, her second in a row after Wimbledon, and her sixth trophy of the year as well as her first quarterfinal appearance. US Open final.

World number one Novak Djokovic was set to continue his quest for the Grand Slam of the calendar year in the nighttime feature about Ashe against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Djokovic is considering the first Slam on the men’s calendar since Rod Laver in 1969 if he wins a fourth career crown at the US Open.

The 34-year-old Serb is also six wins away from his 21st career Grand Slam title, which would give him the all-time men’s record, one more than the one he now shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, all two absent due to injuries. .

Switzerland’s 11th seed Belinda Bencic, Olympic champion Tokyo, beat Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1 in windy conditions.

“It was a bit tricky, but after the bad weather yesterday, I’m not complaining,” Bencic said. “Thank you all for coming. I know it was not easy.”

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Over the grounds of the US Open was a sunny blue cloudless sky. The outdoor furniture scattered by the strong winds had been restored or replaced. The high water that had flooded the squares the night before had passed.

Wind-blown rain passed under and through the closed roof of Louis Armstrong Stadium, forcing a game to end in Ashe, but the flooded site had players training Thursday morning.

“Thank you for your patience with last night’s events and we hope you are safe,” the tournament tweeted.

“The safety of our fans, players and staff is of the utmost importance,” said a statement from the US Tennis Association, which delayed the start of the outdoor court by an hour to allow more time. for cleaning.

– Pizza stop for Sloane –

2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens tweeted a warning Wednesday night as she left, saying: “This weather is scary. Be careful.”

She later shared a photo of a huge pizza, tweeting: “We’ve been stuck in flooding and stopped traffic for over 2 hours, so we decided to pull over and make the most of it. . “

Massive traffic jams in the region, emergency conditions and calls from authorities for people to stay at home looked set to limit attendance on day four of the year’s Grand Slam final.

Fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, Tokyo Olympic champion and US Open runner-up last year, will play the second game against Ashe against 33rd left-hander Albert Ramos-Vinolas from Spain.

Czech fourth seed Karolina Pliskova faces American Amanda Anisimova after the end of Djokovic.

2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan faces Mackenzie McDonald, seeking revenge for a semi-final loss in Washington to the American last month. The winner reserves a potential third round clash against Djokovic.

American Maxime Cressy or German Oscar Otte could become the fifth qualifier for the men’s third round. There haven’t been so many such deep ones at no Slams since six at Roland Garros 2011 and not at the US Open since five did in 1984.

Otte, ranked 144th, faces American Denis Kudla, ranked 92nd, while Cressy, ranked 151st, meets Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, 39th.

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