Medvedev, Pegula, Shelton advance as rain disrupts US Open schedule

Daniil Medvedev flew into the third round after an avian disruption at the US Open on Wednesday, as American Jessica Pegula crushed compatriot Sofia Kenin and Ben Shelton overcame Hubert Hurkacz on another rainswept day.

Medvedev, the 2021 winner, beat US wildcard Sebastian Gorzny 6-1 6-3 7-5 to start the action at Louis Armstrong Stadium, where two birds landing on the net became the biggest source of frustration for the mercurial Russian.

The third-ranked Pegula needed just 56 minutes to dismantle 2020 Australian Open winner Kenin 6-3 6-1 in the first match at Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a meeting with the 2021 runner-up, Canadian Leylah Fernandez.

"To be out of there in under an hour, it doesn't always happen. So I think I'm just going to take that one and run," said Pegula, the runner-up in 2024.

Eighth seed Ben Shelton had a more difficult time, beating Poland's Hubert Hurkacz 6-3 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5, as he relied on the energy of the home crowd to power through.

The Montreal winner has emerged as one of the brightest hopes of ending a 23-year U.S. men's major drought in a diminished field missing injured world number one Jannik Sinner.

It was not all good news for the Americans, however, as the 2017 champion Sloane Stephens exited against Ukraine's 11th seed Marta Kostyuk in a 6-1 7-5 defeat.