Riske falls to Vandeweghe at U.S. Open
NEW YORK – Alison Riske, a McMurray native, lost five of the final six games in the third and final set and fell to Coco Vandeweghe 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 Wednesday in the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Vandeweghe, who has had a strong showing in two of the three Grand Slams this year, got off to a shaky start, getting broken twice on her way to dropping the first set 6-2. However, the No. 20 seed responded by rallying back to win the winning the final two sets.
In the third set, the 27-year-old Riske broke serve twice and was aided by seven unforced errors and three double faults by Vandeweghe to take a 3-1 lead before dropping five of the final seven games. Vandeweghe won 17 of the final 24 points, including 12 of 14 on her three service games.
This is the second time in 2017 that the two have met on a Grand Slam stage. Vandeweghe defeated Riske 6-2, 6-4 in the third round at Wimbledon earlier this year.
“It’s never easy to play one of your really good friends on tour, so that can make for some ugly tennis,” the 25-year-old Vandeweghe said on court after the match. “I’m one step closer to the end and that’s what I’m happy about.”
Vandeweghe, who took a 6-4 lead in meetings with Riske, will look to continure her success at the majors this year. She’ll now play Ons Jabeur in the second round and could face No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round.
Riske has lost in the first round here in each of the past four years since making the fourth round at the 2013 US Open, the only time she’s made it to the fourth round in a major.