US Open: Serena, Nadal progress in third round

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It's been a good month for China's Wang Qiang, who won gold in the women's singles at the Asian Games recently, and on the third day of the ongoing US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York, she overcame Romania's Irina Camelia Begu to storm into the third round for the first time in her career.

Also in action was Serena Williams who claimed the first set against Germany's Carina Witthoeft 6-2.

The six-time champion recovered from a return and won the second set 6-2 when the German hit the net. The 36-year-old mother will next face her elder sister Venus in round three in what will be their 30th professional encounter.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza made an exit as the Spaniard was upset by the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova. Another Czech, Karolina Pliskova downed Ana Bogdan of Romania in straight sets, while Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hammered Daria Gavrilova of Australia.

Rafael Nadal of Spain competes against Vasek Pospisil of Canada during the US Open in New York on August 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

The men's defending champion Rafael Nadal faced unseeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the second round. The top seed's first round match ended early when his fellow Spaniard retired with a calf injury, but the King of Clay got a bit more of a workout in this one. This was the second night match in a row for the 17-time Grand Slam winner.

Nadal had little trouble and it was all over in three sets when Pospisil returned long. The 32-year-old spent just two hours on court in the hot and humid conditions and will face Russian Karen Khachanov in the third round.