US Open 2019: Second seed Ashleigh Barty beats brave Lauren Davis

New York, Aug 29: Ashleigh Barty moved through to the US Open third round after outlasting Lauren Davis in straight sets in New York.

French Open winner Barty – the second seed – was pushed in a hard-fought 6-2 7-6 (7-2) victory at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.

Barty rallied from 4-2 down in the second set before prevailing in a tie-break to set up a clash with either 30th seed Maria Sakkari or Peng Shuai in round three.

The Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd was treated to a high-quality affair as Barty and Davis went toe-to-toe under the lights – the baseline rallies tense and fierce.

Davis broke back immediately after falling 2-0 behind early, however, the American – with her left leg heavily strapped – was unable to fend off a fourth breakpoint in the fourth game as she eventually found herself 4-1 down.

Barty wrapped up the 47-minute first set on the racquet of Davis, who – while only having one more unforced error than the former – managed just three winners compared to 13.

Davis refused to be overawed in the second set, with the 25-year-old's continued aggression helping her keep pace before breaking and consolidating for a 4-2 advantage.

Barty was kept pressed behind the baseline in the sixth game as she hit the net on three occasions – wasting a pair of break points.

Davis played well in the second set and while she failed to serve it out at 5-4 as Barty won four of six games, she saved three match points to force a tie-break.

However, that was as good as it got for Davis, who was unable to maintain her charge as she was swept aside in the tie-break.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN Ashleigh Barty [2] bt Lauren Davis 6-2 7-6 (7-2)

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Barty – 35/39 Davis – 13/34

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Barty – 8/2 Davis – 1/6

BREAK POINTS WON Barty – 4/18 Davis – 2/3

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE Barty – 54 Davis – 63

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE Barty – 76/52 Davis – 54/47

TOTAL POINTS Barty – 94 Davis – 77