Frances Tiafoe moves on in straight sets at US Open after beating qualifier

[p]The world number ‌12 is among the leading American hopes ‌of ending a 23-year wait for ‌a home men's champion in New York and did his part to keep ‌that dream alive, feeding off ⁠a partisan ‌crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.[/p][p]The 28-year-old broke [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sakamoto-rei/AeBHWNls/"]​Sakamoto[/a] in the opening game of the match and held ​firm to take the set.[/p][p]He appeared on course to close out the ⁠second but ​consecutive double faults opened the door for Sakamoto, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/sakamoto-r-AeBHWNls/tiafoe-f-AHDLJaph/?mid=442nnJUh"]who found another gear and took the set to a tiebreak.[/a][/p][image alt="Match stats: Sakamoto vs Tiafoe" id="6fe6f7e6-3b7d-448e-ae83-b7b029204c07" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="cb6f677a-ed91-4801-a4fc-d80b8e19188e" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tiafoe-frances/AHDLJaph/"]Tiafoe[/a], ‌a twice U.S. Open semi-finalist, regrouped and won four of the first five points in the tiebreak to move two sets ahead.[/p][p]Sakamoto, who reached the main draw by beating his idol, former U.S. Open finalist [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nishikori-kei/YNkOjUIB/"]Kei Nishikori[/a], showcased his powerful serve, ‌striking 18 aces, but racked up ​40 unforced errors.[/p][p]Tiafoe was relieved to ‌close out the win in straight sets after being taken to five in the first round. He next faces either [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/majchrzak-kamil/fPZlNrGS/"]Kamil Majchrzak[/a] or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vacherot-valentin/rFqoSYd8/"]⁠Valentin Vacherot[/a].[/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]