Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova knocked out in the second round of the US Open

NEW YORK — Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova was knocked out in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday by Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-4, 7-5.

The eighth-seeded Krejcikova won her second Grand Slam singles title this summer, but has not played any matches since the Paris Olympics. She admitted last week that she did not know how high her level was.

It turned out not to be good enough.

Ruse faced a much tougher challenge on the hard courts of the US Open, where she qualified for the main draw. She outplayed Krejcikova on key points, coming back from a 5-3 deficit in the second set to win the last four games.

“Barbora, she is such a good player, she has won so many matches in the last two years and it is just a dream for me,” said Ruse, a 26-year-old from Romania.

She reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time and will play 26th-seeded Paula Badosa, who defeated American Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-5.

Badosa continued her strong summer run by reaching the third round of the US Open for the first time.

“I know it’s only the third round, but I was really looking forward to doing this in New York,” said Badosa, a Spaniard who was born in New York.

Another women’s third-round match will see 14th-seeded Madison Keys take on 33rd-seeded Elise Mertens. Keys defeated Maya Joint 6-4, 6-0, while Mertens knocked out Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-2.

On Wednesday evening, defending champions Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic were on the program.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis