Tiafoe holds off Sakamoto's 18 aces to reach US Open third round

Frances Tiafoe came through in straight sets at the US Open, but the 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 scoreline over Rei Sakamoto told the story of a match that tightened rather than eased. Sakamoto fired 18 aces to Tiafoe's seven and won 71.7 percent of his first-serve points, keeping the second and third sets on serve deep into their closing stages. The difference sat on the second ball: Tiafoe won 57.1 percent behind his, against 48.7 percent for the Japanese qualifier, whose first serve landed only 60.6 percent of the time. For Tiafoe, a home-slam win without dropping a set.