New York — Eighth-seeded Mardy Fish of the United States beat qualifier Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 Thursday night to reach the third round for a third consecutive appearance at the U.S. Open.
Fish failed to make it past the second round in any of his first eight trips to Flushing Meadows, from 2000 to 2007.But in 2008, he reached the quarterfinals. After missing the tournament in 2009, he got to the fourth round last year.He's the highest-ranked American in New York for the first time.
Jaziri is the first Tunisian man to play in a Grand Slam tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968.Fish didn't lose serve once Wednesday and converted 5 of 16 break points.He faces Kevin Anderson of South Africa next.AP
