NEW YORK (Kyodo) Ai Sugiyama advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open with a come-from-behind victory, while compatriot Aiko Nakamura crashed out with a second-round defeat Wednesday.
Sugiyama, who was two games away from elimination in the second set, rebounded to beat Michaela Pastikova of the Czech Republic 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to post her second win in this year's Grand Slams.
The reward for Sugiyama is a third-round clash with her former doubles partner and fourth-seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
Up-and-coming Nakamura, ranked 84th in the world, proved no match for ninth-ranked Russian Nadia Petrova and lost 6-2, 6-0.