Wozniacki, 2014 runner-up, falls in U.S. Open

Caroline Wozniacki, right, is shown after losing to Varvara Lepchenko in the
second round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last month as the top
 seed. Wozniacki, seeded fourth in the U.S. Open, squandered four match points
 in her second-round loss to Petra Cetkovska. Photo by Mal Taam

   Caroline Wozniacki's stunning upset loss capped an eventful day at the U.S. Open.
   Wozniacki, the fourth seed who reached the final at Flushing Meadows for the second time last year, fell to Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (1) on Thursday in the second round.
   Cetkovska survived four match points, all with winners, at 5-6 in the third set. The battle ended after midnight EDT.
   "It's amazing for me," the 30-year-old veteran told ESPN's Pam Shriver. "Even to participate here, I was so happy to be able to be back and to compete." 
   Cetkovska had not won a WTA main-draw match this year entering the U.S. Open. Ranked as high as No. 25 in 2012, she has tumbled to No. 149 because of a hip injury.
   Earlier Thursday, qualifier Johanna Konta of Great Britain ousted ninth-seeded Garbine Muguruza, the Wimbledon runner-up in July, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-2 in 3 hours, 23 minutes on a sweltering day. It was the longest women's match at the U.S. Open since the tiebreaker was introduced 45 years ago.
   Only three of the top 10 women's seeds remain: No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 2 Simona Halep and No. 5 Petra Kvitova.
   Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, eliminated former Stanford standout Nicole Gibbs, a two-time NCAA singles champ, 6-3, 6-4.
   Third-seeded Andy Murray narrowly avoided an upset. The 2012 U.S. Open winner topped French left-hander Adrian Mannarino 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.
   American Jack Sock, seeded 28th, retired from his match against Belgian left-hander Ruben Bemelmans with severe cramps while leading 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 1-2. Only two of 16 U.S. men are left: 13th-seeded John Isner and unseeded Donald Young.
   Bernard Tomic ended the U.S. Open singles career of fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 champion, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5. Hewitt, 34, held two match points. He plans to retire after the Australian Open in January.
   Another 34-year-old, second-seeded Roger Federer, routed Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. Federer, a five-time U.S. Open titlist (2004-08), has not lost more than two games in a set in two matches.
   In the first round of men's doubles, Eric Butorac and former Stanford star Scott Lipsky surprised 16th-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain and Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6, (4), 7-5.
   Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones of San Jose and Abigail Spears of San Diego overwhelmed two-time reigning NCAA doubles champions Maya Jansen of the United States and Erin Routliffe of Canada 6-2, 6-1 in the opening round of women's doubles.
   In the first round of mixed doubles, Bethanie Mattek-Sands of Phoenix and Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, knocked off third-seeded Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 6-4, 3-6 [10-7].
   Lisa Raymond of the United States and Jamie Murray of Great Britain edged Spears and Lipsky 5-7, 6-2 [10-8].
   Also, U.S. wild cards Sachia Vickery and Frances Tiafoe nipped Anabel Medina Garrigues, the World TeamTennis co-Female MVP for the Sacramento-based California Dream in July, and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden 5-7, 6-3 [10-8].