Rafael Nadal handed US Open walkover, with Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev also advancing
Rafael Nadal has progressed into the third round of the US Open without so much as a swing of his racket after Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew ahead of their scheduled match in New York.
Nadal therefore received a walkover, with injury-plague Australian Kokkinakis defaulting with a shoulder injury.
The Spaniard, who beat John Millman in straight sets in round one, will now face Hyeon Chung of South Korea on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios was in fine form, and kept the antics to a minimum as he beat Antoine Hoang 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
He now faces a brilliantly intriguing third-round match against Russian Andrey Rublev, who benefited from other injury withdrawal, this time from Gilles Simon.
British star Dan Evans earned a shot at Roger Federer in round three after he beat an out-of-sorts Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4.
Russian fifth-seed Daniil Medvedev survived a big scare, as he was forced to overcome cramp before beating Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
“I’m not sure what happened today and why I started cramping suddenly,” Medvedev said.
“I obviously thought at one point ‘How did I win?’ I don’t know how I did.”
Stan Wawrinka, who won the title in 2016, is also in round three after he beat Jeremy Chardy.
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