US Open 2022 Day 4: Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal advance, while Williams sisters go one-and-done

The women's bracket was decimated on Day 3 of the US Open. No. 3 seed Maria Sakkari fell to Wang Xiyu, and then Serena Williams took down No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in one of the final matches of the night.

With the women's side already in shambles, the door is open for Iga Swiatek to claim another Grand Slam title. She continued her run Thursday, defeating Sloane Stephens.

After Daniil Medvedev's win Wednesday, the top-3 seeded men's players are still hanging around. Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz take the court Thursday hoping they won't suffer the same fate as the top-ranked women from Wednesday.

Follow along with Yahoo Sports as we recap the biggest matches from Day 4 of the 2022 US Open.

Rafael Nadal victorious, but not unscathed

The No. 2 seeded Rafael Nadal shook off a weak first to beat Italy's Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. He effectively put away the match when Fognini blew a double break point to even the breaks in the fourth set.

Nadal didn't escape completely unscathed, though, as he cut his nose in the fourth set when his racquet rebounded off the court and into his faith. The injury left Nadal with a Jerry Rice-ian bandage across his nose for the rest of the match.

Nadal advances to the third round where he will face a friendly face in Richard Gasquet, against whom he has a 17-0 record.

Iga Swiatek cruises into third round

The women's No. 1 seed took care of business Thursday. Iga Swiatek moved into the third round of the US Open with a decisive win over American Sloane Stephens in straight sets (6-3, 6-2).

Swiatek only picked up one ace in the contest, but was dominant during her service games, winning eight of them. She let the crowd know she was appreciative after the match, waving and blowing a kiss to the fans.

Swiatek was expected to come away with the win, but that was no guarantee following Wednesday's upsets. Kontaveit and Sakkari went down, presumably leaving Swiatek with an easier road to the final. She will be tested as the field thins out, but Swiatek has looked strong in her first two matches.

Carlos Alcaraz wins in straight sets

Carlos Alcaraz moved on to the third round of the US Open on Thursday. Alcaraz defeated Federico Coria in straight sets (6-2, 6-1, 7-6) to advance.

Alcaraz had stretches of greatness during the match, at one point winning nine straight games. Coria made it close in the final set, but Alcaraz was able to win a tiebreak to take the match.

Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals at the US Open last year. He will take on American Jenson Brooksby in the third round Saturday.

Serena and Venus Williams lose in first round

With Serena Williams set to retire after the US Open, she and her sister Venus decided to give the New York City crowd one last chance to see them play doubles together. It was the pair's first US Open berth since 2014 and their first time in a Grand Slam since 2018.

Unfortunately, the return was a short one. The Williams sisters lost 7-6, 6-4 in the first round to Czech pair Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecká. The loss didn't make the moment any less special, though.

Paula Badosa upset by Petra Martic in second round

Top-seeded women continue to fall at the US Open. Paula Badosa was ousted by Petra Martic in the second round Thursday.

Badosa managed to take the first set in a tiebreak 7-6. Martic took over from there, taking the second set 6-1 and winning the third and final set 6-2. Martic had 10 aces against Badosa's three in the match. Badosa also had five double faults.

With the win, Martic advances to the third round of the US Open. She's advanced as far as the fourth round at the event, both in 2019 and 2020.

Jessica Pegula punches ticket to Round 3

American Jessica Pegula is moving on to the third round of the US Open. Pegula defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) Thursday to advance.

Pegula and Sasnovich were mostly evenly-matched, trading games back-and-forth. Pegula won three games in a row at one point, but that was it. Both players fought to take back the momentum.

Pegula was able to help her case thanks to her strong serves. She registered five aces during the match, which helped give her an advantage and, eventually, the win.

The victory puts Pegula in the third round of the US Open for the third straight year. Pegula lost in the third round in both 2020 and 2021, and will be looking to break that trend when she takes the court again Saturday.

Brandon Nakashima completes upset over Grigor Dimitrov

American Brandon Nakashima managed an upset in the second round of the US Open on Thursday. Nakashima took down No. 17 Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets (7-6, 7-5, 6-3).

Nakashima played a mistake-free game, not registering a double fault. He narrowly came out ahead in aces, picking up 12 to Nakashima's 11.

It's the first time has advanced to the third round of the US Open. He made it to the second round in both 2019 and 2020, but failed to make it out of that round both times.

Lauren Davis upsets Ekaterina Alexandrova in second round

American Lauren Davis fell behind early, but rallied to pick up an upset win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round of the US Open.

Davis didn't win a single game in the first set, falling to Alexandrova 6-0. Davis then clawed her way back, winning the second set 6-4 and going to a tiebreak in the final set. Davis came out ahead in that final set 7-6, completing the upset.

The win pushes Davis into the third round, which is the furthest she has ever made it at the US Open.

Jenson Brooksby upsets Borna Coric to advance to third round

American Jenson Brooksby is moving on to the third round. Brooksby upset Borna Coric in straight sets Thursday (6-4, 7-6, 6-1).

Other notable results

• American Danielle Collins, seeded 19th, dominated with serve on her way to a 6-2, 7-5 win over Cristina Bucșa, winning 82 percent of her first-serve points with five aces.

•Aryna Sabalenka pulled off the comeback of the tournament so far Thursday, battling back to beat Kaia Kanepi in three sets. Sabalenka dropped the first set and then fell behind 5-1 in the second set before crawling her way back for the win. Sabalenka then took the final set 6-4 to secure the victory.

• American John Isner pulled out of the US Open due to a wrist injury. Holger Rune advanced to the third round of the tournament in a walkover after Isner bowed out.

• Marin Cilic advanced to the third round with a straight-set victory over Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Thursday. Cilic dominated on serves, racking up 16 aces in the win.

• Frances Tiafoe, the highest-seeded American remaining at 22nd, advanced with a 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Australian Jason Kubler.

• Jannik Sinner took down American Christopher Eubanks in the second round Thursday. Sinner won in straight sets (6-4, 7-6, 6-2) to advance.

• Andrey Rublev defeated Kwon Soon-woo in straight sets Thursday. Rublev turned in a dominant performance, picking up 12 aces as he took down Soon-woo 6-3, 6-0, 6-4.

• Cameron Norrie beat João Sousa in straight sets (6-4, 6-4, 7-6) to advance to the third round of the US Open. With the win, Norrie reached the third round of the US Open for the second time in his career.

• Garbiñe Muguruza advanced to the third round with a win over Linda Fruhvirtova in straight sets (6-0, 6-4). Muguruza will take on Petra Kvitová in the third round Saturday.

• Victoria Azarenka defeated Marta Kostyuk in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to advance to the third round. The match ended in controversy after Kostyuk, who is from Ukraine, did not shake hands with Azarenka, who is from Belarus, one of Russia's allies. The two players touched rackets at the net. Azarenka explained her stance after the match, saying she has tried to reach out to Ukrainian athletes before big tournaments.