US Open day 1: Serena Williams powers ahead at likely last tournament
The story of the opening day of play at Flushing Meadows.
The retirement party took place anyway but Serena Williams showed she is not finished yet with a 6-3 6-3 win over Danka Kovinic in the first round of the US Open.
Andy Murray led a positive day for the British players, with Jack Draper and Harriet Dart also reaching round two, the latter with the best win of her career over 10th seed Daria Kasatkina.
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev eased past Stefan Kozlov but there were two big shocks – an out-of-sorts Stefanos Tsitsipas losing to Daniel Elahi Galan while Simona Halep was beaten by young Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur.
Picture of the day
Djokovic still a presence
Mothers’ pride
Family influence is much in evidence at Flushing Meadows this year. The first-round clash between Brandon Holt and Taylor Fritz pitted the sons of two former players – Tracy Austin and Kathy May – against one another while Elizabeth Mandlik, daughter of Hana Mandlikova, reached round two.
Fallen seeds
Women: Simona Halep (7), Daria Kasatkina (10), Martina Trevisan (27), Jil Teichmann (30)
Men: Stefanos Tsitsipas (4), Taylor Fritz (10), Roberto Bautista Agut (16), Francisco Cerundolo (24), Maxime Cressy (30), Nikoloz Basilashvili (31)
Who’s up next?
Emma Raducanu begins the defence of her US Open title with a tricky assignment against France’s Alize Cornet under the lights on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“Twelve months, it’s obviously a bit of a long time, but, coming back here, it honestly feels like I’ve never left,” she said.
“Coming to the city, it’s just gone so quickly. So much has happened but I feel like I was here yesterday or last week. It’s a really strange feeling. I’ve obviously learned a lot but time flies.”
Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans also start their campaigns against Benoit Paire and Jiri Vesely respectively.
Rafael Nadal opens the night session on Arthur Ashe against Australian wild card Rinky Hijikata while Naomi Osaka takes on Danielle Collins and top seed Iga Swiatek meets Jasmine Paolini.
