Swiatek crushes Peterson to begin U.S. Open title defence
World number one Iga Swiatek got her U.S. Open title defence off to a dominant start on Monday, flattening unseeded Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-0 6-1 to kick off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The four-time Grand Slam champion fired off 20 winners and four aces to set up a second-round meeting with Australian Daria Saville
Thiem beats Bublik for first win at a Grand Slam since 2021
Dominic Thiem savoured his first Grand Slam match win since 2021 at his happiest hunting ground on Monday, as the injury-plagued former U.S. Open champion downed Kazakh Alexander Bublik to reach the second round. Thiem broke the Grand Slam stranglehold of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic by winning the 2020 title in New York but a wrist injury the following year sidelined him for months and other niggles meant his ranking slipped to 352nd.
Gauff survives Siegemund test to advance at US Open
Sixth seed Coco Gauff survived a surprisingly tough test from Laura Siegemund in a tense first-round match at the U.S. Open on Monday, fighting back to beat the German 3-6 6-2 6-4. The U.S. teenager and the home crowd were stunned when Siegemund, the world number 121, used a variety of shotmaking and some spectacular plays at the net to take the first set.
Ruthless Djokovic makes winning return to US Open
Novak Djokovic made a winning return to the U.S. Open by storming past Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-0 6-2 6-3 on Monday to reclaim the world number one ranking and take the first step towards matching Margaret Court’s record haul of 24 Grand Slams.
Unable to play at last year’s event due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic had not been seen on the Flushing Meadows hard courts since his loss to Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 final.
Wozniacki downs Prozorova to make winning return at US Open
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki marked her return to Grand Slam action for the first time in more than three years with a 6-3 6-2 win over Russian qualifier Tatiana Prozorova on Monday to reach the second round at the U.S. Open. Wozniacki is competing in her third tournament since returning to the tour in Montreal and playing in Cincinnati this month after retiring in 2020 to start a family, but the Dane’s vast experience shone through against 19-year-old Prozorova.
Hijikata’s joy at first US Open win dampened by campus shooting
Rinky Hijikata walked off court ready to talk about his first win at the U.S. Open on Monday but the Australian wildcard’s thoughts quickly turned to a shooting at the University of North Carolina (UNC) where he studied business for two years. Hijikata beat Russia’s Pavel Kotov 7-5 5-7 6-3 7-5 in a bruising four-hour battle that put him through to the second round at Flushing Meadows.
Fritz, Tiafoe lead American charge into U.S. Open second round
Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe opened their respective bids to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title in 20 years with routine victories at the U.S. Open on Monday. The top-ranked Americans were hardly tested as ninth seed Fritz crushed compatriot Steve Johnson 6-2 6-1 6-2 in Louis Armstrong Stadium after Tiafoe, the 10th seed, beat American Learner Tien 6-2 7-5 6-1 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
