By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Aryna Sabalenka got off to a winning start in her quest for a third successive U.S. Open title on Monday while 10th seed Arthur Fils exited, as the second day of the tournament kicked off after Novak Djokovic’s shock defeat left another major hole in the men’s field.
Sabalenka has been trying to regain her usual dominance after a frustrating stretch, having failed to reach a final since she completed the Sunshine Double in March, and looked well on her way with an easy 6-2 6-4 win over Colombia’s Camila Osorio.
The world number one launched 32 winners in the first match of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a meeting with Russian Polina Iatcenko in the second round.
“I’m happy with my performance. She’s a tough opponent, makes you work really hard to get every point,” said Sabalenka. “So I’m happy that I was able to close the match in straight sets.”
Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas stunned the Cincinnati winner Fils 4-6 7-6(3) 6-1 6-4 in the early match at Louis Armstrong Stadium, setting up a second-round meeting with South African Lloyd Harris.
Fils’ upset marked the latest surprise exit in the men’s draw after the 24-times major winner Djokovic crashed out the previous evening.
The Serb had not lost in the opening round of a major in 20 years and his exit against Argentine Mariano Navone, after vomiting during the match, left the tournament without some of its star power on the men’s side, with top-ranked Jannik Sinner among several to withdraw due to injury this year.
Sinner’s key rival Carlos Alcaraz began his title defence against Roman Safiullin in the second match on Ashe after a long layoff due to injury.
SHELTON, OSAKA HIGHLIGHT NIGHT SESSION
Seven matches were suspended on the outer courts on Sunday night due to rain and resumed on Monday, with organisers benefiting from the extended three-day first-round schedule after expanding the main draw to 15 days in 2025.
The Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova got the day underway on the Grandstand with a routine 6-3 6-0 win over Austrian Sinja Kraus. The Czech seventh seed plays Briton Katie Boulter in the second round.
The Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, who was forced to go through qualifying only two years after reaching the quarter-finals in New York, beat Kristina Liutova 4-6 6-3 6-1.
Zheng, whose progress has stalled and ranking has plummeted since an elbow injury forced her to undergo surgery last summer, will play the winner of a match on Tuesday between Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva and Switzerland’s 2021 Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic.
In the night session, home hope Ben Shelton takes on the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor on Ashe, followed by a match between twice champion Naomi Osaka and Anastasia Zakharova.
On Armstrong, Poland’s 2022 champion Iga Swiatek takes on China’s Wang Xiyu, followed by an all-American clash between Frances Tiafoe and Martin Damm.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
