NEW YORK – Aryna Sabalenka opened her US Open defence with a win, joined by Emma Raducanu and Novak Djokovic, who began his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title successfully. Medvedev, however, crashed out. In Cleveland, Cîrstea ended a four-year drought by beating Ann Li 6-2, 6-4 for the WTA crown.
Sabalenka, bidding to become the first woman to claim back-to-back US Open titles since Serena Williams completed a hat-trick of wins in 2014, was made to work hard en route to a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova.
“Happy to get this win and happy to be in the second round. I feel like I didn’t start my best in the first games, but then I found my rhythm,” said Sabalenka according to AFP.
Raducanu was in complete control throughout, breaking Shibahara’s serve routinely on her way to a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing on the Louis Armstrong Stadium showcourt.
The win was the Briton’s first at the US Open since she made history four years ago, winning the championship as a little-known qualifier at the age of 18.
She was knocked out in the US Open first round in 2022, missed the 2023 tournament due to injury, and exited in the first round again in 2024.
“I’m very pleased to have come through that match,” Raducanu said afterwards. “First rounds are very challenging always, the nerves, and I wanted to win a match here really bad.”
Raducanu admitted that her failure to win in New York since her memorable title triumph four years ago had begun to weigh on her.
“It has been on my mind,” Raducanu added according to Reuters. “It’s been four years, and it’s a very special tournament for me. I did feel different coming into it this year.
“I felt like I was doing the right things day-to-day, but still, it’s in the back of your head. So, I’m just very pleased to have overcome that.”
Raducanu added that a rushed start early Sunday had added to her nervousness beforehand.
“I was nervous this morning after practice. There’s not much time playing first on,” she said. “You’re kind of rushing to do things.
“After I came out of the shower, I felt like I kind of just got into the zone, got my match kit on, and that, for me, is a shift of, ‘OK, you’re going to get ready, lock in now.’ Then I relaxed.”
Raducanu, who describes the US Open as her “happy place” despite her record since 2021, said her mood is brightened by seeing familiar faces that she remembers from four years ago.
“There was this one security guard who is still here working,” she said. “Whenever I see him, he was there from the very, very start of the first round of quallies, second round, and all the way through to the final, and to see him around is really special.”
The 38-year-old Djokovic showed flashes of brilliance in a 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 win against his unseeded 19-year-old American opponent Learner Tien.
Romania’s Sorana Cirstea ended a four-year title drought by defeating American Ann Li 6-2, 6-4 to claim the WTA trophy in Cleveland. In North Carolina, Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics secured his third ATP crown, overcoming a late wobble to beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in the hardcourt final.
Cirstea, ranked 112th as she works her way back from foot surgery last year, came through qualifying and didn’t drop a set all week in a confidence-building performance.
Cirstea overcame a trace of late nerves, failing to convert three match points against Li’s serve in the ninth game of the second set then fending off a pair of break points before closing it out on her fifth match point in the next game.
She claimed her third career title, and her first since Istanbul in April of 2021.
“It’s been a special week for me,” Cirstea said according to AFP. “I really just came here to play some matches with no expectations.”
Li, ranked 69th, was seeking a second career title but after battling through three straight three-set matches – including a semifinal victory over second-seeded Wang Xinyu – she ran out of steam against Cirstea.
The Romanian broke her serve three times and saved all three break points she faced in the 1hr 24min match.
Both finalists now head to Flushing Meadows where Cirstea, entered in the final Grand Slam of the year under a protected ranking, will open her campaign against Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
Van de Zandschulp, seeking his first ATP title, forced the tiebreaker, but Fucsovics took advantage of his Dutch foe’s errors in the decider to pull off the victory.
“I’m speechless, really,” said Fucsovics, who hoisted the trophy in Bucharest last year, six years after his first career triumph in Geneva.
“I had a long career, a couple of trophies,” he said. “I’m 33 and a half years old. So, I belong to the older generation, but I’m still here, winning an ATP 250.
“So, I will keep on fighting,” Fucsovics said. “I’m enjoying tennis right now. I’m going to play as long as I can.”
The next challenge is the US Open, where Fucsovics is slated to face Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the first round.
Van de Zandschulp, who stunned Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at Flushing Meadows last year, is due to launch his campaign at the final Grand Slam of the year against 11th-seeded Holger Rune.
Russian third-seed tennis ace Diana Shnaider, elsewhere, held on for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over second-seeded compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in Monterrey to notch her fifth triumph in as many WTA finals.
Shnaider came up with the trophy in her last four chances in Hong Kong, Budapest, Bad Homburg and Hua Hin last year.
She looked well on her way after cruising through the first set and breaking Alexandrova in the opening game of the second.
