NEW YORK – Defending champion Naomi Osaka, two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas come through tough opening round matches in the US Open.
Osaka, seeking her third US Open crown in four years, defeated 87th-ranked Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1 to book a second-round matchup with Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic.
Halep, who had consecutive first-round exits in the 2017 and 2018 US Opens, held off Camila Giorgi 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Muguruza, the No. 9 seed, advanced with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) victory over Donna Vekic, AP reported.
Those were two of the earliest victories as the tournament welcomed back spectators after being played last year without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The grounds were packed throughout the day and figured to be again at night when defending women’s champion Naomi Osaka played her first-round match.
Halep missed the French Open and Wimbledon — the two major tournaments she has won — with a left calf injury, and her return to Grand Slam tennis came at the one where she’s had her least success.
Her loss to Kaia Kanepi in 2018 was the first time the No. 1 seed lost in the first round of the US Open in the professional era.
She acknowledged after that defeat that maybe the noise of New York just wasn’t her scene, and the sounds were back on Monday with the stands again allowed to be filled to full capacity.
Long lines and big crowds were a readjustment for any players. Madison Keys had to wait while serving midway through the second set of her match against Sloane Stephens, the first of the tournament on Arthur Ashe Stadium, as fans were late returning to their seats after a changeover.
Halep was in some danger again against Giorgi, an Italian who recently won a hard-court title in Montreal for the biggest victory of her career.
The No. 12 seed was broken while serving for the match at 5-4 but recovered to win the final four points of the tiebreaker.
Muguruza has also won the French Open and Wimbledon, but the US Open is the only major where she hasn’t reached the quarterfinals. She was knocked out in the first round just two years ago.
But she steadied herself in both tiebreakers against Vekic, who reached the quarterfinals in 2019.
Elsewhere, Surging No.26 seed Danielle Collins booked her place in the second round of her home major for the second time with a ruthlessly efficient 6-2, 6-4 defeat of Carla Suarez Navarro in one hour and eight minutes.
In July and August, Collins put together a 12-match winning streak across two continents and two surfaces to capture her first two WTA titles in Palermo, on clay, and San Jose, on hard courts. T
he 27-year-old American, who returned in May from surgery for endometriosis, maintained that form here, slamming 41 winners in just 18 games. Collins’ serve was particularly formidable: she conceded just seven points behind it all match, five in the first set and two in the second.
For Suárez Navarro, the result draws the curtain on a stellar US Open career. The Spanish former World No.6 debuted in the main draw at Flushing Meadows in 2008, losing in the first round to Alisa Kleybanova.
She went on to reach two quarterfinals, in 2013 and 2018, as well as three further fourth-round runs in 2011, 2016 and 2017.
Suárez Navarro has also scored a major health victory in 2021 – in April, she was declared cancer-free after a battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The 32-year-old is ending her career this year on her own terms with a farewell tour that has also taken in Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, and received a standing ovation from the crowd as she exited Court 5.
Collins wasn’t the only big-hitting seed to progress impressively. No.19 Elena Rybakina took one hour and 16 minutes to get past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-3, while No.32 Ekaterina Alexandrova fired 42 winners in one hour and 26 minutes to overpower former US Open semifinalist Sara Errani 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, former champion Sloane Stephens overcame best friend Madison Keys’ aggressive play to secure a 6-3 1-6 7-6(7) win in the first round.
The 2017 winner quickly took control of the first set on Arthur Ashe Stadium, putting up a strong defensive performance to fend off three break points as Keys committed 15 unforced errors.
But Keys roared back in the second, winning all of her first-serve points and fired off 11 winners compared to just three from Stephens, who struggled to find her power.
After trading breaks in the third set, they headed into a tiebreak, where Keys’ unforced errors proved to be her undoing.
After fending off two match points, she shouted in frustration as she whacked the ball into the net to set up a third.
It was the first time the pair had met on Ashe since Stephens defeated her in the final four years ago for her first – and thus far only – major title.
“We’re both looking to get back that form we had in 2017. Maddy is my best friend on tour and it is always difficult for us but we’re always able separate the match and come out and compete,” said Stephens according to Reuters.
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