US Open: A review of Day 2's events

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Carlos Alcaraz, Image Credits: US Open

Men's draw:

The defending champion Carlos Alcaraz started his first title defense with a win as his opponent Dominik Koepfer retired from the match after losing the first set. Koepfer suffered an injury as he rolled his ankle while hitting a backhand in the very first game. The German braved the pain throughout the first set and a part of the second set but eventually decided to retire. Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev the two main challengers in Alcaraz’s half sailed through to the second round comfortably. Medvedev dominated his opponent Attila Balazs 6-1 6-1 6-0 as he cruised to a victory in just 77 minutes.

Alexander Zverev started his campaign with a straight-set victory over Alexander Vukic. Zverev appears to have returned to form after returning from an injury in Roland Garros 2022 with a semifinal appearance in Cincinnati and could challenge the big guns in the tournament. Matteo Berrettini started well by beating Ugo Humbert 6-4 6-2 6-2. The world No. 16 Cameron Norrie dispatched Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets.

The veteran's Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka had a triumphant start to their US Open as they comfortably beat Corentin Moutet and Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets. It was Andy Murray’s 200th Major win. John Isner who announced his retirement earlier had a comfortable start to his final campaign at his home against Facundo Diaz Acosta. Gael Monfils and the No. 13 seed Alex De Minaur moved to the second round with a four-set victory over their opponents.

Diego Schwartzman lost in the very first round again as he appears to have lost his self-confidence after a mediocre year. The Argentinian lost in straight sets against Arthur Rinderknech. Karen Khachanov who last played a singles match at the French Open had a disastrous start on his return as he lost to the American Wildcard Michael Mmoh. He was off-color throughout the match and Mmoh made good use of it as he beat the Russian in straight sets. Thanasi Kokkinakis and Borna Coric lost their opening matches too.

Elsewhere, Arthur Fils and Grigor Dimitrov prevailed in five-setters against their opponents Tallon Greek Railway and Alex Molcav respectively. Dimitrov came back from two sets down and the match was closely fought as Molcav lost the fifth set tie-breaker 9-11. The 19-year-old Fils traded sets against Greek Railway and clinched the final set 7-5 as he clinched the victory by spending nearly 4 hours on the court.

Women's draw:

Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion, and Marketa Vondrousova, the reigning Wimbledon champion had a perfect start to their campaign as they sailed through their opening encounters. The No.3 seed and the home favorite, Jessica Pegula dispatched Camila Georgi 6-2 6-2 while the No.5 seed Ons Jabeur had a relatively more challenging time against Camila Osorio. Osorio pushed Jabeur in both sets but couldn’t do it in critical junctures as she lost 5-7 6[4]-7 to the Wimbledon runner-up.

The world No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova had a tough outing against the 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez as she had to battle it out in three sets. Alexandrova took a closely fought first set while Fernandez managed to edge out the second set. Fernandez had the break advantage at 4-3 but lost the next three games to lose the set and the match. Madison Keys, Elena Svitolina, and Liudmila Samsonova had comfortable victories over their opponents as they moved to the second round.

Caroline Garcia suffered a shock exit in straight sets against qualifier Yafan Wang. Garica lost 4-6 1-6 as she was broken thrice in the second set alone. The world No. 7, Garcia, was a semi-finalist in the 2022 edition of the US Open. Donna Vekic, the No. 22 seed, suffered a loss against Sachia Vickery after claiming the first set. Vickery won the match 2-6 7-5 6-2. Venus Williams at 43 years of age entered her home grand slam with a first-round match against Greet Minnen. However, the 7-time grand slam champion failed to impress as she lost in straight sets 1-6 1-6.

The world No. 12 and 14 Barbara Krejcikova and Daria Kasatkina suffered losses too against Lucia Bronzetti and Alycia Parks. Parks beat Kasatkina after losing the first set while Bronzetti beat Krejcikova in straight sets.

References

  1. Main Image Credits: US open Link: https://www.usopen.org/en_US/photos/index.html
  2. Thumbnail Image Credits: US Open Link: https://www.usopen.org/en_US/photos/index.html