World quantity two Elena Rybakina beats American teenager Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2. Picture: AFP
NEW YORK:
World quantity two Elena Rybakina and former champion Coco Gauff breezed into the second spherical of the US Open on Tuesday as males’s high seed Alexander Zverev launched his marketing campaign.
Rybakina, eyeing a 3rd Grand Slam title and the world primary rating, beat US teen Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2.
Gauff confirmed off her immensely improved serve in a assured 6-3, 6-4 victory over 53rd-ranked Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey.
Gauff blazed via the opening set earlier than Sonmez upped her sport, recovering an early break within the second and briefly taking the lead earlier than Gauff regrouped.
“I believe I used to be simply attempting to not panic,” Gauff mentioned. “She began coming to the online and enjoying nice tennis.
“That 3-all sport was actual necessary,” added Gauff, who saved three break factors within the sixth sport and broke within the subsequent for a lead she would not relinquish.
World quantity two Rybakina and fourth-ranked Gauff are two of the three gamers, together with No. 3 Jessica Pegula, who’ve an opportunity to supplant Aryna Sabalenka atop the world rankings in New York.
Gauff must add a second US Open title to the one she captured in 2023 whereas Kazakhstan’s Rybakina may do it simply by reaching the semi-finals.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina confirmed little signal of the left heel damage that pressured her out of her quarter-final in Cincinnati this month.
She saved each break factors she confronted in a sophisticated efficiency in opposition to the big-hitting if erratic American, who was enjoying her first Grand Slam important draw match on a wild card.
“I am proud of the match. Particularly when you do not know your opponent, it at all times may be harmful, however general I am proud of the primary match and the way it went,” the world quantity two from Kazakhstan mentioned.
“It is an incredible end result after 10 days from that type of damage,” added Rybakina, who was unable to stroll with out ache for a number of days and continues to be rigorously managing her coaching, relaxation and therapy.
Zverev, who nabbed his lengthy awaited first Grand Slam title on the French Open this yr, opened his bid for an additional in opposition to Lorenzo Sonego within the nightcap on Ashe.
Girls’s French Open champion Mirra Andreeva additionally superior simply, cruising previous Indonesia’s Thirty sixth-ranked Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-2.
Andreeva, seeded fifth, has had a lackluster run on North American exhausting courts since her scintillating run to a primary Grand Slam title in Paris.
However she was dialed in as she produced her second win over Tien in lower than two weeks.
After a tricky win in opposition to the Indonesian in Cincinnati, Andreeva mentioned, “I used to be simply attempting to be very aggressive.”
Cobolli comeback
Fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli, runner-up to Zverev at Roland Garros, rallied from two units down for the primary time in his profession to beat Argentina’s Francisco Comesana 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
The Italian shook off an erratic begin, dropping to his knees and elevating his arms in celebration after closing out the four-hour, 13-minute marathon.
“In a Grand Slam it is by no means accomplished,” Cobolli mentioned. “You must battle to the final level.”
Cobolli recouped an early break within the fifth set, breaking again to drag stage, breaking once more for a 5-4 lead and sealing the triumph within the subsequent sport with a blistering forehand volley.
He had been flailing within the first two units in opposition to his 119th-ranked opponent, however he saved all eight break factors he confronted within the third and dominated within the fourth.
Within the time it took Cobolli and Comesana to battle it out on the Louis Armstrong stadium, Individuals Madison Keys and Taylor Fritz each posted wins on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Keys a former Australian Open winner who misplaced within the first spherical at Flushing Meadows final yr, conquered first-match jitters to beat 19-year-old Russian Alina Korneeva 7-5, 6-4.
Nerves did not appear to be an issue for ninth-seeded Fritz as he sailed previous fellow American Darwin Blanch 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Whereas play went as scheduled on the lined Ashe and Armstrong stadiums, these on outdoors courts — together with Rybakina — needed to wait out some prolonged rain delays.
That included a close to four-hour delay to the beginning of play and extra delays within the night. At the least 5 late matches had been postponed altogether.