U.S.Open Day 1
Nadal, Serena, Ferrer, Radswanka, Li Cruise; Venus Ousts Flipkens; Stephens Escapes Upset; Nishikori Stunned
Former World No.4 James Blake to Retire After Open; Australian Tomic Battles to Win in 5 Sets; France's Gasquet Advance
August 26 2013 ITS Staff: New York - Asia’s No.1 Kei Nishikori was stunned in the first round of the U.S.Open in New York by Great Britain’s Daniel Evans 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on Monday. The 179th ranked Evans entered the main draw via the qualifying round. Nishikori was a quarterfinalist last year here.
World No.2 and 12-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal kept his unbeaten record 16-0 on hard-courts intact this season after cruising past American Ryan Harrison 6-4 6-2 6-2. It was Nadal's first match at the U.S. Open since he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 finals after missing the tournament last season due to a knee injury which kept him out for seven-months.
In women's singles, No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and No.5 Li Na advanced in straight sets in their respective openers. Radwanska cruised past Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1, 6-2 while Li trounced Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-2.
Radwanska withdrew from her last tournament at Cincinnati on Aug. 15 before her quarterfinal against Li to fly home for her grandfather's funeral. Radswanka, who has never made it to quarter-finals here, took the honor of playing the tournament's first match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She improved to 28-2 in Grand Slam first round matches.
Former World No. 1 Venus Williams ousted No.12 seed Kirsten Flipkens 6-1 6-2 to advance to the second round. The 7-time Grand Slam champion Wiliams, now ranked No.36, broke her Belgian opponent twice in each set to win her first U.S. Open since 2011 when she pulled out her second-round match because of an autoimmune disease. Venus, who has been struggling for much of the year with injuries, is playing her third event since an early exit at the French Open.
Fifteenth-seed American Sloane Stephens escaped from 2-4 down in the third set, and 1-3 in the tie-breaker before reeling off five straight points to close out the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) over 110th-ranked Mandy Minella of Luxembourg in the first round.
In the first evening match completed at Arthur Ashe Stadium before rain cancelled the night schedule, top-seed Serena Williams crushed Italy's Francesca Schiavone 6-0 6-1 in one hour to advance to the second round. The convincing victory was a clearly delivered message reminding everyone that she remains the favorite to win her fifth U.S.Open title. The 16-time Grand Slam champion won her first New York title when she was 17 in 1999, then won her fourth last year at age 30.
Australian teen sensation Nick Kyrgios could not match the No.4 seeded David Ferrer’s consistency and tenacity in an evening draw on Louis Armstrong Stadium. The 18-year old fought hard in the opening set before falling to a 7-5 6-3 6-2 defeat. A qualifier into the tournament, Kyrgios was making his main draw debut at the US Open.
In other first round singles matches, Australian Bernard Tomic, who was being accused of tanking at last year's tournament, the World Ranked No.52 battled back from two sets to one and a break down in the fourth set to win against Spain's Albert Ramos 6-3 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 in a match lasting almost four hours.
Eighth-seed Frenchman Richard Gasquet won his first round match with a straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Michael Russell. The 27-year old Frenchman delivered 40 winners while only making 18 unforced errors in the two hour match. Gasquet has reached the fourth round four times in eight appearances at Flushing Meadows.
Former World No.4 James Blake announced his retirement from tennis during a news conference at the opening day of the U.S. Open on Monday. "This is my last tournament. I don't want to be dragged out of this game. I want to leave on my own terms. I really didn't think this would happen,” the 33-year old former World No.4 said as he wiped away tears. Full Scoreboard
Men's Singles First Round Monday August 26
4-David Ferrer beat Nick Kyrgios 7-5 6-3 6-2
18-Janko Tipsarevic beat Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 ret.
Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) beat Rhyne Williams (U.S.) 6-3 4-6 1-6 7-5 6-0
Mikhail Kukushkin beat Andrej Martin 6-4 7-6(2) 7-5
Bradley Klahn beat Kenny De Schepper 6-7(5) 6-2 7-6(0) 7-6(4)
Stephane Robert beat Albano Olivetti 6-3 6-3 6-4
8-Richard Gasquet beat Michael Russell 6-3 6-4 6-2
Bernard Tomic beat Albert Ramos 6-3 3-6 4-6 7-6(1) 6-3
Guillaume Rufin beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(4) 6-3 2-6 2-6 6-1
23-Feliciano Lopez beat Florent Serra 6-7(4) 6-2 6-3 6-3
32-Dmitry Tursunov beat Aljaz Bedene 7-5 4-6 6-3 6-0
Daniel Evans beat 11-Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-4 6-2
Women's Singles First Round Monday August 26
1-Serena Williams beat Francesca Schiavone 6-0 6-1
8-Angelique Kerber beat Lucie Hradecka 6-1 6-1
9-Jelena Jankovic beat Madison Keys 6-3 6-4
24-Ekaterina Makarova beat Polona Hercog 6-2 6-4
Kristina Mladenovic beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 1-6 6-1
15-Sloane Stephens beat Mandy Minella 4-6 6-3 7-6(5)
Kurumi Nara beat Alexandra Cadantu 6-2 6-2
Paula Ormaechea beat Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-3 7-6(7)
16-Sabine Lisicki beat Vera Dushevina 6-2 7-6(3)
Zheng Jie beat Kiki Bertens 6-1 6-3
Ashleigh Barty beat Estrella Cabeza Candela 6-1 6-4
19-Sorana Cirstea beat Sharon Fichman 7-5 5-7 6-1
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova beat Stefanie Voegele 6-1 5-7 7-6(4)
Venus Williams beat 12-Kirsten Flipkens 6-1 6-2
3-Agnieszka Radwanska beat Silvia Soler Espinosa 6-1 6-2
5-Li Na beat Olga Govortsova 6-2 6-2
25-Kaia Kanepi beat Vania King 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1
Maria Teresa Torro beat Marina Erakovic 6-0 6-4
18-Carla Suarez Navarro beat Lauren Davis 6-0 6-0
Patricia Mayr-Achleitner beat 29-Magdalena Rybarikova 7-6(2) 6-3
Sofia Arvidsson beat Petra Cetkovska 1-6 6-4 6-1
Coco Vandeweghe beat Aleksandra Krunic 6-4 7-6(5)
30-Laura Robson beat Lourdes Dominguez Lino 7-5 6-0
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