The first round of the US Open Tennis Championships is now done and dusted, with action largely sticking to the form book at Flushing Meadows despite one or two notable upsets.
Completing the second-round line-up in New York is defending champion Jannik Sinner, 2022 winners Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, and 2023 victor Coco Gauff.
There were also wins for 2020 finalist Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper, and Mirra Andreeva, but 2017 runner-up Madison Keys saw her home tournament ended earlier than expected.
Sinner looks magnificent again, Draper toils
Top seed Sinner looked back to his magnificent best in Arthur Ashe Stadium as a quick-fire 6-1 6-1 6-2 blitzing of world number 80 Vít Kopřiva went some way to making up for his illness-induced retirement in the Cincinnati Open final last week.
“I feel in a good shape physically,” the Italian said when speaking to the media afterwards.
“Has been some good practice days, especially the last couple. I feel physically in a good spot. Also good first-round match, so I’m very happy.”
Sinner moves on to tackle Alexei Popyrin, the Aussie having subdued Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3 6-4 7-6.
On the other hand, Draper required some grit to make it past journeyman Federico Agustin Gomez 6-4 7-5 6-7 6-2 in Louis Armstrong Stadium, with the fifth seed clearly still suffering from a bout of left-arm bone bruising that had kept him out of competition for 53 days.
“It obviously wasn’t my finest performance. But at the same time, there was some problem-solving out there, some really good stuff, and some very average stuff,” Draper admitted in the post-match press conference.
“I needed tennis in my legs. I needed to play a three-hour match. I was almost a bit happy when I lost the third, because my level wasn’t amazing.
“Towards the end of the fourth, I started to get better and better.
“The more times I’m playing two-and-a-half hours, three hours, that’s going to help my arm adapt. Today it responded amazing.”
Waiting for the Brit in round two is Belgian Zizou Bergs, who beat Tseng Chun-hsin 6-3 6-4 6-3.
READ MORE: US Open news: First-round joy for Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka at Flushing Meadows
Świątek dominant, Gauff’s service game flails
Second seed Świątek made light work of unseeded Emiliana Arango on Arthur Ashe, triumphing 6-1 6-2 to set a new record of 65 consecutive first-round victories in women’s professional tennis.
“First matches are always a bit different, so I’m happy that I had some time to just get used to the conditions and the surface, because for sure it’s different than the practice courts,” Świątek stated during the on-court interview.
“I think it was just a solid match, and so I’m happy that I can play another round here.”
The Pole next faces Suzan Lamens, with the Dutchwoman having tamed Valerie Glozman 6-4 6-2 in her opening match.
Third seed Gauff, meanwhile, continued her recent service struggles in a topsy-turvy 6-4 6-7 7-5 win over unheralded Ajla Tomljanović, also on Arthur Ashe.
“Mentally, it’s exhausting, but I’m trying,” the American told reporters regarding her serve.
“It wasn’t the best today, but at 30-30 [in the last game] it came in when it mattered. It’s an improvement.
“It was a tough match. I had chances for it to be straight sets. Ajla was tough – I felt like she was getting so many balls back.
“I’m happy to get through to the next round. I had so many chances. I was like, ‘eventually they’re going to come’.”
Gauff will meet Donna Vekić in the second round after the Croatian survived a tough test against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro before eventually prevailing 3-6 7-5 6-3.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Premier League Matchweek two: Liverpool prove title pedigree; Tottenham topple Man City
Alcaraz, Zverev through but Čilić falls
Backing up the wins by Sinner and Draper, second seed Carlos Alcaraz overcame Reilly Opelka 6-4 7-5 6-4 and third seed Zverev toppled Alejandro Tabilo 6-2 7-6 6-4.
A perfect first-round record for the top 10 was then completed when eighth seed Alex de Minaur bested Christopher O’Connell 6-3 6-4 6-4, ninth seed Karen Khachanov outlasted Nishesh Basavareddy 6-7 6-3 7-5 6-1, and 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti trumped Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Fourteenth seed Tommy Paul and 17th seed Frances Tiafoe then did their job as Americans, beating Elmer Møller 6-3 6-3 6-1 and Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 7-6 6-3, respectively.
Rounding out the men’s action, British number two Cameron Norrie was up 7-5 6-4 on Sebastian Korda when the latter retired, resulting in a walkover, and 2014 US Open champion Marin Čilić was sent packing by Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-1 6-4.
READ NEXT: Rugby Championship news: Springboks, Argentina restore pride with tough home wins
Keys downed as Andreeva, Anisimova advance
On the women’s side, fifth seed Andreeva smashed Alycia Parks 6-0 6-1, eighth seed Amanda Anisimova knocked out Kimberly Birrell 6-3 6-2, and ninth seed Elena Rybakina blasted Julieta Pareja 6-3 6-0.
The first top-10 casualty arrived in the form of unseeded Renata Zarazúa surprising sixth seed Keys 6-7 7-6 7-5, an upset which was closely followed by Anna Bondár felling 12th seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-4.
Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for former Grand Slam champions, with 23rd seed Naomi Osaka dismantling Greet Minnen 6-3 6-4, Petra Kvitová bringing down the curtain on her career with a 6-1 6-0 defeat to Diane Parry, Barbora Krejčíková humbling 22nd seed Victoria Mboko 6-3 6-2, and 45-year-old Venus Williams making a fist of it in a 6-3 2-6 6-1 loss to 11th seed Karolína Muchová.
Unfortunately, British hopes took a big hit as 27th seed Marta Kostyuk dispatched Katie Boulter 6-4 6-4 and 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia got the job done against Sonay Kartal 6-3 1-6 6-1.
YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN: FedEx Cup news: Tommy Fleetwood wins first-ever PGA title at Tour Championship
SportJustSport writers