World No.1 Ash Barty began her US Open campaign with a straight-sets win over 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Barty was joined in the second round by fourth seed Karolina Pliskova – whom she beat in the Wimbledon final – and Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic, who also won in straight sets on Tuesday.
Later in the day, No.7 seed Iga Swiatek impressed in a straight-sets win over Jamie Loeb while 10th seed Petra Kvitova dominated Polona Hercog 6-1 6-2 to book a second-round meeting with Pliskova’s twin sister Kristyna.
Top-10 seeds Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, Denis Shapovalov and Hubert Hurkacz all progressed to the second round of the men’s singles with straight-sets victories, while young gun Jannik Sinner advanced in four over Aussie Max Purcell.
Night session: Djokovic, Andreescu overcome gallant opponents
Top seed Novak Djokovic continued his march towards the calendar-year Grand Slam with a four-set win over 18-year-old qualifier Holger Rune.
In his first competitive outing since last month's Olympics, Djokovic began brightly on Ashe before the Danish talent went toe-to-toe with the top seed in several entertaining rallies, snatching the second set in a tiebreak and winning the support of the crowd.
RELATED: Djokovic dealing with "tons of expectation and pressure"
But from that point Rune struggled increasingly with cramps, and Djokovic eventually coasted to a 6-1 6-7(5) 6-2 6-1 triumph – his 22nd straight Grand Slam win.
Nothing but respect between the youngster and the legend. pic.twitter.com/9titTpSvWU
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2021
Following Djokovic onto Ashe was No.6 seed Bianca Andreescu, who returned to the site of her 2019 triumph with a 7-5 4-6 6-4 win over Wimbledon quarterfinalist Viktorija Golubic.
Andreescu, who missed last year's tournament due to injury, trailed 5-3 in the first set and 4-2 in the third before summoning her trademark power and grit to seal victory in just under three hours.
She improved her record in US Open main-draw matches to an unblemished 8-0.
In night matches at Louis Armstrong Stadium, 2021 Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova brushed Alison Riske aside 6-4 6-2 before Taylor Fritz upset 14th seeded Australian Alex de Minaur in four sets.
Barty, Pliskova maintain form
Cincinnati champion Barty extended her winning streak to six matches with her 6-1 7-6(7) win over former world No.2 Zvonareva.
Barty has won 12 consecutive sets since the Olympics and will look to continue her rich vein of form in the second round against Danish teen Clara Tauson, who beat another Clara, Burel, on Tuesday.
Barty’s fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic – the two clashed in the Wimbledon quarterfinals – also advanced, dropping just four games against American wildcard Katie Volynets to set up a meeting with No.30 seed Petra Martic.
Pliskova saw off another local wildcard in Caty McNally and has now won 16 of her past 20 matches; next up for her is American Amanda Anisimova, who looked impressive in a straight-sets win over Zarina Diyas.
Bencic beat Arantxa Rus 6-4 6-4 to win her 10th match from her past 11 outings, while 17th seed Maria Sakkari and 24th seed Paula Badosa both advanced with 6-4 6-3 victories over Marta Kostyuk and Alison Van Uytvanck respectively.
Meanwhile, British teen Emma Raducanu, who lit up Wimbledon with her run to the fourth round, beat Stefanie Voegele 6-2 6-3; the qualifier improves her 2021 win-loss record to 17-6.
Berrettini, Hurkacz on course for rematch
Zverev, the Olympic and Cincinnati champion, opened play on Ashe with a 6-4 7-5 6-2 over former world No.11 Sam Querrey and has now won 12 matches in a row.
Next up for the fourth seed is Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who saved two match points against 2016 quarterfinalist Lucas Pouille to prevail in five.
Berrettini and Hurkacz, who clashed in the Wimbledon semifinals, took a step closer to a potential fourth-round rematch in New York with their wins Jeremy Chardy and Egor Gerasimov on Tuesday.
Berrettini’s fellow Italian Sinner beat Purcell 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2 and is one win away from a projected third-round meeting with 17th seed Gael Monfils, who saw off Federico Coria in straight sets.
No.21 seed Aslan Karatsev, an AO 2021 semifinalist, belted 57 winners past Jaume Munar to advance 7-5 1-6 6-3 6-2, while former world No.4 Kei Nishikori also won through in four sets.
Stat of the day
Shapovalov, meanwhile, snapped a four-match losing streak by dismissing Federico Delbonis 6-2 6-2 6-3.
The Canadian shot-maker had not won a match after pushing Djokovic hard in a compelling Wimbledon semifinal loss in July.
Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti snapped an even longer losing streak, with his 6-7(5) 6-4 6-1 6-3 defeat of Emilio Nava his first win in seven matches.
Like Shapovalov, Musetti had pushed Djokovic hard when he led the world No.1 two-sets-to-love in the fourth round at Roland Garros before fading – and had not won a match since.
Musetti next faces 22nd seed Reilly Opelka, the recent Toronto Masters finalist who beat South Korea’s Soon Woo Kwon in straight sets.
Upset of the day
Pablo Carreno Busta became the first top-10 seed in either the men’s or women’s singles draws to depart the tournament.
The ninth seed bowed out in a fifth set tiebreak to French-born American Maxime Cressy – despite holding four match points.
The Spaniard led by two sets to love, and then 6-3 in the final-set tiebreak, only to deliver a tight double-fault on his third match point at 6-5. He earned another match point, but it came and went as the 151st-ranked qualifier completed a 5-7 4-6 6-1 6-4 7-6(7) triumph.
It was a stunning result, given Carreno Busta was twice a US Open semifinalist, including last year; his ranking is expected to fall outside the top 15 as a result.
Cressy, who pounded 44 aces and advanced to the net almost 100 times during the match, next faces Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Tweets of the day
Rune rocking the Ikea bag on center court !
— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) August 31, 2021
Oh ... I was so confused !
— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) September 1, 2021
Quotes of the day
“I think I have always just naturally learned to be more patient with myself. I'm glad I learned that from such a young age, because it (ups and downs) was expected, it was almost normal. I dropped down to like 220 in the world I think when I was 20 years old. That was tough, but I was still calm and patient. I knew that I would develop and still become a really good player.”
- Reilly Opelka, who peaked at world No.23 two weeks ago after reaching the Toronto Masters final.
“I'm still on cloud nine, I would say. (But) I would still say I'm on earth, you know. I realise everything. Of course I'm focusing on this tournament and just on playing well. But I feel like I want to be on cloud nine all the time. I feel like these memories I will have forever. And kind of this Olympics experience, my first Olympics, and just how everything went with winning the gold, for me it's forever and for me it's probably going to be the biggest achievement I will ever have.”
- Belinda Bencic, who last month won the singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
“Obviously achieving a big trophy, a big tournament or something that I did in the past, doesn't make me feel like the season is over. It's really important being solid during the season, on grass, on clay, on hard. So I really want to play like my best level, especially in the majors.”
- Matteo Berrettini, who last month reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.
“I think when my back was against the wall late in that buster, I came up with some really good stuff. That's all we can ask is when your back is against the wall, you trust yourself, you go out there and pick your spots and hit them.”
- Ash Barty, who saved a set point in the tiebreak before beating Vera Zvonareva 6-1 7-6(7).
Day 3: Ones to watch
Naomi Osaka continues the defence of her US Open title when she opens play at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday against Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic.
Osaka seeks a 17th straight Grand Slam match win before No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev follows her onto the same court to face German Dominik Koepfer.
Sloane Stephens versus Coco Gauff has, understandably, been designated as the prime time night match on Ashe and will be followed by third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas’ clash with French lefty Adrian Mannarino.
Elsewhere, two-time major champions Garbine Muguruza – up against former world No.9 Andrea Petkovic – and Victoria Azarenka play back-to-back at Louis Armstrong Stadium, before an intriguing battle between 2017 finalist Kevin Anderson and No.11 seed Diego Schwartzman under lights.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev and No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka – who takes on Roland Garros semifinalist Tamara Zidansek – headline the Grandstand order of play, while fans on intimate Court 17 are in for a treat when Elina Svitolina and Simona Halep play back-to-back.