Several of the sport’s champions and venerable veterans highlighted the order of play on Tuesday at the US Open.
The day session saw Andy Murray deliver a trademark fighting performance to beat Yoshihito Nishioka in five gruelling sets, joining 23-time champion Serena Williams, second seeds Dominic Thiem and Sofia Kenin, and former No.1s Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza as first-round winners.
Medvedev returns with a win
As day turned to night in New York, Venus followed Serena onto Arthur Ashe Stadium, yet unlike her sister she was unable to secure victory, falling 6-3 7-5 to all-court force Karolina Muchova, the 20th seeded Czech.
Last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev was also a straight-sets winner under lights on Ashe, opening his 2020 campaign with a 6-1 6-2 6-4 win over Federico Delbonis to set up a meeting with Chris O’Connell, one of three Aussie winners on Day 2.
Joining Medvedev in the second round were 2019 semifinalist Matteo Berrettini, No.14 seed Grigor Dimitrov and in-form Canadian Milos Raonic, all straight-sets winners.
Last week’s Western & Southern Open champion Azarenka extended her winning streak to six with an authoritative 6-1 6-2 win over Barbara Haas and next faces fellow Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, after the fifth seed saw off Oceane Dodin.
US Open 2017 champion Sloane Stephens, previously 1-7 in 2020, scored a much-needed win over Mihaela Buzarnescu, yet wildcard Kim Clijsters remains winless in her latest comeback after fading to a 3-6 7-5 6-1 loss to 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Murray, Thiem advance
Earlier on Tuesday, Murray trailed two sets to love and 3-1 in the third, saved a match point in the fourth set, and recovered from a break down in the fifth to eventually triumph in four hours, 39 minutes.
Following two hip surgeries, it marked his first five-set victory since beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2016 Wimbledon quarterfinals.
The 4-6 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(4) 6-4 win on Ashe, watched on by several top players from their individual corporate-suite locker rooms in the stands above, sets up a clash with No.15 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who saw off Thiago Monteiro in four sets.
The comeback king does it again ?
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 1, 2020
Make it a perfect ? career wins from two sets down for @andy_murray. pic.twitter.com/1XmFWMnPqk
Thiem, the AO 2020 finalist, was leading Jaume Munar by two sets to love before the Spaniard was forced to retire.
Second-seeded Thiem remains on course for a third-round meeting with Marin Cilic, after the 2014 US Open champion recovered from two-sets-to-love down to beat American Denis Kudla.
Also advancing in five was 11th seed Karen Khachanov, who survived an almighty scare against talented Italian teen Jannik Sinner.
Serena, Kenin victorious
Williams notched a record-breaking 102nd career victory at Flushing Meadows after beating Kristie Ahn in straight sets.
A finalist at the past two US Opens, Williams trailed Ahn by an early break in each set before completing a 7-5 6-3 win, improving her record in first-round matches in New York to a perfect 20-0.
HISTORY for @serenawilliams!
— USTA (@usta) September 1, 2020
The most singles victories in #USOpen history. #TeamUSATennis pic.twitter.com/wcMoyjPKSo
Earlier, women’s second seed Kenin and No.10 seed Muguruza - who clashed in the Australian Open 2020 final - were both straight-sets winners on Tuesday.
Kenin, burdened by unforced errors in her opening-round loss at the Western & Southern Open last week, looked far sharper in a 6-2 6-2 victory over former world No.12 Yanina Wickmayer.
Muguruza, who missed last week’s tune-up event due to an ankle injury, resumed her season impressively with a 6-4 6-4 win over Nao Hibino.
Elsewhere around the Flushing Meadows grounds, ninth seed Johanna Konta continued her impressive hard-court form with a 7-6(7) 6-1 win over fellow Brit Heather Watson, while another in-form player, 16th seed Elise Mertens, dropped just four games to Laura Siegemund.
Teenaged star Amanda Anisimova, a French Open semifinalist last year, progressed with a 7-5 7-5 win over Viktoriya Tomova.
Tweet of the day
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— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) September 1, 2020
?Getty @usopen pic.twitter.com/c9P7pIQ0mk
Quotes of the day
"I think the most pleased I was actually today with the score. Three sets, important in the first round, especially playing so late, I think it's 11.20 right now, so happy that I finished before midnight. Didn't go for crazy shots but was consistent, and that was the key today."
- Daniil Medvedev
“I think I have swagger all the time, you know. I think I keep it all the time (laughter). That never changes.”
- Victoria Azarenka
“Crying (smiling). That's what I did. I mean, I had to let it out. That's not the answer that people would like to hear, but, yeah, everyone knows in Aussie I was crying every day before my match. I mean, it's fine. It worked.”
- Sofia Kenin, on how she “let off some steam” before her first-round match
"I'm fine. I mean, my toes are the worst part, I think my big toes on either side are pretty beat up. But I did alright, physically. I think at the beginning of the match I was sort of apprehensive about playing a long match, because I hadn't played one for a while and I felt like I was kind of pacing myself. Once I got two sets down I had to start putting the after-burners on.”
- Andy Murray
“What did I learn? Hmm, interesting. I was surprised that I was good. I know it's such a different life, but being away a little bit from the court and resting and everything, I was surprised that I was actually happy to experience that.”
- Garbine Muguruza, on how she handled tennis’s five-month coronavirus suspension
Stat of the day
Former world No.2 Vera Zvonareva, 35, took on Canadian rising star Leylah Fernandez, 17 in the first round. Zvonareva, who returned to the tour in 2017 after becoming a mother, turned pro exactly 20 years ago – two years before Fernandez was born.
On Tuesday, it was youth triumphing over experience, with Fernandez a 6-4 7-5 winner over the 2010 US Open finalist.
Fernandez next faces Kenin for a place in the third round.
Day 3: ones to watch
No.1 seed Karolina Pliskova faces a tough second-round test as she continues her quest for a first Grand Slam title, coming up against Caroline Garcia – a former world No.4.
Brit Kyle Edmund, an Australian Open semifinalist in 2018, will attempt to end Novak Djokovic’s unbeaten run this season while fifth seed Alexander Zverev faces highly-rated American wildcard Brandon Nakashima.
Young stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Naomi Osaka headline the night session, with Osaka to face Italy’s Camila Giorgi in what promises to be an electrifying clash of first-strike power.