Open pans out poorly for US run

THE US entered the opening day of the Australian Open with five seeded players ready to make a run at the grand slam tournament.

By the end of the day, all five had packed their bags.

Venus Williams (5), CoCo Vandeweghe (10) and Sloane Stephens (13) all toppled in the women’s draw, while Jack Sock (8) and John Isner (16) were surprise departures in the men’s.

Overall, the Americans had 15 players in action yesterday, with only Ryan Harrison, Nicole Gibbs and Mackenzie McDonald managing to notch wins. Kevin King was set to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last night, while Irina Falconi was facing off with local favourite Daria Gavrilova.

At the US Open five months ago, the women’s semi-finals were played by only Americans, including ultimate winner Stephens. But Stephens has not won since her home slam triumph, the 13th seed’s 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 2-6 loss to China’s Shuai Zhang yesterday her eighth on the trot.

On the men’s side, Isner’s loss to Australian Matt Ebden was one to celebrate for the local fans.