US Open gets under way with an upset
No. 13 Gasquet ousted in first round by Britain’s Edmund; Serena, Murray in action in Day 2
The year’s final grand slam began with an upset as 13th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet was upended 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 by Britain’s world number 84 Kyle Edmund at the US Open on Monday.
Gasquet, who has reached the last 16 at Flushing Meadows four times in his career, was outplayed throughout and his US Open experience lasted just one hour, 41 minutes.
The 21-year-old Edmund, who helped Britain win the Davis Cup last year, crunched 10 aces and 40 winners in all en route to the biggest victory of his career.
Former champion Marin Cilic, a popular pick to make a deep run, opened his campaign with a solid 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil.
The Croatian seventh seed, fresh off a win over world No. 2 Andy Murray in the Cincinnati final, came from a break down in the first set and was pushed in the second before easing past the world number 108.
“It’s my second home, I feel great here,” said Cilic, who won the only grand slam title of his career in New York two years ago. “My best memories come from here in 2014.
“Winning Cincinnati just shows me WOMEN’S TOP-SEED Serena Williams opens her account at the US Open today when she faces Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in the first round. I am in good form but it’s an extremely tough tournament, over two weeks. There are a lot of contenders for the title so I will take it step by step.”
Israel’s lone representative in the singles events was in action late Monday night, with Dudi Sela (80) facing Pablo Cuevas (20) of Uruguay.
Meanwhile, women’s top-seed Serena Williams opens her account on Tuesday against Ekaterina Makarova of Russia. Serena said she was not sure about the state of her balky right shoulder but felt more relaxed entering the tournament.
In 2015, Williams came to Flushing Meadows needing a record-setting seventh US Open singles crown to complete a rare calendar year grand slam sweep of the four major titles.
She fell short, losing in a shocking semifinal upset to unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci.
Williams returns to Flushing Meadows untested in recent weeks and recovering from injury.
“I have not played a lot, I haven’t practiced a lot, but I’m just now starting to feel a little better,” the world number one told reporters after the draw. “Hopefully just every day I will keep going higher.”
Williams, 34, said her shoulder issues surfaced the day after the Wimbledon final, where she beat Angelique Kerber of Germany to win her 22nd grand slam singles title to match Steffi Graf for most in the Open era.
The hard-serving American has only played seven tournaments this year, with a third-round exit from the Rio Olympic singles and a first-round elimination from the Rio doubles with sister Venus her only tournament action since Wimbledon.
“I think usually I prefer to play more coming into the final grand slam of the year, but there is nothing we can do about it. You just have to make the best of every single opportunity. That’s all I can do now,” she said.
Men’s No. 2 seed Andy Murray will also be in action on Tuesday, facing Lukas Rosol in the first round. Murray has lost just twice since early May and is favored by some to dethrone an ailing Novak Djokovic.
At 29, Murray knows that his time at the top is limited and is setting his sights on winning more grand slam titles, sooner rather than later.
“I would imagine if I’m lucky I’d be playing at this level for three, four more years, max, I would think,” said 2012 champion Murray.
“It’s not easy to do that. I hope I’m still playing like this when I’m 38 years old but it’s pretty unlikely so I’m actually using that as a positive that you have to make the most of every opportunity.”
(Reuters)