A solid Spanish start
Muguruza sails into second round as Konta exits
REIGNING Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza advanced and British seventh seed Johanna Konta was ousted at the US Open as Maria Sharapova’s long-awaited return to Grand Slam tennis neared.
Spanish third seed Muguruza defeated American Varvara Lepchenko 6-0, 6-3 for her first triumph in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which celebrated its 20th anniversary on the first day of New York hardcourt matches.
Muguruza, last year’s French Open champion, can reach the US Open third round for the first time Wednesday by defeating China’s Duan Ying-Ying.
“Very happy I’m in the second round,” said Muguruza.
“I’ve been here so many times and I’ve never done very well. I will try again and hopefully it will happen.”
Muguruza improved to 17-2 since the start of her London Grand Slam title run, but the 23-year-old Spaniard resists the notion she can be favoured with a poor US Open history.
“Coming to US Open and having a dark past in the results, I keep it with low expectations,” Muguruza said.
“I take every match as a final.”
Serbia’s 78th-ranked Aleksandra Krunic upset Australian-born Konta 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, ending her slim hopes at taking the world No. 1 ranking at the tournament.
“I’m happy I had everything together and was able to put some serves in,” said Krunic, whose deepest Slam run was to the last 16 here in 2014.
“It’s definitely not an easy loss to take. I would have liked to have been here much longer,” Konta said. “She played consistently much better than I did.”
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon runner-up, outlasted Slovakia’s 135th-ranked Viktoria Kuzmova 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Venus won only 4-of-16 break