Muguruza at Celic, arya sa US Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Sinimulan ni Garbine Muguruza ang kampanya sa US Open na walang hirap at alalahanin.
Naisalba ng Wimbledon champion, bigong makausad sa third round sa career dito, ang duwelo kay Varvara Lepchenko ng US, 6-0, 6-3, nitong Lunes (Martes sa Manila).
Maging si No. 5 Marin Cilic ay tagumpay sa opening day sa Arthur Ashe Stadium nang gapiin si American Tennys Sandgren, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“Oh, I don’t really care, because I don’t feel — I don’t feel I’m a favorite here, because I never really played very good,” pahayag ni Muguruza, patungkol sa kanyang career record dito. “I did play good but just didn’t go my way.”
Lumakas naman ang kampanya ni Venus Williams na masungkit ang No. 1 ranking matapos magwagi kay Viktoria Kuzmova ng Slovakia, ang 19anyos qualifier at ranked 135th, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Nagkaroon ng laban si Williams sa agawan sa No.1 ranking ng mabigio si Johanna Konta, Wimbledon semifinalist.
“I had no idea what she looked like, who she was, anything. But she played amazing. She played well, served well, competed well. Definitely a match I had to earn,” sambit ng 37-anyos na si Williams.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting or planning on dropping sets today. But things happen. That’s why we play the match, because you have to win the match. So it’s just all about regrouping. It’s the first round. You figure out what’s going on.”
Nasilat naman sina No. 21 David Ferrer ng Spain kontra qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin ng Kazakhstan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, gayundin si No. 32 Robin Haase ng Netherlands.
Kasama naman ni Cilic sa susunod na round sina No. 8 JoWilfried Tsonga ng France, No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta ng Spain at No. 28 Kevin Anderson ng South Africa.
Sa women’s side, umabante sina No. 13 Petra Kvitova ng Czech Republic, No. 18 Caroline Garcia ng France, No. 31 Magdalena Rybarikova ng Slovakia, at No. 30 Julia Goerges ng Germany, habang napatalsik sina No. 24 Kiki Bertens ng Netherlands at No. 32 Lauren Davis ng US.