Muguruza looks sharp, Cilic looks healthy in US Open wins

Garbine Muguruza opened her U.S. Open with an easy victory, looking like a favorite whether she believes it or not.

The Wimbledon champion, who has never been past the second round here, beat Varvara Lepchenko of the U.S. 6-0, 6-3 on Monday in just over an hour.

No. 5 Marin Cilic followed her onto Arthur Ashe Stadium and beat American Tennys Sandgren 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in his first match since the Wimbledon final, hoping he’s healthy enough to make a run through a men’s field that’s been decimated by injuries.

Muguruza is a two-time Grand Slam champion but had just a 2-4 record i n the year’s final major. She acknowledged after her match having a “dark past” at the U.S. Open, but the No. 3 seed is perhaps the hottest player on the women’s tour and is considered one of the favorites here even with her poor previous results.

“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,” Muguruza said. “I did play good but just didn’t go my way.”

But she’s played great this summer, following her victory over Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final by winning the tuneup event i n Cincinnati. The Spaniard has won 16 of her last 18 matches, and with Serena Williams pregnant and not playing and No. 2 Simona Halep facing a difficult opening-round match against former champion Maria Sharapova, Muguruza understands why people are picking her.

“In the paper, people might think that. But you come here and with the conditions and the past, there are certain players that play better and certain players that don’t,” she said. “So far I’m just thinking that I’m happy that I’m in second round, and that’s what I’m going to take.”

The Halep-Sharapova match on Monday night was a featured match of the opening day of play.

Cilic hadn’t played since losing to Roger Federer in London because of a thigh injury, withdrawing from Montreal and Cincinnati, and is attempting to become the first player in the Open era to win the U.S. Open without playing any matches since Wimbledon.