US Open Day 1: Serena starts on winning note as Halep, Tsitsipas suffer early upsets

The opening day of the 2022 US Open was always going to be about one name.

Serena Williams, in what is likely to be the last tournament of her career, opened proceedings for the final Major of the year in vintage fashion, posting a 6-3, 6-3 win against 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic in the first round.

Williams kicked off the match – with celebrity glamour in attendance to celebrate her greatness – with nerves and fumbling serves.

 Eventually, Kovinic was put under enough pressure by Williams’ return strategy as well as the highly partisan New York crowd, and the Montenegrin folded to prolong the American’s farewell tour.

The 40-year-old is likely to be the story of the tournament this year, the culmination of a grand career at the very event where she won her first Major, before the turn of the millennium.

But on Monday, with more than 60 first-round clashes set across Flushing Meadows, the upsets and the big storylines followed.

The biggest upset of the day was seventh seed Simona Halep – one of the bookmakers’ favourites for the title – losing to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur. 

Halep came into the tournament with the second-most match wins on tour this year, and was full of confidence after winning the Canadian Open in Toronto earlier this week. But the Romanian was uncharacteristically slow out of the blocks.

Snigur, whose most distinct result this year was simply qualifying for the main draw at the US Open, took the first set, before totally unravelling in a 0-6 second set slump that lasted just 24 minutes. Maturity was on display beyond her years in the third though.

Snigur came out of the blocks with a couple of breaks to take a 5-1 lead in the third set. And that’s when Halep plotted her comeback. The Romanian broke serve and pushed it through to 5-4, before Snigur served it out to seal a big upset. It meant even more in the wake of Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, which was acknowledged post-match..

“I’m very, very, very nervous but I tried to do my best,” she said on court. “For Ukraine, for my family… I want to say thank you, all.”

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas has been a mainstay of the top 10 of the world rankings for quite a few years now. Yet, he has never made it to the second week of the US Open. As a player with his evident talent and grand ambitions, that would make for grim reading, and this year will be no different.

The 24-year-old was downed by Colombia’s Daniel Galan in the first round of the Open. The Greek had a shocking start, where he lost the first 11 games of the match. Despite finding his feet in the third set, he could not recover from that start and eventually lost 0-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Tsitsipas came into the tournament after a solid build-up, reaching the final of the Cincinnati Masters where he got an unlikely win over rival Daniil Medvedev. But his level in the match was a serious cause for concern. “He (Galan) played like a world-class player and I played close to (an) amateur,” he said post-match. “It’s not very nice to say that but that’s what happened.”

For Galan, it was the biggest result of his career. The Colombian came into the main draw after getting through three rounds of qualifying, and if he is to maintain this level, he would be eyeing more upsets.

Daniil Medvedev comfortable in opener

As the defending champion and World No. 1, Medvedev has the weight of expectations on his shoulders. The Russian has been one of the most consistent players on the American hardcourts for the last three years, and even though he does not have a major hardcourt title this year, he is one of the favourites.

Despite a fractured buildup, there were no hiccups on Medvedev’s part, routinely dismantling America’s Stefan Kozlov 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 as he opened play on the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday. The Russian looked assured in his performance and put up a dominant display. There were some rough moments, he was broken twice and only had a 54% success rate on his first serve, but Medvedev asserted control for a majority of the match.

The World No. 1 has got France’s Arthur Rinderknech next, and with a potential fourth round against Nick Kyrgios – who comfortably defeated friend and compatriot Thanassi Kokkinakis in straight sets on Monday – he will look to find as much match sharpness as he can.

Other notable results

– Beatric Haddad Maia def. Ana Konjuh 6-0, 6-0

In the kind of form the Brazilian has been in, reaching the final in Toronto and winning two grass titles before, her first-round win comes as no surprise. But the scoreline was truly remarkable. Haddad Maia has established herself as one of the ones to watch this fortnight with an astonishing victory which saw her drop no games and just 24 points in a match that barely lasted an hour.

– Pablo Carreno Busta def. Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3

Carreno Busta has the Canada Masters title under his belt, and has always seen relative success at the US Open. The Spaniard was handed the tricky assignment of taking on 2020 champion Thiem in the first round and prevailed in an at times close and entertaining encounter. Thiem was defending his 2020 title after failing to make it to New York last year due to injury, and even though he lost, the margins were finer than expected, and he put up a strong display against an in-form player. Positives to take.

– Brandon Holt def. Taylor Fritz 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4

Indian Wells champion. Wimbledon quarterfinalist. Tenth seed. There was a lot of excitement around local favourite and America’s No. 1 Taylor Fritz ahead of the Open. His opening round loss to qualifier and World No. 303 Brandon Holt was a jolt, to say the least. A huge dent in the progress he has made this year.