New York (AFP) – Iga Swiatek launched her quest for a second US Open title with an emphatic victory on Tuesday as reigning men’s champion Jannik Sinner began the defense of his crown. Swiatek, the pre-tournament bookmakers’ favorite following victories at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open, dispatched Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in straight sets, winning 6-1, 6-2 on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court. The 24-year-old Polish ace was always in control against the 84th-ranked Arango, overwhelming the Colombian with some powerful groundstrokes mixed with some deft work at the net.
The win makes Swiatek the first woman in history to win 65 consecutive WTA-level first-round games, surpassing Monica Seles’ previous record of 64. The six-time Grand Slam singles champion — a winner in New York in 2022 — will face either Valerie Glozman of the United States or the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens in the second round.
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Later Tuesday, men’s world number one Sinner opens his bid for back-to-back US Open titles against unseeded Czech Vit Kopriva. Sinner has won two of this season’s three Grand Slams, the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while also reaching the final of the French Open in June, where he lost an epic to Carlos Alcaraz in a fifth-set tiebreak. The 24-year-old defending champion is a heavy favorite in New York, where he is aiming to become the first man to repeat since Roger Federer capped a remarkable run of five straight championships in 2008.
His preparations for the US Open were blown off course last week when illness forced him to retire while trailing 5-0 to Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open final. Sinner said subsequently he was still “not 100 percent” but expected to be fully recovered for Tuesday’s opener. The Italian’s US Open victory last year came despite a doping scandal, which exploded on the eve of the tournament. He initially escaped a ban after testing positive for an anabolic steroid at Indian Wells earlier in 2024. Sinner eventually agreed to a three-month suspension, served earlier this year, despite doping authorities accepting that he had been inadvertently contaminated.
The Italian says he has turned the page on that controversy and was fully focused on victory in New York. “I feel like it’s over,” Sinner said. “We are focusing on hard work again and trying to get better as an athlete. I’m very happy to be back here. It’s obviously the last Grand Slam we have for this season, so the motivations are very high.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff, seeded three, gets underway against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in a night game on Arthur Ashe. Gauff’s opener will be followed by third seed Alexander Zverev’s opener against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
© 2024 AFP
