Coco Gauff launched her US Open title defence with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Varvara Gracheva on Monday, firing 10 aces and saving eight break points to advance. The 20-year-old American worked through some tight moments early on to polish off the victory in 66 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she captured her first Grand Slam title last year.
She was breezing through the second set when France’s Gracheva, ranked 66th in the world, mustered a pair of break points in the final game. Gauff saved both with aces as she booked a second-round meeting with Tatjana Maria of Germany, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
“It is definitely a lot of pressure this tournament but I’m just enjoying it,” said Gauff, who is seeded third behind world number one Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. “Last year was incredible, so I’m just bringing those vibes and whatever happens, happens.”
Meanwhile, Paris Olympics champion Zheng Qinwen rallied from a set down to beat Amanda Anisimova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and reach the second round. China’s Zheng, seeded seventh, next faces Erika Andreeva of Russia, who beat China’s Yuan Yue 6-3, 7-6 (9/7).
“Obviously she’s hitting the ball really good today,” Zheng said of Anisimova, who is on the upswing since returning from a mental health break in January – when she was ranked 373rd in the world. A run to the final at Toronto this month saw her return to the top 50 and gain a wild card invitation into the main draw.
“Every ball (from Anisimova) went inside in the beginning and I couldn’t do anything,” Zheng said. “More as the match goes I started to find my rhythm on hard court. Little by little I started to get into the rhythm.”
Zheng, who finished runner-up to Sabalenka at the Australian Open in January, has said she didn’t want the same let-down that followed that performance happen in the wake of her groundbreaking Paris Games triumph. Asked on court about her run to gold – which made her China’s first Olympic tennis singles champion – she was gracious but already looking forward. “I’m happy what I did in the past, but right now I just want to focus on what I do here,” said Zheng, who could face Sabalenka again in the quarter-finals.
Former champion Thiem’s Grand Slam career over
Dominic Thiem’s Grand Slam career came to an end at the US Open on Monday on the same Arthur Ashe court where he won his only major in 2020. The injury-plagued former world number three went down to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 defeat to American 13th seed Ben Shelton, his eighth first round exit at his last 10 Slams.
Thiem had already announced his intention to retire from tennis on home ground in Vienna in October, giving up on his fruitless battle to fully recover from a persistent wrist injury. When Thiem captured his first Slam by defeating Alexander Zverev from two sets down in the 2020 US Open final, it appeared that he was finally poised to challenge the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the highest level.
It also ended a sequence of three defeats in three Slam finals – to Nadal at the 2018 and 2019 French Open and against Djokovic in five sets at the 2020 Australian Open.
However, his career went into a tailspin in the summer of 2021 when he suffered a wrist injury at the Mallorca ATP tournament.
Thiem suffered serious ligament damage and was forced to sit out the rest of 2021. He played just two Slams in 2022 and his ranking fell to outside the top 100 for the first time in over a decade.
“I just want to say thanks for all the support. It’s been 10 years since I first played here, I had my greatest success on this court,” said Thiem whose 2020 triumph was witnessed by just a handful of people with the tournament played out at the height of the Covid pandemic.
“But when I won in 2020, it was weird. It was under very strict conditions and I had my success without any of you here. “So I am super-happy to get the chance to play in front of you and on this court. Thanks to you for making up the time that we missed.”
Heading into the US Open, Thiem had won just two main draw matches all year, the most recent was at Estoril in the first week of April. He needed a wildcard to play in New York with his ranking having slipped further to 210.
Shelton was full of praise for Thiem, the winner of 17 career titles and more than $30mn in prize money. The pair exchanged warm words at the net before Shelton guided the crowd to applaud his rival.
“I want to say congrats to Dom for an outstanding career. Four Grand Sam finals and a title, it’s the kind of things kids dream of sitting at home on the couch,” said Shelton.
That was me not too long ago. It’s always great seeing Dominic around, he’s always smiling. So many people love him.”
