The US Open runner-up in 2022 Casper Ruud had to fight hard against American qualifier Emilio Nava in the first round of the US Open 2023 men’s singles on Monday, August 27. He eventually won the match 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in three hours and seventeen minutes. At 4-4 in the fourth set tie-breaker, it was even Stevens, but Ruud used all of his expertise to defeat Nava, who was not about to give up cheaply.
Nava put Ruud on the mat with a remarkable 72 wins. Ruud, on the other hand, hit 27 of them and struggled to cross the finish line. However, the fact that he made 21 unforced errors aided him greatly. Nava played aggressive tennis and made 49 unforced errors. The 24-year-old Norwegian will be playing China’s Zhizhen Zhang in the second round.
Iga Swiatek, the world no.1, issued a strong message to her opponents in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Pole began her US Open title defense with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over world No. 86 Rebecca Peterson. The 22-year-old star player was carefree, exchanging high-fives with fans on the walkout, but quickly went into business gear.
Swiatek rushed the Swede and forced Peterson to play additional shots with great brick-wall defense in the first point, setting the tone. The Pole’s precision serving was all-encompassing, earning the world No. 1 her season-high 42nd set with a 6-0 or 6-1 scoreline. Swiatek did make a few more mistakes, and Peterson was rewarded for her perseverance with an opening game with 37 minutes remaining in the match.
I really wanted to play solid and start the tournament with everything I was focusing on in practice for the whole week here, Swiatek said. The Pole will next play Daria Saville in the second round.
Elena Rybakina breezed through her first-round encounter against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. The Kazakhstani sensation won the match 6-2, 6-1, and it only took her an hour and 16 minutes to win. The former Wimbledon champion has never got beyond the third round at Flushing Meadows but she easily brushed aside her unseeded opponents ranked 32nd in the world.
Rybakina battled a little bit with her second serves, as evidenced by the two double faults she committed. Her first-serve victory percentage of 75%, on the other hand, was quite beneficial. Furthermore, she has 26 victories to Kostyuk’s 19. Rybakina is next scheduled to cross swords with Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in tomorrow’s (August 30) second round.
