US Open, day 1 women’s roundup: Top seed Pliskova sails, Osaka battles, Gauff out in first round

Fourth seed Naomi Osaka advanced to the second round of the US Open on Monday but was made to work hard during a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Japanese compatriot Misaki Doi at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Earlier, top seed Karolina Pliskova shrugged off the eerily quiet atmosphere to reach the second round as the women’s draw followed the form book.

Osaka, who withdrew from the Western & Southern Open WTA final on Saturday due to a hamstring injury, showed little sign of a fitness problem after wrapping up the first set in just over half an hour.

But the 22-year-old 2018 Open champion’s composure deserted her in the second set, as a string of unforced errors crept into her game and allowed Doi to seize the initiative. Doi raced into leads of 3-0 and 4-1 but tightened when serving for the set at 5-3 – allowing Osaka to break back and get back on serve.

However the 29-year-old Doi regrouped to hold serve for a 6-5 lead and then punished a sloppy service game from Osaka to break once again and square the match.

Osaka raised her game noticeably in the third set, cutting down the errors and putting Doi under pressure on her service. Two breaks helped Osaka into a 5-2 lead and she held serve to close out the win

Coco Gauff’s hopes of launching another deep run at a Grand Slam ended in the first round with the US teenager succumbing in three sets to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.

Gauff, who created a sensation at Wimbledon last year when she became the youngest player in the tournament’s history to qualify for the main draw before reaching the fourth round, was beaten 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

The 16-year-old former junior world number one from Delray Beach had battled back to level the match against the 31st-seeded Sevastova after dropping the first set.

But after squaring the match by taking the final three games of the second set to win it 7-5, Gauff was soon scrambling to save the match in the third set.

Although Gauff saved three match points, Sevastova eventually closed out the win, converting her fourth match point.

World number three Pliskova, elevated to top seed in the absence of world number one Ashleigh Barty and second-ranked Simona Halep, needed just over an hour to dispose of Ukraine’s Anghelina Kalinina.

The Czech ace overcame an early wobble, when Kalinina fought back from 1-4 down to level at 4-4 in the first set, to clinch a 6-4, 6-0 victory in 1hr 3min.

The 28-year-old, a finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2016, will now face France’s Caroline Garcia in the second round.

Pliskova’s sixth-seeded compatriot Petra Kvitova also advanced safely, downing Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2.

Elsewhere on Monday, Germany’s 17th seed Angelique Kerber, the 2016 US Open champion, booked her second-round berth with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.

Results

1st rd

Karolina Pliskova (CZE x1) bt Anhelina Kalinina (UKR) 6-4, 6-0

Caroline Garcia (FRA) bt Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 6-3, 6-2

Catherine Bellis (USA) bt Tamara Korpatsch (GER) 6-7 (13/15), 6-3, 6-2

Jennifer Brady (USA x28) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) 6-3, 6-2

Angelique Kerber (GER x17) bt Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-4, 6-4

Anna-Lena Friedsam (GER) bt Caroline Dolehide (USA) 6-2, 6-2

Ann Li (USA) bt Arantxa Rus (NED) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1

Alison Riske (USA x13) bt Tatjana Maria (GER) 6-3, 6-2

Marketa Vondrousova (CZE x12) bt Greet Minnen (BEL) 6-1, 6-4

Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) bt Francesca Di Lorenzo (USA) 2-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-0

Vera Lapko (BLR) bt Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 1-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2

Yulia Putintseva (KAZ x23) bt Robin Montgomery (USA) 6-1, 6-3

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA x30) bt Hailey Baptiste (USA) 7-5, 6-2

Varvara Gracheva (RUS) bt Paula Badosa (ESP) 6-4, 7-5

Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) bt Alexandra Kiick (USA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1

Petra Martic (CRO x8) bt Tereza Martincova (CZE) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4

Naomi Osaka (JPN x4) bt Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2

Camila Giorgi (ITA) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5

Marta Kostyuk (UKR) bt Darya Kasatkina (RUS) 6-1, 6-2

Anastasija Sevastova (LAT x31) bt Cori Gauff (USA) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

Magda Linette (POL x24) bt Maddison Inglis (AUS) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4

Danka Kovinic (MNE) bt Lizette Cabrera (AUS) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2

Kaja Juvan (SLO) bt Usue Arconada (USA) 6-4, 7-6 (7/2)

Anett Kontaveit (EST x14) bt Danielle Collins (USA) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2

Elena Rybakina (KAZ x11) bt Katarina Zavatska (UKR) 6-3, 6-0

Shelby Rogers (USA) bt Irina Khromacheva (RUS) 6-2, 6-2

Madison Brengle (USA) bt Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-2, 6-2

Dayana Yastremska (UKR x19) bt Astra Sharma (AUS) 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2)

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) bt Rebecca Peterson (SWE x32) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4

Kateryna Kozlova (UKR) bt Whitney Osuigwe (USA) 6-3, 7-5

Petra Kvitova (CZE x6) bt Irina Begu (ROU) 6-3, 6-2