Aryna Sabalenka began the defence of her US Open title with a battling win, but the most popular victory of the opening day went to young Filipina Alexandra Eala.
Flushing Meadows is very close to an area of Queens known as Little Manila because of the large Filipino community, and they flocked to Grandstand Court on Sunday to cheer on 20-year-old Eala, one of the rising stars of the women's tour.
The noise levels rose in a dramatic encounter against Danish 14th seed Clara Tauson, which went all the way to a deciding tiebreak after Eala clawed her way back from 1-5 down in the third set.