That’s it for our live blog on opening day, with news and reaction to follow through the night, with Gauff and Djokovic to come on the Arthur Ashe Stadium. And Tsitsipas and Wozniacki on Louis Armstrong and Eubanks last on the Grandstand,
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PA Media’s report on Lily Miyazaki’s first ever grand slam win.
Lily Miyazaki kicked off the British challenge at the US Open by reaching the second round on her Flushing Meadows debut.
There were echoes of Emma Raducanu after the 27-year-old qualifier, Britain’s sole representative on day one, beat Russian Margarita Betova 6-3 6-3.
The world number 199 may be unlikely to emulate Raducanu’s fairy-tale title win two years ago, but she still secured a near-£100,000 pay day and a high-profile second-round match against Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
“It’s going to be a tough match for sure,” said Miyazaki. “But I guess the good thing is I’ve seen her play plenty of times and she probably doesn’t know much about me.”
While the other six British players in the main draw had the day off, Miyazaki took on the experienced Betova, who was playing under a protected ranking after coming back from having a child. Miyazaki, who moved to London aged 10 but only changed allegiance from Japan last year, overcame an early break and won six games in a row to take control.
With fellow Brit Jodie Burrage cheering her on, Miyazaki finished the job on her second match point to win in an hour and 20 minutes. Miyazaki, whose only previous grand slam appearance came when she lost in the Wimbledon first round in 2022 as a wild card, added: “I’ve enjoyed the atmosphere here. I was really grateful for the support from Jodie and everyone, and it definitely helped me out.”
Rybakina beats 6-2 6-1 Kostyuk
The Kazakh player cruises past her Ukrainian opponent.
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PA Media’s Andy Sims filed this report on the demise of Holger Rune.
Holger Rune was left to regret tweeting a map of the US Open site to point spectators towards his first-round match. The Dane now needs directions to the exit after crashing out in four sets to Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena.
Rune, seeded fourth, was clearly miffed at being shunted away on one of Flushing Meadows’ tiny outside courts and sarcastically wrote “in case you can find Court 5, this is where I play my first match Monday”. The court is crammed in between the Arthur Ashe and Grandstand Stadiums, with pathways on either side where spectators can wander past.
And Rune’s cheeky tweet backfired as hundreds swarmed around the court, craning their necks and standing on benches, to see the 20-year-old slip to defeat. To rub salt in the wound, Rune even complained to the umpire about one noisy fan before eventually going down 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Also on Monday, Dominic Thiem picked up his first win at Flushing Meadows since he won the title in 2020. The 29-year-old Austrian, a former world number three who is working his way back up the rankings after a long spell out injured, beat 25th seed Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Ruud beats Nava 7-6 3-6 6-4 7-6
That battle between Ruud and Nava goes to a fourth-set tie-break. And reaches 4-4, too. Not much between these two. Then 5-4 to Ruud when Nava can only net. A beauty of a lob sets up match point, though Ruud apologises for his own fortune. There’s a review that delays Ruud serving out at 6-5, and he gets the job done. Big win from the game of the day so far.
Tiafoe beats Tien 6-2 7-5 6-1
American beats young American and Tiafoe says “I’m glad to beat him when he’s this size. I’m living everything I got. If I die here, I die here.” Tiafoe was shirtless, and looking good on it.
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Haddad Maia beats Stephens 2-6 7-5 4-6
The American beaten by the gusty Brazilian and No 19 seed.
Some quotes from Lily Miyazaki, today’s plucky Brit. She lost in the first round of Wimbledon last year.
It’s very different to Wimbledon but I actually think that it actually helps me because when it is really silent you can get into your own head. Here there are so many distractions it keeps my mind off the score and things like that. I gave actually enjoyed the atmosphere here.
Nava pulls off a blinding shot from the back of the court to save game point, an impossibility almost, but Casper Ruud takes the game and is a game away from victory.
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Ruud and Nava continue to serve up a treat on Court 17. Ruud goes 4-2 up and looks capable of closing out the game, only for Nava to chase him down and threaten to break his serve. And manages to do so. It’s back with serve in the fourth – 3-4- and Nava to serve.
Miyazaki beats Betova 6-3 6-2
What a fine result and a fine performance from the British player and “maths genius” and she’s reached the second round of a slam for the first ever time.
Carballes Baena beats Rune 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-2
That’s a significant shock as the fourth seed goes out.
And Miyazaki goes to 5-2 up after serving with confidence, and then Betova offers up a match point on her serve. A second serve is saved for deuce, then comes an ace, and Betova holds. Miyazaki must now serve for the match.
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All eyes on Lily Miyazaki, the Briton trying to make her mark, and she’s in line to beat Betova, a break up at 4-2 in the second set, a bullying backhand putting her in that winning position.
Nava trying desperately to hang on in the third set, with Ruud looking to break his serve to take it, and pulling it off. Nava, despite being backed by a passionate home crowd, cannot stop himself going 2-1 down on sets.
Roberto Carballés Baena took that third set off Rune, and looks to be heading for the second round. The other Norwegian is struggling.
Lily Miyazaki took the first set from Margarita Betova and held her serve in the first game of the second set.
Ruud and Naval continue to go toe to toe, and it’s with serve in the third set at 3-3.
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John is back from his break, so I’ll hand him back the reins. Enjoy the rest of the tennis, wherever you are.
Rune, in fairness, breaks serve at a crucial juncture! It’s back on serve on the third, but the Dane is still 4-3 down to Carballés Baena.
If one Scandinavian male player is struggling, last year’s finalist Ruud, you can add to that another onee: No 4 seed Holger Rune, who is in danger of going 2-1 down in sets to Roberto Carballés Baena. The Spaniard lost in straight sets to the Dane in the second round at this year’s Wimbledon but Carballés Baena is looking very strong here: leading 6-3, 4-6, 4-2.
Navas does clinch the second set, and in some style! The 21-year-old races to 40-0, and rips a massive forehand up the line to leave Ruud scrambling in vain. We are all square, one set each: 7-6 (5), 3-6. The home crowd on Court 17 go wild!
Nava has raced into a second-set lead against Ruud! The Californian, at 5-3 up, is serving to level the scores at one set all. Not how the No 5 seed from Norway would have drawn this up!
Lily Miyazaki, the Japanese-born British qualifier, starts her maiden US Open against Margarita Betova, née Gasparyan, at the age of 27. This is just the second time she has reached the main draw of the grand slam, after playing in the first round at Wimbledon last year. The daughter of a financier and a former concert pianist, Miyazaki spent five years gaining a maths degree and a master’s in information technology management from the University of Oklahoma. She is currently ranked 199 in the world – it’s on serve in the first set against Betova.
Hi everyone. After that tight first set, Nava’s mistakes nearly cost him dear. The American recovers from 0-40 down to twice force deuce with a couple of eye-catching visits to the net, and after saving four break points, wins the game to hold serve. Ruud leads 7-6 (5), 1-2.
Nava hits the ball so hard, so flat. But that means while he hits a lot of winners, he makes a lot of errors
Ok, for the next while, Michael Butler will be taking over the reins and keeping you updated.
Sloane Stephens, a home favourite, is a set down to Beatriz Haddad Maia. It was lost 6-2 and she’s in deep trouble as the Brazilian squeezes in a winner to take it to 4-3, a break and she’s serving next.
Ruud and Nava’s first set took longer than Swiatek’s victory, and eventually on a tie-break, after getting two set points, he benefits from an unforced error to win the first set 7-6. That was an epic.
Tumaini Carayol, reporting from Flushing Meadow for the next fortnight, is readying himself for some late finishes.
Tennis’s late finishes have dominated the discourse for the past year. The clay court season was filled with discussions over scheduling, culminating in the Madrid Open’s ill-fated decision to refuse its doubles finalists a speech after Victoria Azarenka had strongly opposed their scheduling choices behind the scenes. Wimbledon’s 11pm curfew ensures that players can leave work on the same day they begin yet it was still alarming how frequently the curfew was either met or threatened this year.
The tone was set in January when Andy Murray won his Australian Open second-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis at 4.05am. Immediately afterwards, he pointed out that such long nights were a dire outcome for everyone involved, including fans, officials and the young ball-kids, as well as the players.
On court later this evening: Chris Eubanks, carrying a few home hopes for a good tournament. He spoke to Kristen Doerer.
Casper Ruud, the Norwegian fifth, is now on court and up against Emilio Nava, the American and it’s 4-4, and quite the first-set tussle.
Some quotes from Swiatek after dropping just one game in the opening match of her title defence.
I wanted to start the tournament with everything I was focusing on. I was happy to play a great game, with all the pressure and expectations I was happy on the court.
I feel like everything that is going on around us it is taking away our attention and what we want to achieve with our games and careers. I want to remind myself that i want to develop as a player. The numbers and stats don’t really matter to me. I’m just trying to focus on my performance.
It’s become a tradition to see one show on Broadway. I already went to see the Lion King, it was awesome.
Swiatek beats Peterson 6-0 6-1
The job was done in 58 minutes, nice and easy for the defending champion and No 1 seed
Thiem beats Bublik 6-3 6-2 6-4
Thiem is overjoyed with the win, he’s beaten Bublik in style. After all his problems, the 2020 winner is delighted. “It was amazing. I haven’t won a slam match since Australia 2021 and that’s a long time. I couldn’t have asked for a better place than this with all the memories.”
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Gasquet and Marozsan are now in a tie-break in the third set, with the French veteran playing for his life, and a partisan crowd of French emigres behind him. He goes 4-2 up but 5-4 spells danger, then comes 5-5. Gasquet gets to 6-5 and set point, and serves out. He’s still fighting for this title!
Richard Gasquet serves to stay in the tournament, and he’s down match point to Marozsan, saving one to go back to deuce, and saves to make it 5-5 in the third set.
Maria Sakkari is the first seeded casualty, the no 8 making first-round exit to world number 71 Rebeka Masarova of Spain on Court 17. Greece’s Sakkari’s eventually perished to a 6-4 6-4 defeat.
Swiatek serves out against Peterson, and that’s 6-0 in 25 minutes, a New York bagel and no mistake.
It’s 4-0 to Swiatek now. She’s blazing away.
Azarenka wasn’t first back in the locker room after all. It took It has taken Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova just 65 minutes to dispose of Australia’s Storm Hunter, winning 6-4 6-0 winner. Daria Saville, another Aussie, is also through, having beaten Clervie Ngounoue, just 17 and making her first senior slam appearance 6-0 6-2. Better luck next time for the American. Azarenka eventually gets her job done, beating Ferro 6-1 6-2.
All Azarenka in round one. 😤 pic.twitter.com/6Rqz0TCNt6
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2023
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Swiatek then breaks Peterson and is in the box seat already. She serves to love to go 3-0 up.
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Swiatek is about to take the stage, having knocked up with Peterson. And she’s serving first, a job completed very easily.
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Azarenka is making short work of her match with Ferro and is 3-0 up in the second set, having won the first 6-1. She might well be the first winner back into the locker room of the early starters. Richard Gasquet meanwhile is two sets down, losing the second set to Maroszan 6-1.
The 2020 champion, Dominic Thiem, who made that odd start to the match with Bublik, and looked unwell, has taken the first set 6-3 and looks far less green around the gills.
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Richard Gasquet, all of 37, is struggling in his opening set, Fábián Marozsán of Hungary has the French veteran serving to save himself, and at set point down at deuce, he can’t save himself.
Victoria Azarenka, Belarus’s finalist three times in New York, is taking on Fiona Ferro, and is 2-1 up with a break up on her French opponent.
Bublik v Thiem on the Grandstand got off to an odd start. Thiem took part in a knock-up then left the court again, only to come back on swiftly. Only a few takers for this match so far.
Here’s the weather report for New York City.
Monday's Weather Rating: 6/10
— New York Metro Weather (@nymetrowx) August 28, 2023
Not a terrible start, with high temps in the upper 70s and partly cloudy skies. Clouds and humidity increase as the day goes on though, and showers are possible later this evening. The vibes are alright, but trending a bit unsettled tonight!
The action is underway, as the players take to the court for their first-round matches.
And last on court in the Louis Armstrong Stadium, this match: Tatiana Prozorova (Rus) v Caroline Wozniacki (Den).
The former world no 1 and 2018 Australian Open champ is back after over three years of absence, and two children. Some quotes from the former sweetheart of the via the BBC.
I started just missing the cardio aspect. I’ll always love the game, no matter if I’m 33 or if I’m going to be 80.
I hope I’m always going to be fit enough that if I want to go out there and hit some balls, play some doubles or whatever, that would be a possibility with my friends. It just happened to be that I felt like I was hitting the ball extremely well, that I still am young enough to give it another shot.
You only live once, so why not? When you look at yourself and you feel like you still have a chance to do something really cool and really good, then you have got to take the chance. You never know if you don’t try it.
Note that Novak Djokovic, denied his 24th grand slam by Alcaraz in that magical Wimbledon final plays the last game on the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He’s back in New York, having missed last year’s tournament due to his lack of a Covid vaccine. He’s *only* won the US Open three times and his search for a fourth against France’s Alexandre Muller.
Preamble
Flushing Meadows it is, or rather the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and here comes two weeks of the rowdiest – and latest, in two senses, slam of the year. The defending champions are Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz, two players on a road to greatness that is nowhere near complete, considering we are exiting, just about the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era, and that Serena Williams is a mum once more. Alcaraz has to wait until Tuesday to start his defence so Swiatek takes the centre stage, and early on, in playing Rebecca Peterson of Sweden, the world No 75. That goes off 5pm UK time/midday NYC time.
Here’s the order of play on the show courts.
Arthur Ashe Stadium
12:00: (1) Iga Swiatek (Pol) v Rebecca Peterson (Swe), Learner Tien (USA) v (10) Frances Tiafoe (USA), Laura Siegemund (Ger) v (6) Cori Gauff (USA), Alexandre Muller (Fra) v (2) Novak Djokovic (Ser)
Louis Armstrong Stadium
11:00: (18) Victoria Azarenka (Blr) v Fiona Ferro (Fra), Sloane Stephens (USA) v (19) Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra), Steve Johnson (USA) v (9) Taylor Harry Fritz (USA), (7) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) v Milos Raonic (Can), Tatiana Prozorova (Rus) v Caroline Wozniacki (Den)
Grandstand
11:00: (25) Alexander Bublik (Kaz) v Dominic Thiem (Aut), Danielle Collins (USA) v Brenda Fruhvirtova (Cze), (4) Elena Rybakina (Kaz) v Marta Kostyuk (Ukr), Soon Woo Kwon (Kor) v (28) Christopher Eubanks (USA)
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