by Kingsley Elliot Kaye
If the American guys were supposed to set up the stage for Serena Williams’ Night match with gruelling performances, only partially did they succeed.
Tommy Paul came through a rollercoaster match against Zapata Mirallas (4-6 6-3 2-6 6-0 7-5), playing his best aggressive tennis in the last three games of the decider.
Sebastian Korda struggled through the first three sets to combine variety and consistency against a solid Bagnis and was often overpowered by the experienced Argentinian qualifier. Only after winning a tight third set, he drifted away to win 5-7 7-6 7-5 6-1.
The most impressive US performance was delivered by J.J. Wolf who constantly dictated pace and after breaking 16th seed Bautista Agut in the 5th game of the first set was never to be threatened and neatly won 64 64 64. The Spaniard was the first seed to be knocked out of the tournament.
Serve and volley fans will be disappointed with Maxime Cressy withdrawing when trailing 5-1 in the third set against Marton Fucscovics. After winning a first tiebreaker he squandered a 5-3 lead in the second set and went on to lose 9 games of the last ten, hindered by physical issues, before dejectedly walking up to the umpire.
Ben Shelton, the latest American prodigy, came onto court a favourite in the eyes of the public to face Nuno Borges. In a tight match he alternated flamboyant dominance and sudden dips. When he clasped the fourth set tiebreak after saving a match point with an ace, the public was on their feet and poised for further triumph. But Borges did not lose heart and held on. In the decider Shelton suddenly blacked out in the fifth game and lost his service after leading 40-0. He no longer could draw on enough energy to recover.
Among the listed potential winners of the US Open 2022, Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini punched their second round ticket with comfortable wins.
Ruud defeated Kyle Edmund, whose last match in a Major dates back to US Open 2020. Coming back from endless injuries, the Brit can be satisfied with his performance against one of the most consistent players in the world. Particularly in the second set he put up some battle and displayed at times the game that had lifted to No 14 in the ranking.
Matteo Berrettini swept past Nicolas Jarry with an emphatic 62 63 63 playing his best match of his summer in the US. He fared well on his serve, never conceding break points, and was quick to be aggressive on his opponent’s. He can look ahead with even greater optimism, since Tsitsipas and Fritz have dropped out of his section of the draw.
6th seed Felix Auger Aliassime took over three hours to put away 28-year-old Swiss Alexander Ritchard. The final score, 64 63 36 63 does not tell about the 10 break points the Canadian faced throughout the match, eight of which in the fourth set. Until the end Ritchard, in his Us Open main draw debut, never appeared surrendering.
If Murray can be delighted with his convincing straight set win over 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo, fellow triple Slam winner Stan Wawrinka could not join him in the second round and sadly withdrew at 46 67 after failing to convert two set points in the second set tiebreak against French qualifier Corentin Moutet. He had started to feel leg pain and to cramp at the end of the second set and preferred not to run risks in view of his next tournaments since he feels positive about his chances.
One of the most enticing first round clashes was between US Open 2020 champion Dominique Thiem and one of the hottest players of the summer, Canadian Open conqueror Pablo Carreno Busta, also two times a semi-finalist at the US Open. The Austrian got off to a smashing start, breaking in the first game and pounding his flagship backhand down the line. He was broken back when serving for the set that he eventually surrendered 75. After a dim second set lost 61, he retrieved his panache and started to increasingly prevail in the longer rallies. He snatched a decisive break in the 12th game. He kept up the pressure in the early stages of the fourth set but in the fifth game his form suddenly dipped and he went on to lose his serve from 40-15. Carreno Busta then played consistently enough to stave off any comeback with 7-5 6-1 5-7 6-3 the final score.
