US Open Tennis 2015 Results: Scores, Highlights and Reaction from Monday Night

The 2014 men’s finalist Kei Nishikori was dumped out of the U.S. Open on Day 1, losing his opening-round match in a five-set thriller.

Benoit Paire was the man who sprung the major upset on Monday, beating the Japanese fourth seed in five sets by a scoreline of 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4. There were also big shocks in the women’s side of the draw as former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic lost to Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, while Jelena Jankovic, another past top-ranked player, lost to teenager Oceane Dodin.

Plenty of star names did make it into Round 2, though, including Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal. Here’s a recap of Monday’s results and a closer look at how the day played out.

Men's Result	Score
Women's Result	Score
No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. Joao Souza	6-1, 6-1, 6-1
Benoit Paire def. No. 4 Kei Nishikori	6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4
No. 7 David Ferrer def. Radu Albot	4-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-0
No. 8 Rafael Nadal def. Borna Coric	6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 9 Marin Cilic def. Guido Pella	6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3)
No. 10 Milos Raonic def. Tim Smyczek	6-4, 7-6 (8), 6-1
No. 14 David Goffin def. Simone Bolelli	6-4, 6-1, 6-2
Illya Marchenko def. No. 16 Gael Monfils	2-6, 6-4, 5-0 (ret)
No. 17 Grigor Dimitrov def. Matthew Ebden	6-4, 6-2, 6-4
No. 18 Feliciano Lopez def. Nikoloz Basilashvili	7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3
No. 19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Jarkko Nieminen	6-3, 6-1, 6-1
No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut def. Pierre-Hugues Herbert	6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7)
No. 25 Andreas Seppi def. Tommy Paul	6-4, 6-0, 7-5
No. 26 Tommy Robredo def. Michael Berrer	6-2, 6-2, 6-4
No. 27 Jeremy Chardy def. Ryan Shane	6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-2
No. 32 Fabio Fognini def. Steve Johnson	2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
No. 1 Serena Williams def. Vitalia Diatchenko	6-0, 2-0 (ret)
Dominika Cibulkova def. No. 7 Ana Ivanovic	6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Anna Tatishvili def. No. 8 Karolina Pliskova	6-2, 6-1
Denisa Allertova def. No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro	6-1, 7-5 (5)
No. 12 Belinda Bencic def. Sesil Karatantcheva	6-1, 6-2
No. 13 Ekaterina Makarova def. Teliana Pereira	6-3, 6-3
No. 15 Agnieszka Radwanska def. Katerina Siniakova	6-2, 6-3
No. 17 Elina Svitolina def. Elizaveta Kulichkova	6-1, 6-4
No. 19 Madison Keys def. Klara Koukalova	6-2, 6-4
Oceane Dodin def. No. 21 Jelena Jankovic	2-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 23 Venus Williams def. Monica Puig	6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3
No. 25 Eugenie Bouchard def. Alison Riske	6-4, 6-3
Coco Vandeweghe def No. 29 Denisa Allertova	6-1, 7-6 (5)
Kristina Mladenovic def. No. 30 Svetlana Kuznetsova	6-3, 7-5
No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Magdalena Rybarikova	6-4, 7-5

For full results check out ESPN. 

Nishikori the Biggest Name Eliminated on Day 1

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

After coming so close to securing his first Grand Slam title at this tournament 12 months ago, Nishikori would have fancied his chances of going one better this time round. But the fourth seed struggled for rhythm throughout his match with Paire and was eventually eliminated despite taking a 2-1 lead in sets.

It’s not as if he lacked chances in the match, either. Nishikori squandered two match points and as noted here by Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times, Paire, who deserves immense credit for his vibrant display, showed a steeliness to get through that tough spell and emerge victorious:

For Nishikori, it’s a big disappointment. As of yet, he’s yet to really kick on from his final appearance at Flushing Meadows last year, and while the Japanese is an adaptable player on all courts, he seems a long way off securing that elusive first major title.

One man who knows all about winning the big tournaments is Djokovic, and the top seed coasted into the next round in just 71 minutes against Joao Souza, winning 6-1, 6-1, 6-1. The Serb is hoping to add this title to the Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns he secured earlier this year.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

The top seed is certainly in the better half of the draw, too, especially after Nishikori’s elimination, per Russell Fuller of BBC Sport:

Nadal also marched into the second round with a performance of quality. The Spaniard’s serve looked in exceptional fettle as he won 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 against teenager Borna Coric. Afterwards, Nadal insisted he was happy with his performance but was far from comfortable with the suffocating conditions, per Piers Newbery of BBC Sport:

"I think I started playing well," Nadal said. "The first two sets was a very high level for me, then I got a little bit tired. The conditions here are very humid, I am sweating a lot and in those conditions I suffer a bit. I was able to play aggressive in the fourth. He is an amazing player and has a great future."

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Williams, like men’s world No. 1 Djokovic, also seems to have a relatively straightforward route to the final after Monday’s results. Her opponent, Vitalia Diatchenko, retired with the scoreline at 6-2, 2-0 in favour of the American, who is hoping to complete the Grand Slam of major titles in a calendar year with a win at her home tournament.

As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, with Diatchenko injured, the match was hopelessly lopsided:

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

The elimination of Ivanovic will enrich Williams’ chances of glory here, as will losses for eighth seed Karolina Pliskova—6-2, 6-1 to Anna Tatishvili—and 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro—6-1, 7-5 (5) to Denisa Allertova. Therefore, the path to the latter stages looks far from treacherous for Williams, and at this juncture it’s tough to see who will halt her charge.

Simona Halep, seeded second, is the most likely candidate, and she gets her tournament underway on Tuesday against Marina Erakovic. In the men’s draw, former U.S. Open champions Roger Federer and Andy Murray start their quests for glory against Leonardo Mayer and Nick Kyrgios, respectively.