US Open Tennis 2014: Day 1 Results, Highlights and Scores Recap from New York
The 2014 U.S. Open is officially underway, and if Day 1 was any indication, we're in store for an undeniably captivating tournament.
With high temperatures causing a bit of mayhem in New York, there were assertive performances, surprising upsets, scintillating back-and-forth matches and even in losing efforts, there were shots like this:
Let's take a look at how the opening day played out.
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Day 1 Results
| (2) Simona Halep | Danielle Rose Collins | 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-2 |
| (19) Venus Williams | Kimiko Date-Krumm | 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 |
| (3) Stan Wawrinka | Jiri Vesely | 6-2, 7-6(6), 7-6(3) |
| (4) Agnieszka Radwanska | Sharon Fichman | 6-1, 6-0 |
| (8) Andy Murray | Robin Haase | 6-3, 7-6(6), 1-6, 7-5 |
| (21) Sloane Stephens | Annika Beck | 6-0, 6-3 |
| (5) Milos Raonic | Taro Daniel | 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(1) |
| (5) Maria Sharapova | Maria Kirilenko | 6-4, 6-0 |
| (1) Novak Djokovic | Diego Schwartzman | 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 |
Note: All scores from Monday's action can be found here, courtesy of USOpen.org
Day 1 Recap
The headliners of the evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium both dominated as expected.
Maria Sharapova got off to a bit of a slow start against countrywoman and former doubles partner Maria Kirilenko, but she finished by winning 10 games in a row to easily move on in straight sets. Novak Djokovic followed by steamrolling Diego Schwartzman .
It was a surgical performance from Djoker, as evidenced by this point:
The World No. 1 was obviously expected to win, but after a couple of miserable tournaments over the last month, it was encouraging to see him smashing explosive, well-placed winners.
Things weren't nearly as simple for Andy Murray. Since undergoing back surgery in September 2013, he has yet to win a title, partly because of his inability to stay 100 percent fit—and that problem reared its ugly head on Monday for a nearly calamitous result.
Battling intense cramps, the Scot needed four grueling sets to put away World No. 70 Robin Haase. Murray won the first two sets (with the second going to a tiebreak), but he won just a single game in the third and was twice down a break in the fourth.
A fifth—and potentially devastating—set looked inevitable as he continued to lob in 70 mph second serves and grab at his hamstrings and shoulders in visible pain. But Haase broke down mentally, wasted several break points and was done in by 15 unforced errors in the final set.
Despite advancing, Murray knows he has to get right physically, via ATPWorldTour.com:
"I tried to hang around and tried to play without using my legs much. I managed to get through. These slams are physically challenging, but I need to work out why it happened. It shouldn’t have happened, regardless of the temperature.
"
An average serve speed of 94 mph and 51 unforced errors aren't going to take the 2012 U.S. Open champ very far at Flushing Meadows.
The day's biggest upset belonged to a youngster. Nick Kyrgios, who shocked the tennis world when he beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, knocked off World No. 23 Mikhail Youzhny in four sets.
The rising 19-year-old showed his age with three code violations—one away from being defaulted—but he also showed his tantalizing skill set, hitting 26 aces and 68 winners.
ABC's Adam White explained the significance of the victory for the Australian:
Kyrgios now faces World No. 49 Andreas Seppi in the second round, and as The New York Times' Ben Rothenberg noted, the draw opens up quite nicely for him:
Over on the women's side, No. 2 seed Simona Halep and No. 19 Venus Williams each lost their first set but responded with transcendent second and third sets. And they couldn't have come against two different opponents.
Halep fought off 20-year-old University of Virginia standout Danielle Rose Collins, who was making her major debut. Williams, meanwhile, defeated the ageless Kimiko Date-Krumm, a 43-year-old who made her major debut 25 years ago.
"According to Kimiko, I've got another decade," Williams told reporters after the match.
Looking forward to Day 2, tournament favorites Roger Federer and Serena Williams will headline the action. The red-hot Fed-Ex should have little trouble with Marinko Matosevic, while Serena has arguably the most intriguing first-round match against 18-year-old rising American Taylor Townsend.
Of course, with Ana Ivanovic, John Isner, Eugenie Bouchard, David Ferrer and several other top names all in action, as well, it will be another full day of thrilling tennis.
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