The first day of a Slam is almost like the first day back to school: everybody comes together after their summer ready to get down to serious business.
The two races to number one and the absence of many top players in the men’s camp have been filling the tennis column during the days and weeks before the last Slam of the year, one of the most difficult to decipher in some time. And the very late “adieu” by ATP n.2 Andy Murray left the two superstars of the men’s tournament, Federer and Nadal, positioned on the same side of the draw and, consequently, scheduled to play on the same day.
So it was up to the ladies to headline Day 1 in Flushing Meadows with a 2-hour 44-minute three-set classic between n.2 seed Simona Halep and wild card former champion Maria Sharapova. After the opening night show by country music superstar Shania Twain, Maria and Simona showcased a fine match for the Arthur Ashe sellout crowd that saw the Romanian player attempt a bold comeback from 6-4 4-1 down to take the match to a decider. Sharapova spent the entire match dictating the rallies, taking big cuts with her groundstrokes, especially with her cross-court forehand, ending up with 29 winners and 34 unforced errors opposed to the even 7-7 balance of Simona Halep. The Romanian had a chance for 5-5 in the final set, but her down-the-line forehand was stopped by the top of the net, and with that her hope for a deep run at this US Open. “It’s really special to be here after so many low points in the last few years – said a teary Sharapova during the on-court interview – Sometimes you question why you put in so much hard work. This is why”. With this victory Maria improves her spotless record (18-0) in night matches on Arthur Ashe, and must be certainly considered one of the favourites to win the trophy.
Halep was the second contender (of eight) to be sent packing in New York on inaugural day: earlier in the afternoon Briton Johanna Konta was ousted by Serbian Aleksandra Krunic (n.78 WTA) after winning the first set on the new “temporary” Louis Armstrong Stadium, a shining steel construction erected on the askes of the historic Grandstand to replace the second-biggest stadium in Flushing Meadows while it is being rebuilt with a retractable roof. On that very same court 2015 finalist Roberta Vinci had to surrender in two sets to Cincinnati semifinalist Sloane Stephens, in what could have been the last match of her career at the US Open. “I don’t know if I am coming back,” Roberta confessed to the Italian press after the match. “Tennis is not my priority any longer, but next year is very far in the future, I am not think that far ahead”.
The highest seed to fall in the men’s tournament was n.13 Jack Sock, who levelled a 2-set deficit saving two match points in the fourth set to lose 6-4 in the fifth to the young up-and-coming Australian Jordan Thompson, who confirmed the win obtained over the American last April in Brisbane during the Davis Cup Quarter-finals. Early exits also for “NextGen” Karen Khachanov (n. 25 seed) to the Chinese Taipei vederan Yen-Hsun Lu, David Ferrer (21) to Kukushkin and Robin Haase (n.32) to Kyle Edmund. Not a good day also for the other n.32 seed in New York: the American Lauren Davis was defeated by her fellow national Sofia Kenin, an 18-year-old wild card at her first Major in the main draw. Finally, it was hardly a surprise the defeat of n.21 seed Ana Konjuh by n.43 Australian Ashleigh Barty.
After a record-breaking crowd on this inaugural day (61,089 spectators), the 2017 US Open is ready to welcome its superstars who will take the main stage in separate sessions (Nadal in the afternoon, Federer in the evening) in an attempt to pursue the 700,000 spectators in the fortnight despite the reduction in the number of seats caused by a smaller Armstrong stadium.
