Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza both overcame tough opening round matches to advance at the US Open.
Simona Halep set a marker down for the rest of the field with a 6-3 7-6(3) win over Camila Giorgi.
While Garbine Muguruza edged past former quarter-finalist Donna Vekic 7-6(4) 7-6(5) in a match that lasted two hours and 20 minutes.
Halep faces Kristina Kucova next while Muguruza plays Andrea Petkovic or Irina-Camelia Begu next.
Starting with the Romanian she was looking to overcome her curse of losing tough US Open opening rounds as she took on Montreal champion Camila Giorgi.
The Italian only knows one way to hit a tennis ball and that is hard and fast as she ferociously hit winners past Halep.
While on serve the two-time grand slam champion responded with some effective service games of her own.
Halep managed to stay in the match until the ninth game where she took advantage of a loose game from Giorgi, hitting some nice angles and forcing the break for a 5-4 lead.
The 12th seed comfortably served it out as she served multiple aces to seal a one set to love lead.
There was no stopping Halep from there as her counter-attacking skills from the baseline were neutralising Giorgi’s immense power as she managed to secure another break for 3-2.
However as the match reached its conclusion, Giorgi decided to up the quality a notch as she was now hitting the ball even harder.
An increase in power had its benefits as she broke Halep twice when the Romanian served for the match.
The former Wimbledon champion even had two match points however the Romanian regained her composure to seal a big victory in another tough opening match in New York.
Halep’s statement win sees her into the second round to play Kristina Kucova.
However the Romanian wasn’t the only one with a tough match as Garbine Muguruza had to overcome a tough battle with former quarter-finalist Donna Vekic in 2 hours and 20 minutes.
The Spaniard came back from a 4-2 deficit in the opening set to take the first set tiebreak 7-4.
In the second set, Muguruza sealed the early break and was looking like a comfortable win was on the horizon.
However Vekic’s fighting spirit clawed her back into the match as the second set went to another tiebreak.
But Muguruza’s champions quality saw her clinch victory as well as a place in the second round where she will face Andrea Petkovic or Irina-Camelia Begu.
