NEW YORK – Welcome to the future.
On Day One, fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion, was knocked out of the US Open by Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru; three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova needed 2½ hours to escape the upset bid of 19-year-old Heather Watson, and 16-year-old Madison Keys overpowered veteran Jill Craybas in a battle of Americans.
It was a great start to the year’s final Grand Slam tournament.
Dulgheru, a 22-year-old right-hander, pulled off the first big shocker, stunning Kvitova 7-6 (3) 6-3, only her fourth career win over a top-10 opponent. Until Monday, no Wimbledon champion in the Open Era had lost before the third round of the following US Open.
While it was Sharapova who came away with a hard-earned 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory, Watson could hold her head high, having battled the third-seeded Russian on even terms under the bright sun on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The young Brit, who won the US Open girls’ title two years ago, was making her main draw debut.
“I had a lot of fun today in my match,” Watson said. “It’s what I want to do. I want to be out there on the big courts playing the top players.”
The youngest player in the tournament, Keys was also playing in the main draw for the first time. Relentlessly pounding the ball with pace and depth, the youngster, ranked 455th in the world, dominated play against Craybas, who is 21 years older and was playing in her 15th US Open. When the Grandstand match was over, Keys had advanced into the second round with a 6-2 6-4 victory.
“This is a great experience for me,” Keys said. “Hopefully I do well. I’ll go out and do my best.”
Another young American, 19-year-old Christina McHale, also booked a spot in the second round by stopping Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-4.
It wasn’t just the youngsters winning first-round matches Monday.
Eighth-seeded Mardy Fish, playing the best tennis of his career at the age of 29, easily downed German Tobias Kamke 6-2 6-2 6-1, while 30-year-old Venus Williams, unseeded at America’s premier tennis tournament for the first time since her debut in 1997, defeated Vesna Dolonts of Russia 6-4 6-3.
Kvitova was the only seeded player to lose Monday. Besides Sharapova, other top 10 players advancing were No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, No. 8 Marion Bartoli and No. 9 Samantha Stosur in the women’s draw.
The top seeded men advancing included No. 3 Roger Federer, No. 7 Gael Monfils and No. 9 Tomas Berdych.
Williams was playing her first match since Wimbledon, having been sidelined by a viral illness. Earlier in the year she suffered a torn abdomen muscle, and her absence from the WTA tour has caused her ranking to drop to 36th in the world, too low to be seeded at the US Open.
“It’s always nerve-wracking to play the first match after a layoff in a major,” said Williams, who has two US Opens among her seven Grand Slam tournament titles. “But I just tried to rely on experience and, I don’t know, just tried to get after it.”
Dolonts put up a gallant fight, especially considering the difficulties she had just getting to the tournament.
The Russian had visa issues that kept her away from North America. Then, when they were finally solved, Hurricane Irene’s run up the eastern seaboard shut down the airports in the New York City area.
After a 10-hour flight from Moscow, Dolonts arrived in New York City at 2 p.m. Monday, six hours before she was to face Williams on the biggest court in tennis.
“I didn’t really know about her circumstances until I walked on the court,” Williams said of her opponent. “I’m not sure what the details are of that, but definitely not ideal.
“But, I mean, no matter what, you have to come out swinging. I think she did well. I thought she was hitting the corners. Definitely kept me on my toes.”