The remaining first-round women’s singles matches were completed on Day 2 of the US Open. French Open champion Iga Swiatek, teenage prodigy Mirra Andreeva, and 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu were three players to take to the court. It was a day that featured an incredible shot from Karolina Muchova in her win against Katie Volynets. But which other players looked good, who struggled, and which match was the best?
US Open Day 2 Women’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Mirra Andreeva had a competitive opening match in New York against Camila Osorio. The 17-year-old needed a tiebreak to progress 6-2, 7-6. The gritty Osorio’s defensive skills led to several entertaining rallies on Court 11, but her opponent was too good in the end.
Iga Swiatek was made to work harder than most expected at the US Open by the lucker loser Kamilla Rakhimova. The World No. 1 hit some great shots but also made unforced uncharacteristic errors that she needs to eradicate in the later rounds. However, she showed her champion’s mentality to save three set points from 3-6 down in the second set tiebreak to prevail 6-4 7-6.
Danielle Collins’ Grand Slam career ended on Day 2. Caroline Dolehide fought back superbly to triumph 1-6 7-5 6-4. A ceremony was planned for the 2022 Australian runner-up after the match. However, she elected to leave the court before it took place.
Sofia Kenin battled through in three sets against the former US Open champion Emma Raducanu. Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open, was particularly impressive in the first set. The American won six straight games to take it 6-1. Raducanu fought back in the second set but ran out of steam in the third to lose 1-6 6-3 4-6.
Jessica Pegula ended Shelby Rogers’ career on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The recent National Bank Open champion won 6-4 6-3. Rogers did not disgrace herself and produced some good tennis in her farewell match, especially in the first set.
Who Looked Bad
The 2017 French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko, did not find her best level in a much-anticipated match against Naomi Osaka at the US Open. The Japanese star deserves credit for her performance, not being broken during an excellent serving performance. However, Ostapenko did not put the former world No. 1 under enough pressure during the contest.
Nao Hibino had a very tough Day 2 against the 2018 Australian Open titlist Caroline Wozniacki. She only claimed one game in a 0-6 1-6 thrashing, failing to create a single break point. Wozniacki was impressive, though.
Match of the Day
The 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez’s dramatic 6-2 4-6 5-7 defeat to Anastasia Potapova was a worthy contender for the match of the day. But the best match on Day 1 of the US Open was the 2019 champion at Flushing Meadows Bianca Andreescu’s high-quality battle against the Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini.
The first set had several momentum swings. Andreescu twice led by a break, including serving for the set at 5-4, but her Italian opponent pegged her back on each occasion. Eventually, the set was decided by a tiebreak, and Andreescu took it 7-5 to claim the set 7-6 after eighty minutes on the court.
But Paolini has reached two Grand Slam finals this year for a reason. She stormed back in the second set, racing to a 5-0 lead. Andreescu won a couple of games to make the score respectable before the Italian forced a decider by winning the set 6-2. Paolini also got the first break in the third set, and the Canadian started cramping. Incredibly, Andreescu managed to retrieve the break, but Paolini’s level and her physical struggles finally became too much. The two-time major runner-up progressed to the next round with a 6-7 6-2 6-4 victory.
Main Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui – USA TODAY Sports
