The US Open got underway on Monday with straight-sets wins for second seeds and tournament betting favourites Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters. But there were upsets, too, as 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt and former world number one Dinara Safina both crashed out.
Federer, seeking to regain the crown he lost to Juan Martin del Potro last year after five consecutive titles, strolled to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over Brian Dabul of Argentina in the featured night match on the Arthur Ashe Centre Court. The Swiss star, who won just his second tournament of the year in Cincinnati eight days ago, was never in trouble against the former top junior as he got back to winning ways in the tournament he totally dominated from 2004 until last year's upset in the final. Joining him in the second round was potential quarter-final opponent Robin Soderling, but he needed five sets to see off unheralded Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 5-7, 6-4
On a hot and sunny opening day there were wins also for sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko of Russia - a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 winner over Michael Russell of the United States - and ninth seed and 2003 champion Andy Roddick, who saw off Stephane Robert of France 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on the American's 28th birthday. But Hewitt, at 29, found the shot-making of unpredictable Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu too much to cope with as he went down 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1.
It was the first time he had lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows in 11 starts and will cast further doubts on his competitiveness at the highest level of men's tennis.
Clijsters, who supplied one of the sports stories of the year here 12 months ago when she stepped out of retirement and motherhood to win her second US Open title, defeated Greta Arn of Hungary 6-0, 7-5. The tall Russian put on a battling display against Slovak veteran Daniela Hantuchova, but bowed out in the end 6-3, 6-4.
Women's singles first round results from New York on Monday (prefix denotes seeding, * new result) *3-Venus Williams (US) beat Roberta Vinci (Italy) 6-4 6-1; *19-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat Irina Falconi (US) 6-2 6-1; *Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) beat Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 6-3 6-2; *Vania King (US) beat Christina McHale (US) 6-3 0-6 6-1; *21-Zheng Jie (China) beat Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) 7-6(0) 7-6(1); Pauline Parmentier (France) beat Alberta Brianti (Italy) 4-6 6-3 7-5; Rebecca Marino (Canada) beat Ksenia Pervak (Russia) 6-4 4-6 7-5; 10-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) beat Monica Niculescu (Romania) 6-0 5-7 6-1; 5-Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat Elena Vesnina (Russia) 3-6 7-6(2) 6-1; 13-Marion Bartoli (France) beat Edina Gallovits (Romania) 6-3 6-2; Virginie Razzano (France) beat Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-2; 32-Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) beat Renata Voracova (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-4; Sybille Bammer (Austria) beat Zuzana Ondraskova (Czech Republic) 7-5 6-0; 24-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) beat Dinara Safina (Russia) 6-3 6-4; Agnes Szavay (Hungary) beat Sandra Zahlavova (Czech Republic) 6-0 6-2; Sania Mirza (India) beat Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal) 6-3 6-2; Anastasia Rodionova (Australia) beat Bojana Jovanovski (Serbia) 7-5 6-4; 27-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) 6-4 7-5; 16-Shahar Peer (Israel) beat Jelena Kostanic Tosic (Croatia) 6-4 7-5; Sally Peers (Australia) beat Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) 6-0 6-1; 2-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat Greta Arn (Hungary) 6-0 7-5; Gisela Dulko (Argentina) beat Angelique Kerber (Germany) 6-3 6-1; Mandy Minella (Luxembourg) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4 7-5; 20-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) beat Kristina Barrois (Germany) 6-4 6-1; Sara Errani (Italy) beat Tathiana Garbin (Italy) 7-6(4) 7-5; 29-Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) beat Vera Dushevina (Russia) 6-0 5-7 6-4; Maria Elena Camerin (Italy) beat Sophie Ferguson (Australia) 6-4 6-0; 28-Alisa Kleybanova (Russia) beat Johanna Larsson (Sweden) 7-6(4) 6-2; 12-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat Olga Govortsova (Belarus) 6-1 6-2; Elena Baltacha (Britain) beat Petra Martic (Croatia) 6-2 6-2; Melanie Oudin (US) beat Olga Savchuk (Ukraine) 6-3 6-0; 6-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) beat Ayumi Morita (Japan) 6-1 6-0.
Men's singles first round results from New York on Monday (prefix denotes seeding, * new result) *21-Albert Montanes (Spain) beat Michal Przysiezny (Poland) 5-7 1-6 7-5 7-6(5) 6-0; *Taylor Dent (US) beat Alejandro Falla (Colombia) 6-4 7-5 6-1; Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) beat Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 4-6 7-5 7-6(0) 6-2; *Guillaume Rufin (France) beat Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) 2-6 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-1; *13-Juergen Melzer (Austria) beat Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) 6-4 6-2 3-6 4-6 6-2; *Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) beat Ryan Sweeting (US) 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2; *Carsten Ball (Australia) beat Milos Raonic (Canada) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3 6-2; 9-Andy Roddick (US) beat Stephane Robert (France) 6-3 6-2 6-2; 5-Robin Soderling (Sweden) beat Andreas Haider-Maurer (Austria) 7-5 6-3 6-7(2) 5-7 6-4; 17-Gael Monfils (France) beat Robert Kendrick (US) 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4; Igor Andreev (Russia) beat Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3; Ivan Dodig (Croatia) beat 27-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) 6-7(2) 6-1 1-0; (Gonzalez retired); Ricardo Mello (Brazil) beat Bjoern Phau (Germany) 6-4 7-5 4-6 7-6(4); 6-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) beat Michael Russell (US) 6-4 6-1 6-3; 11-Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Illya Marchenko (Ukraine) 7-5 6-3 6-1; Thiemo de Bakker (Netherlands) beat Marc Gicquel (France) 6-4 7-5 6-2; Richard Gasquet (France) beat Simon Greul (Germany) 6-3 6-4 6-2; Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Evgeny Korolev (Kazakhstan) 7-6(0) 5-2 (Korolev retired); 22-Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) beat Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 6-1 6-3 6-0.