(Tennis news): The final Grand Slam of the year saw two former champions bow out in the first round in Men’s Singles. Stefanos Tsitsipas somehow scraped through Andy Murray who is racing against time after his hip surgery two years back. Murray showed the power and dominance of the big four as he made Tsitsipas sweat every point, Murray took the first set as the crowd witnessed the vintage Murray lobs grabbing the spotlight. Tsitsipas fought back in the second set to seal it in a tiebreaker but Murray again took a lead as he won the third set. The match was evenly poised till the fourth set until Tsitsipas blew the lid in the fifth set as his forehand dictated the final hours of the match signalling victory for Tsitsipas. The match saw Tsitsipas hitting 67 winners and 19 aces showing how aggressive he had to be to beat the former champion.

Another former champion, Marin Cilic had to pull out from the match in the deciding set against Philipp Kohlschreiber due to a medical issue. The physical wear out was clearly visible after the first two sets, Cilic started just fine from the blocks as his powerful groundstrokes helped him take the first two sets as fired 47 winners across Kohlschreiber who just couldn’t withstand the force. But Cilic couldn't continue as the next two sets saw him slowing down and eventually issuing a walkover in the final set.

Carlos Alcaraz Garfia is having a dream run this season as the 18-year-old defeated Cameron Norrie in straight sets in the 1st round. Alcaraz showed patience as he waited for Norrie to make an error as the rallies were long and Alcaraz kept the ball in play. It paid him off as he secured a victory in under 2 hours. Alcaraz has made his debut in all of the four Grand Slams this year.

Daniil Medvedev secured his 200th career win over Richard Gasquet in the 1st round. Medvedev looked on from right from the start and had no trouble dispatching his groundstrokes on the court against Gasquet. Gasquet struggled to find shots that could match Medvedev’s tempo as Medvedev closed the match with a resounding win.

Four years ago in the US Open Sloane Stephens edged out Madison Keys for a maiden Grand Slam title in the Women’s Singles. The same result occurred in the 1st round as Stephens came out on top to knock out Madison. Stephens had a dream start as she took the first set with relative ease but in the second set, Madison produced a massacre as she did not give a hint of opportunity to Stephens. The third set saw both the players racing for victory but Stephens found answers to Madison’s powerful groundstrokes and proved it with a win.

Naomi Osaka was brutal in her return to the Grand Slam after the French Open as she left no stone unturned on the course of her victory against Marie Bouzkova. Osaka showed no signs of rustiness as she swept across her opponent 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 30 minutes.

17-year-old Cori Gauff had a rough start to her US Open campaign as she won her match against Magda Linette in three sets. Gauff struggled to land her shots in as Linette took the first set but Gauff came back as she found her rhythm in the next two sets to proceed to the second round.

Simona Halep found little trouble while defeating Camila Giorgi in her opening match, Halep served her way across the first set as Giorgi simply couldn’t send the ball across the net. In the second set, Giorgi proved why she was a threat as she came back in form to tackle Halep who struggled in between but finally found a way past her opponent in a tiebreak.

Also read:  Naomi Osaka waiting to fire her best shot, looks for a second major title this year