US Open 2024: Gauff, Zheng win opening matches, Sakkari out
NEW YORK -- |A|
The chant rang out |B|
in cavernous Arthur Ashe |C|
Stadium on Monday at |D|
the US Open before |E|
Coco Gauffs first service |F|
game of her first |G|
match of her first |H|
Grand Slam tournament as |J|
a defending champion: "Here |K|
we go, Coco! Here |L|
we go!" Coming to |M|
Flushing Meadows off a |O|
series of early exits |P|
at other events, Gauff |Q|
already was down 1-0 |R|
to Varvara Gracheva, having |S|
dropped the matchs initial |U|
game at love by |V|
making four groundstroke errors. |Y|
What followed was a |Z|
tough, tight game, featuring |A|
14 points across eight |B|
minutes and three break |C|
chances for Gracheva. The |D|
important part, of course, |E|
was that Gauff saved |F|
all of those break |G|
points, claimed that game |H|
and suddenly was in |J|
complete control on the |K|
way to a 6-2, |L|
6-0 victory that not |M|
only put the 20-year-old |O|
American in the second |P|
round but also told |Q|
her -- and everyone |R|
else -- that her |S|
game is in better |U|
shape than it appeared |V|
lately. "The last couple |Y|
of weeks were tough, |Z|
and I was like, |A|
I have to do |B|
this and do that, |C|
but I dont have |D|
to prove anything to |E|
anyone except myself. So |F|
... [these] two weeks |G|
are just about proving |H|
all the expectations that |J|
I have on myself," |K|
the No. 3-seeded Gauff |L|
said. "I have many |M|
more years coming back |O|
here, and Im not |P|
going to win every |Q|
year. Just that perspective |R|
and just having the |S|
belief that I can |U|
-- but not the |V|
expectation that I should." |Y|
"Obviously, she plays |Q| with a lot of |R| passion," Shelton, 21, said |S| about Gauff. "You could |U| tell that she cares |V| out there. Shes into |Y| it every time that |Z| shes on the court. |A| I think thats something |B| that the people love."
|C| dir="ltr">Gauff was not the |D| only past US Open |E| champ on Mondays schedule: |F| The night session in |G| Ashe included 2017 winner |H| Sloane Stephens against Clara |J| Burel, followed by Novak |K| Djokovic -- whose collection |L| of 24 Slam titles |M| includes last years in |O| New York -- against |P| Radu Albot.
Stephens was |Q| eliminated in a stunning |R| collapse, winning the first |S| set in 21 minutes |U| and the first nine |V| games before falling 0-6, |Y| 7-5, 7-5 to Burel.
|Z| dir="ltr">Seeded womens winners included |A| No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, |B| the womens gold medalist |C| at the Paris Olympics |D| earlier this month; No. |E| 24 Donna Vekic, the |F| silver medalist; No. 12 |G| Daria Kasatkina; and No. |H| 14 Madison Keys.
No. |J| 9 Maria Sakkari stopped |K| playing after one set |L| because of an injured |M| right shoulder. The highest-seeded |O| man out of the |P| bracket during the day |Q| session was No. 15 |R| Holger Rune, who was |S| eliminated by Brandon Nakashima |U| of the United States |V| 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Among |Y| the mens seeds advancing |Z| were No. 4 Alexander |A| Zverev, the runner-up to |B| Thiem four years ago; |C| No. 6 Andrey Rublev; |D| No. 8 Casper Ruud, |E| the 2022 runner-up at |F| Flushing Meadows; No. 9 |G| Grigor Dimitrov; and No. |H| 12 Taylor Fritz.
Zheng |J| is enjoying a breakthrough |K| season that began with |L| a run to the |M| final at the Australian |O| Open in January and |P| reached a peak when |Q| she claimed Chinas first |R| Summer Games singles gold. |S| Mondays contest was difficult |U| at the outset against |V| 2019 French Open semifinalist |Y| Amanda Anisimova, but Zheng |Z| eventually came back to |A| win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
|B| dir="ltr">"Everything starts at zero. |C| You are not anymore |D| the Olympic champion," Zheng |E| said. "Just be humble |F| and try to work, |G| fight every single match, |H| because if you dont |J| fight, you have a |K| big chance to lose."
|L| dir="ltr">That mirrors Gauffs approach |M| as she returns to |O| the site of her |P| greatest triumph so far.
|Q| dir="ltr">Gauff came to New |R| York off the back |S| of early exits in |U| three events at the |V| Paris Games -- not |Y| that she wants to |Z| forget about that trip |A| to France; she wore |B| a necklace featuring the |C| Olympic rings during Mondays |D| match -- followed by |E| a two-match losing skid |F| on North American hard |G| courts. If she was |H| trying to start from |J| scratch, she did a |K| good job of it.
|L| dir="ltr">This wasnt surprising to |M| Gauff. Not at all. |O| She knew she didnt |P| play great in Toronto |Q| or Cincinnati in recent |R| weeks. But she also |S| could tell she was |U| hitting balls well in |V| practice.
"Usually, that first |Y| round for me can |Z| sometimes set the tone |A| for a tournament, whether |B| youre playing well or |C| not. ... I had |D| a good mentality. Is |E| this going to say |F| Im going to play |G| great the next couple |H| matches? Yes or no," |J| Gauff said. "But I |K| think the mentality I |L| have going into this |M| week will be there, |O| and hopefully the execution |P| stays there."
She only |Q| needed 66 minutes to |R| win Monday, using some |S| of her 10 aces |U| to help erase all |V| eight break points Gracheva |Y| accumulated and compiling a |Z| 16-5 edge in winners.
|A| dir="ltr">"From the start, we |B| kind of all knew |C| that Coco was going |D| to be an amazing |E| player, and shes incredibly |F| mature and carries herself |G| in a way that |H| I wish that I |J| carried myself when I |K| was her age," said |L| Keys, 29, who lost |M| to Stephens in the |O| US Open final seven |P| years ago. "Its also |Q| very impressive how shes |R| been able ... through |S| all of the pressure |U| and all of the |V| expectation thats been put |Y| on her, continue to |Z| do as well as |A| she has."
