US Open: Serena Williams extends farewell; Tsitsipas, Halep early upsets

TENNIS
Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia, left, and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece shake hands after their first round match on day one of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Photo: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

New York: Serena Williams extended her remarkable career by at least one more match after a gritty win in the US Open first round on Monday, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Simona Halep became high-profile casualties on an electric opening night.

Williams, who indicated her intention to retire earlier this month but never confirmed the US Open as her final tournament, beat Montenegro's Danka Kovinic 6-3 6-3 in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I've been pretty vague about it, right," Williams said. "I'm going to stay vague because you never know."

Former world number one Halep suffered a shock first-round exit to Ukrainian qualifier Daria Snigur, who won 6-2 0-6 6-4 on her Grand Slam main draw debut, while last year's finalist Leylah Fernandez saw off Oceane Dodin of France 6-3 6-4.

An already depleted men's draw opened up even further after Tsitsipas was knocked out by Colombian qualifier Daniel Galan, who clinched the 6-0 6-1 3-6 7-5 win on his ninth match point.

Top American seed Taylor Fritz was ousted by compatriot and qualifier Brandon Holt, the son of former two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin, who marked his Tour level debut with an upset 6-7(3) 7-6(1) 6-3 6-4 win.

Russia's Daniil Medvedev, barred from competing at Wimbledon due to his country's invasion of Ukraine, returned to the Grand Slam stage in New York and began his title defence by crushing American Stefan Kozlov 6-2 6-4 6-0.

Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios triumphed over doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) in an all-Australian

affair at Arthur Ashe Stadium, powering to victory in two hours. "When we both saw the draw, it was a nightmare," said

Kyrgios, who won the Australian Open doubles title with Kokkinakis earlier this year. "We're going to play each other,

hopefully, never again."

Former champion Andy Murray began his campaign with a 7-5 6-3 6-3 win over Argentine 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo, who

made several unforced errors. "Very tricky conditions, very humid and hot but I was really

happy with the way I got through that one," Murray said following his win at Louis Armstrong Stadium.    

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