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Osaka, Gauff headline Day 1


NEW YORK — The 2021 US Open is coming hot out of the gates on Day 1, starting with a rematch of the 2017 final between Americans Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys, and defending champion Naomi Osaka getting her campaign underway under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The bottom half of the draw, led by No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and No.3 seed Osaka, is set to kick off at 11:00 a.m. ET on Monday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.  

Click here for the full order of play. 

Here are 10 notable first-round matches to watch: 

[12] Simona Halep vs. Camila Giorgi (11:00 a.m., first match on Grandstand)

Fresh off the biggest title of her career at the WTA 1000 in Montreal, all eyes were on where unseeded Camila Giorgi would land in the draw. Unfortunately for former No.1 Simona Halep, the big-hitting Italian landed right next to her name. This will be a tough test for Halep, who was sidelined with a calf tear for three months after Rome and has played just one tournament since then. The positive sign for the three-time major champion is she surpassed her own expectations in Montreal, losing a physical and high-quality encounter to red-hot Danielle Collins. Unfortunately, Halep was unable to take the court in Cincinnati due to a right leg injury. 

Head-to-Head: Halep leads, 1-0, with that single match taking place at 2015 Miami. 

Preview Stat: Giorgi is bidding for her 8th Top 20 win of the season.

[9] Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Donna Vekic (11:00am, 1st match on Armstrong)

Muguruza is still looking for the form that catapulted her up the rankings at the start of the season, where she had match points on Osaka in the Australian Open quarterfinals and dominated the Middle East swing, winning the title in Dubai and making the Doha final. Injuries have played a role in the Spaniard’s slight dip, but she remains a threat if she can navigate her early draw and get into rhythm. 

No.57 Vekic was a quarterfinalist in 2019 and is looking for consistency after undergoing knee surgery after the Australian Open. But the Croatian is always a dangerous early draw and she scored a big win over No.2 Sabalenka on the hardcourts of Tokyo at the Olympics. She also played Karolina Pliskova incredible close in Cincinnati, losing in a third-set tiebreak.

Head-to-Head: tied 1-1.

Preview Stat: Vekic’s win over Muguruza came in their only hardcourt meeting, but it took place over seven years ago in Monterrey.

Madison Keys vs. Sloane Stephens (noon ET, first match on Ashe)

The two best friends are unseeded in New York and will meet for the first time on a hardcourt since their 2017 final, which Stephens won 6-3, 6-0 to capture her maiden major. This is the third time the duo have faced this season, having split their meetings on clay. 

Head-to-Head: Stephens leads, 4-2.

Preview Stat: All four of Stephens’ wins over Keys came in straight sets. Both of Keys’ wins came in three sets. 

[3] Naomi Osaka vs. Marie Bouzkova (7:00 p.m. ET, first night match on Ashe)

The defending champion comes into New York low on matches – she has played only six since Miami – but not low on confidence. Before the tournament, Osaka acknowledged her lack of match-rhythm, but said she was pleased with her level in her two matches in Cincinnati, where she defeated Coco Gauff in three sets and lost to eventual finalist Jil Teichmann in three sets. Her approach to her title defense, in which she is looking to win the third consecutive hardcourt major, is to take it one match at a time. 

Bouzkova is a talented and indefatigable opening opponent, one who is capable of bringing balls back and frustrating opponents through long rallies and all-court play. The Czech started the season well, making the final of the Phillip Island Trophy and the semifinals in Guadalajara, but since then she has won back-to-back matches just once.

Head-to-Head: Osaka leads, 1-0.

Preview Stat: Osaka has one of the best first-round strike rates among active players. She is 17-2 in the first round at Slams and has never lost in the first round at a hardcourt Slam.

[16] Angelique Kerber vs. Dayana Yastremska (second match, Court 17)

It’s been a resurgent summer for the 2016 champion. Kerber is back inside the Top 20 after posting a trio of big results, starting with her title run on grass in Bad Homburg, a semifinal run at Wimbledon, and another semifinal run two weeks ago in Cincinnati. The opponents she has left in her wake during that stretch include Petra Kvitova, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova, Jelena Ostapenko, Maria Sakkari and Sara Sorribes Tormo. She is fit, confident and hungry for a fourth major title. 

In Yastremska, Kerber will be looking to employ her physical counter-punching style against one of the prime big-hitters of the younger generation. The 21-year-old from Ukraine is working her way from a provisional suspension that was lifted by the ITF in June after an independent tribunal ruled that she was not at fault for a violation of an anti-doping violation. Now ranked No.51 after having reached a career-high No.21 in 2020, Yastremska will be keep for the upset. 

Head-to-Head: Yastremska leads, 1-0.

Preview Stat: The only player Kerber has lost to in her last three tournaments is No.1 Ashleigh Barty.

[26] Danielle Collins vs. Carla Suárez Navarro (second match, Court 5)

This is the sentimental match of the day, as Carla Suárez Navarro is set to play her final Slam before retiring. But don’t be fooled into thinking Suárez Navarro is just here to wave goodbye. The Spaniard has played a strong level since returning to tour after beating cancer. She took Stephens to three sets at Roland Garros and Barty to three sets at Wimbledon. Then she beat Ons Jabeur at the Olympics and took Karolina Pliskova to three sets. 

Based on her summer run of form, Collins is a strong dark horse pick to make the second week if she’s 100 percent. The University of Virginia graduate ran off 12 consecutive wins to capture her first career titles in Palermo and San Jose, before narrowly losing to Jessica Pegula in one of the best matches of the summer in Montreal. She retired to Shelby Rogers in the first round of Cincinnati, but with nearly two weeks to recover, it will be interesting to see where Collins’ level is in New York. She could face No.2 Sabalenka in the third round. 

Head-to-head: Collins leads 1-0.

Preview Stat: Collins is 16-9 since undergoing emergency surgery for endometriosis in April. 

Champion’s Reel: How Danielle Collins won San Jose 2021

2021 San Jose

[21] Coco Gauff vs. Magda Linette (third match, Armstrong)

The 17-year-old American has lost in the first round of a Slam just once in her career. That came 12 months ago at the US Open, where she bowed out to Anastasija Sevastova. This year she comes up against Poland’s Magda Linette, who comes in off a semifinal run in Cleveland last week and a quarterfinal in San Jose before that.

Head-to-head: First meeting.

Preview Stat: Gauff is the second-youngest of the 11 teenagers in the draw. 

[5] Elina Svitolina vs. Rebecca Marino (third match, Court 17)

Svitolina has been frustrated by her Slam season in 2021, but she now has one more bite at the apple at the US Open, where she was a semifinalist in 2019. After winning bronze at the Olympics and capturing her first title of the season last week in Chicago, Svitolina is trending up in her tennis. She’ll face Canada’s Rebecca Marino, who worked her way through the qualifying draw to earn a spot in her first US Open main draw in a decade. 

Marino is another feel-good story in New York, having returned to tennis after leaving the sport due to mental health. The big-serving Canadian has already scored big wins over Paula Badosa and Madison Keys this summer.

Head-to-head: First meeting.

Preview Stat: Marino is seeking her first Top 10 win, previously 0-5.

[25] Daria Kasatkina vs. Tsvetana Pironkova (third match, Court 7)

A year ago, Pironkova was the fairytale story of the tournament. Playing her first Slam after leaving the tour to start a family, Pironkova blasted her way into the US Open quarterfinals before losing in three sets to Serena Williams. Can she do it again? 

Head-to-head: Pironkova leads, 1-0.

Preview Stat: After not making a tournament final for two seasons, Kasatkina has already made four finals in 2021, most recently in San Jose. She won two of them (Phillip Island Trophy, St. Petersburg).

Johanna Konta vs. Kristina Mladenovic (third match, Court 10)

These two former Top 10 players are looking to recapture their sparkling form of a few years ago and win here could be the spark. Now ranked No.47, Konta earned her first Top 10 win since 2019 just two weeks ago, defeating Svitolina in Montreal. Her tournament before that was in Nottingham, where she won her first title since 2017 Miami. 

Mladenovic has never lost to Konta, but the Frenchwoman has lost her last eight matches against Top 100 opponents. 

Head-to-head: Mladenovic leads, 5-0.

Preview Stat: Konta has won 7 of her last 8 matches.

 





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