World No. 1 Ash Barty has been made to sweat for a 6-1 7-6(7) win over Vera Zvonareva and a spot in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday (NZ time).
The top-seeded Australian came out firing on all cylinders and raced to a 3-0 lead in a rapid-fire opening set that was over in 24 minutes.
But what looked to be a straightforward match for Barty turned tense in a grinding second set, which the 36-year-old Zvonareva forced to a tiebreak before falling 9-7.
"Vera, without a doubt she's an experienced campaigner," said Barty. "I think in the first set I served exceptionally well.
"She was a little bit loose off her racquet and she gave me a few cheapies.
"I think all in all being able to work my way around that and kind of get through that in straight sets was really pleasing.
"I think when my back was against the wall I came up with some really good stuff. That's all we can ask when your back is against the wall."
Barty has won five tournaments this season, including a second career Grand Slam at Wimbledon and her US Open tune-up in Cincinnati.
In between those two victories, however, the 25-year-old threw in a dismal performance when she was booted out of the opening round of the Tokyo Olympics by 48th-ranked Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Zvonareva is a former US Open and Wimbledon runner-up but her best results came more than a decade ago and the injury-ravaged Russian has had spotty performances at Grand Slams ever since, not advancing past the second round of any major since 2014.
She embraced her moment back on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, refusing to wave the white flag after a lopsided opening set.
In the end Barty's all-court game and power proved too much for her, with the Australian laying down 11 aces and firing 31 winners compared to nine by her opponent.
"I think all in all I felt like today I was able to find some good tennis when it mattered most," said Barty, who next meets young Dane Clara Tauson. "I started well and in the end was able to play some good, aggressive tennis towards the end of the match."
Earlier, world No. 4 Karolina Pliskova fired off eight aces to defeat American wild card Caty McNally 6-3 6-4, as she bids for an elusive maiden major.
Pliskova, the 2016 runner-up, built up a 5-1 lead in the first set, before her 19-year-old opponent settled her nerves, and hit 10 winners in the set compared to two from McNally, before breaking the American's serve twice early in the second.
McNally, who made it to the third round at Flushing Meadows a year ago, bounced back to level the score at 3-3 but could not match Pliskova's power, as the Czech closed out the match with a pair of aces.
"I started really well then lost my focus a little bit at the end of the first set," said Pliskova, who lost to world No. 1 Ash Barty in the Wimbledon final earlier this year.
"She played (at) a really good level," she added. "She has a good future."
Pliskova said she was pleased to keep the match to two sets as several top contenders, including twice champion Naomi Osaka and world No. 1 Barty, stand between her and a Grand Slam title.
She faces either Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan or American Amanda Anisimova in the second round.
Canadian sixth seed Bianca Andreescu came back from a break down in the first and final sets to fend off Viktorija Golubic 7-5 4-6 7-5 in just under three hours, prevailing in her first match at Flushing Meadows since winning the title in 2019.
Seventh seed Iga Swiatek, youngest of 12 major champions in the women's draw, breezed into the second round with a 6-3 6-4 win over American Jamie Loeb. Up next for the 20-year-old Pole is Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro, who beat Nao Hibino 6-1 6-4.
Olympic champion Belinda Bencic said after her 6-4 6-4 victory over Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus that she was still thinking about her Tokyo triumph.
"I'm still on cloud nine... Of course, I'm focusing on this tournament and just on playing well," the Swiss said.
"But I feel like I want to be on cloud nine all the time... I'm very happy about it. I feel like these memories I'll have forever. This Olympics experience... for me it's forever and is probably going to be the biggest achievement I'll ever have."
British qualifier Emma Raducanu impressed on her main draw debut in New York, beating Swiss Stefanie Voegele 6-2 6-3, while 17th seed Maria Sakkari outclassed Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-3.
Reuters.
