Top seed Roger Federer crushed American Donald Young 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday to power into the second round of the US Open on a rainy opening day.
The Swiss was ruthless in his demolition of the outclassed American.
“To be back here as number one is crazy, I really enjoy it,” said Federer, who has now won 22 straight night matches at the showcase Ashe stadium. “It brings out the best in me, the crowd is amazing.
“There is a lot of pressure. But for me it continues, it’s always a thrill out there.”
Olympic champion Andy Murray spent two hours on court to beat Russian Alex Bogomolov 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.
Opening-day weather was far from ideal for several hours as rain pelted Flushing Meadows, where officials refuse on economic grounds to put roofs on any showcourt stadiums. As a result, the last four men’s finals have been played a day late due to rain-outs.
“It was very, very hot and tough conditions today,” said Murray. “You want to try to win the matches as quickly as possible. “I had a few break points early in the third set, and didn’t get them. I just didn’t serve that well. Didn’t serve well most of the match.”
In other matches, veteran James Blake won his first Grand Slam match in a year, overcoming 49 unforced errors to beat Slovak Lukas Lacko 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Paul-Henri Mathieu of France recovered from two sets to love down, beating Igor Andreev 2-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.
On the women’s side, five leading seeds bolted through.
Azarenka, Sharapova advance
Number one Victoria Azarenka dropped just one game against Alexandra Panova. Maria Sharapova beat Melinda Czink 6-2, 6-2.
“I was just happy to be back playing a competitive match, it’s been a few weeks,” said Sharapova. “It was a nice break in a way, but after so many weeks of practising, you’re just eager to get back on the court.
“I was happy with the way I came out against an opponent I’d never played before. Overall I played steady, but there’s room for improvement, that’s for sure.” Fifth seed Petra Kvitova advanced over Polona Hercog 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 while Samantha Stosur began her title defence with a win over Petra Martic 6-1, 6-1. Chinese ninth seed Na Li, the Cincinnati champion, ousted Brit Heather Watson 6-2, 6-3.
Three-time winner Kim Clijsters, playing in the last event of her career, continued a win streak, which began in 2005 as she won her 22nd match at the event over 16-year-old Victoria Duval 6-3, 6-1.
