It was business as usual for Jack Draper, Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios as they advanced through to the second round of the US Open; but it was a tougher night for Stefanos Tsiitsipas who lost the first 11 games and subsequently the match to Daniel Elahi Galan
Tuesday 30 August 2022 23:24, UK
Jack Draper made a winning US Open debut against Emil Ruusuvuori to set up a second-round clash with sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
While all eyes were on Serena Williams over on Arthur Ashe, Draper ruthlessly got on with business on Court Nine, claiming a 6-4 6-3 6-3 victory over Finn Ruusuvuori.
Although this was Draper's first senior match at Flushing Meadows, such has been his meteoric rise this season that he was already viewed as someone to avoid in the draw.
The same could be said of Ruusuvuori, who is ranked four places higher than Draper at 49 and defeated the 20-year-old Londoner at Queen's this summer.
But here Draper showed the pace of his improvement by seizing the opportunities that came his way.
He converted all five break points he created and dropped serve just once himself to book an intriguing second-round date against Canadian Auger-Aliassime.
"It's my third Grand Slam, second on merit. I'd say it's a really important win for me," said Draper.
"He had me at Queen's, he played an incredible match there, so there were definitely doubts in my mind before the match.
"But I was proud of the way I handled my first time here, thought I played a solid match.
"I think I can still improve tennis-wise but mentally and physically it was a good performance."
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev also made a smooth start to his US Open campaign but "half dead" Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a shock defeat by Daniel Elahi Galan.
It was not just the loss but the manner of it that was so surprising as Tsitsipas, one of five men who could have ended the tournament ranked world No 1, lost the first 11 games.
From there he rallied and took the third set but Colombian Galan, ranked 94, was not to be denied the best win of his career, finally clinching his ninth match point for a 6-0 6-1 3-6 7-5 triumph.
Tsitsipas had treatment on his right arm but did not use that as an excuse, saying: "I was very motivated and pumped before the US Open started because I knew I can use this tournament to get closer to the No 1 spot.
"It would be very weird if it didn't cross my mind because this is something I wanted since I was a kid and I know this is my chance now to step it up. It just didn't go as planned.
"My arm was pretty tired, nothing was coming off of my strokes. He returned extremely well. He did a great job, he dominated the game completely. I just couldn't get into the match at all. It was as if I was half dead."
There were no such problems for Medvedev, who dropped just six games in a 6-2 6-4 6-0 victory over American Stefan Kozlov.
The Russian, who defeated Novak Djokovic 12 months ago to lift his first Grand Slam trophy, is hoping to draw on his positive memories.
"I definitely don't want to forget about them. It's a little bit [of] extra pressure but mostly I don't feel it," he said.
"I know that I want to play well and, if I don't do it, I will not care that I won it last year, I will just be disappointed that this year didn't work out my way.
"For sure it gives me a lot of confidence because I always played good here. I remember last year were some crazy matches. All of them were really high level from me. That's what I want to continue doing this year."
Nick Kyrgios is used to being the main event but he coped just fine with playing the understudy's role this time as he followed Serena Williams onto Arthur Ashe and defeated doubles partner and good friend Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3
6-4 7-6 (7-4).
The Wimbledon finalist bounced out of the first round last year but took care of business in just a little over two hours this time around, leaping into the air to smash an overhead volley to seal a largely routine first set after breaking Kokkinakis in the penultimate game.
Kyrgios broke Kokkinakis to love to open the second set, firing off 14 winners - twice as many as his opponent - in a relatively pristine display.
Not willing to go down without a fight, the unseeded Kokkinakis whacked across 10 aces in the final set but was simply no match for the superb Kyrgios, who dropped only two of his first-serve points.
"I thought I played a really good first couple of sets," said the Australian.
"When we both saw the draw, it was a nightmare. We never want to play each other.
"I can't wait to get out with him on the right side of the net and play doubles in a couple of days. Hopefully never again but I'm really happy to move forward."
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