US Open

Sinner defies doping turmoil and wins his opening match

Jannik Sinner wins at the start of the US Open.

(Bild: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/MATTHEW STOCKMAN)

World number one Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner played flawed but victorious opening matches in the US Open tennis tournament on Tuesday. For the South Tyrolean, it was his first appearance since the doping case came to light. 

The Polish player committed 41 unforced errors in her 6:4, 7:6(6) victory against the Russian Kamilla Rakimowa and fended off three set points. Sinner got off to a poor start against Mackenzie McDonald, but ultimately had the American under control in a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 victory. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) and Danielle Collins (USA) were among those eliminated.

Sinner had been at the center of tennis discussions in the week and days leading up to the start of this Grand Slam due to two doping tests he had submitted in March and his subsequent acquittal. The world number one was visibly under the impression of the negative headlines at the start of the match, but fought his way into the match against the local hero quite early in the second set and subsequently proved the difference in class to his opponent. "The first set in a tournament like this is never easy, but I tried to be mentally strong," said Sinner.

Tsitsipas and the US Open
The Greek Tsitsipas was up against Thanasi Kokkinakis in a first-round clash, and it took almost four hours before there was a winner. The Australian advanced to the second round of the US Open for the second time with a 7:6(5),4:6,6:3,7:5. Tsitsipas, on the other hand, prolonged his poor statistics at this Grand Slam, having never made it past the third round and now has a negative match record of 6:7 at Flushing Meadows. Like Dominic Thiem the day before, Collins played her last major match, her opponent after a 6:1, 5:7, 4:6 was compatriot Caroline Dolehide.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

(Bild: APA/AFP/Patricia DE MELO MOREIRA)

Jelena Ostapenko's clash with Naomi Osaka was a hit in the women's opening round. And the former world number one from Japan clearly put the Latvian number ten in her place with 6:3, 6:2. Another former number one, Caroline Wozniacki, progressed even further, the Dane only conceding one game to Nao Hibino from Japan. Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was ranked number 19 in the men's draw, was eliminated easily. The 18-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik won 6:2, 6:4, 6:2 against the Canadian.