Day two of the U.S. Open proved to be as rocky and surprising as day one was. 

Which seeds crashed out and which seeds survived the first hurdle?

Rough Day For Americans

It was a rough day at Flushing Meadows for the host nation’s players as only 6 of 17 Americans survived the first round today.

On the men’s side, rising star Stefan Kozlov and 2014 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Tennis champion Marcos Giron were amongst the list of American men who were sent packing earlier than they were expecting. However, there were some things for the Americans to cheer about as reigning Wimbledon Boys’ Singles champion Reilly Opelka and former NCAA champion Daniel Nguyen survived their first test in the Big Apple. Opelka defeated Christian Lindell 7-6(2), 6-2. Nguyen defeated Canadian Philip Bester 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-4.

On the women’s side, wildcard Jennifer Elie, Maria Sanchez and Katerina Stewart were amongst a group of American women who lost to more experienced players. Despite that, there were some success stories to give the Americans hope. Georgian-born American Anna Tatishvili and Taylor Townsend were notable winners on a humid day in New York City. Tatishvili and Townsend defeated Gabriela Dabrowski and Pauline Parmentier respectively, both in straight sets.

Good Day for Seeded Players

Wednesday proved to be a good day for seeded players as only five seeds were sent packing.

On the men’s side, Kyle EdmundJurgen Melzer, Nicolas Almagro, number two seed Alexander Zverev and Pan American gold medallist Facundo Bagnis were among 14 men who survived the first hurdle. The highest seeded men to be upset was 10th seed Go Soeda who lost to talented youngster Andrey Rublev, 6-2, 6-3.

On the women’s side, number three seed Johanna KontaDuan Ying-Ying, Elizaveta Kulichkova, Kateryna BondarenkoNao Hibino and An-Sophie Mestach were amongst 13 women who fought through their tough first round encounters.

However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the women as 28th seed Shahar Peer, 17th seed Richel Hogenkamp and 31st seed Riza Ozaki all crashed out. Peer lost to Tamira Paszek 6-2, 6-3; Paszek is on the comeback trail after nursing a left adductor injury for most of the last 12 months. Hogenkamp lost to Pan American silver medallist Marcela Zacarias 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 and Ozaki lost to Chan Yung-Jan 6-3, 7-5.

With the first round of qualifying already done, more surprises are sure to surface in the next few days before the beginning of main draw play at the U.S. Open.

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About the author
Max Gao
Max Gao is a sports writer specializing in tennis and the Toronto Blue Jays, who has also written on the Rogers Cup website as a guest contributor in the past.