Stan Wawrinka got his 2014 U.S Open campaign off to a good start with a tough three-set win over Jiri Vesely. The pair duked it out on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Wawrinka securing a break in the second game of the match. He never relinquished the momentum, holding serve all the way, and then breaking his Czech opponent once more to take the opening set 6-2.
Wawrinka kept pressuring Vesely, going up 0-40 on the lefty’s opening service game of the second set. Vesely held firm however, saved those three break points and another, to hold for 1-1. Once again he was forced to dig himself out of a hole when serving at 3-4, saving a further three break points to deny the third seed. The hard work paid off for the young Czech, as he broke Wawrinka to love the very next game, giving him an opportunity to serve for the set. The lead was shortlived, with the world number four immediately breaking Vesely back, squaring it up at 5-5. The drama continued, with Wawrinka holding from 15-40 down, and a tiebreak ensued. Both players held minibreak leads at some point, and it was Vesely who garnered the first set point, with Wawrinka serving at 5-6 down. The Swiss man won the last three points of the set, denying Vesely and taking a two sets to love lead.
The early advantage in the third set went the way of Wawrinka, who broke for a 2-1 lead, but like Vesely in the second set, he couldn’t hold onto it, handing it back to his opponent the very next game. Both combatants served well from that point on, with seven of the next eight games lasting five points or less, and a second straight tiebreak was the outcome. The experience of Wawrinka was too much, as he raced to a 6-1 lead, closing out the tiebreak, and the match, to win 6-2 7-6(6) 7-6(3). A good fight from Vesely, who ultimately couldn’t take advantage of his chances in the second set. Wawrinka will be pleased with a straight sets victory, and now faces Thomaz Bellucci in the second round.
Night session ticket holders were treated to a hard-hitting matchup between Maria Kirilenko and Maria Sharapova. Despite a lack of match play coming in, Kirilenko showed no apprehension against her compatriot, with some beautiful strokes from both players and some terrific rallies. Sharapova drew first blood with a break for *2-1, but was broken straight back as Kirilenko went on a three-game run to jump ahead 4-2. It was apparent that Sharapova had a game on her hands, and she, like the champion she is, responded superbly. The fifth seed reeled off four consecutive games to win the set 6-4, and her opponent subsequently took a bathroom break to try and regroup.
It was all Maria Sharapova in the second set however, who made it 10 straight games, handing her fellow Russian a bagel, for a 6-4 6-0 victory. Kirilenko did call a medical timeout midway through the set to have her ankles attended to, but Sharapova showed no mercy in closing it out, with a Kirilenko double fault the final point of the 1 hour, 32 minute match.
Novak Djokovic didn’t intend to spend much time on court for his first round match against Diego Schwartzman. On a humid night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world no. 1 started off in a blistering fashion, breaking for 2-0 and then again to make it 4-0. Schwartzman finally got himself on the board, much to the joy of the fans who had stuck around late into the night, breaking Djokovic to trail 4-1. His run was short-lived, with Djokovic breaking straight back and taking the set 6-1 in 26 minutes.
The second set brought much of the same, with Djokovic’s groundstrokes too much for the Argentine, breaking Schwartzman in the opening game and again in the fifth game, as he wrapped up the set 6-2. The third set looked a formality when the top seed went ahead 3-1, but he seem to get distracted, and a noisy crowd encouraged the underdog to make a stand. He saluted, breaking Djokovic and levelling it up at 3-3. He couldn’t keep up his momentum however, being broken straight back. This time the Serb didn’t relinquish his lead, closing out the match 6-1 6-2 6-4 in 1 hour and 38 minutes. A mostly straightforward match for the world no. 1, who will be pleased he spent such a short time out on court.