Staff Reporter.
(AFP) – Belarus’s Victoria Azarenka and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine are set for a politically-charged US Open grudge match afer advancing to a second round showdown on Tuesday.
Former world No 1 Azarenka defeated Ashlyn Krueger of the United States in three sets while Kostyuk advanced to the second round with a straight sets win over Egypt’s Mayar Sherif.
The results mean Azarenka and Kostyuk will face off against each other on Thursday against the backdrop of simmering recent player tensions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Only last week, Azarenka was axed from an exhibition event on the eve of the US Open aimed at raising money for Ukraine.
Azarenka was due to have joined a star-studded field for the event, which was timed to coincide with Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations.
Kostyuk was one of a number of Ukraine players who spoke out about Azarenka’s participation. Organisers subsequently jettisoned Azarenka from the event.
Belarus is a close ally of Russia and has allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch attacks into Ukraine.
Kostyuk said she turned down the chance to play in last week’s event in protest at the presence of Azarenka.
“When we found out that there would be representatives of Russia or Belarus at this event, I immediately said that I will not participate in this,” the 20-year-old said.
Despite having been banned from Wimbledon after the invasion of Ukraine, players from Russia and Belarus have been allowed to take part in the US Open.
However, they are barred from competing under the name or flag of their countries.
DEFENDING CHAMPION RADUCANU CRASHES OUT IN US OPEN FIRST ROUND
Defending champion Emma Raducanu of Britain was sent crashing out of the US Open in the first round on Tuesday, losing in straight sets to France’s Alize Cornet.
Eleventh seed Raducanu became only the third women’s defending champion in history to lose in the first round as Cornet crafted a scintillating performance to seal a deserved 6-3, 6-3 victory on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 32-year-old Frenchwoman, ranked 40th in the world, drew on all her experience to outfox the 19-year-old Raducanu, boldly pulling off a string of exquisite drop shots at key moments to set up the victory.
Cornet, who also produced an upset at Wimbledon last month with a straight sets defeat of world No 1 Iga Swiatek, attributed her recent improvements to maturity.
“I think I’m just handling my emotions better, that’s it,” Cornet said.
“I guess I’m getting old and getting more mature and now when I have to serve for the match I stay in the match and stay in the present moment and really think about what I have to do.
“I think managing my emotions is just much better and I’m really happy because it shows in my results. It’s good because I’m 32. Better late than never.”
Raducanu had been the darling of the Flushing Meadows crowd last year, when she made history by emerging from qualifying to claim a fairytale maiden Grand Slam.
That win marked the first time ever a qualifier had lifted a Grand Slam title.
‘TARGET ON MY BACK’
But she has since struggled to recapture the form that swept her to an improbable championship crown last year. In three previous Grand Slams this year she had gone no further than the second round.
Her exit on Tuesday sees her join Angelique Kerber in 2017 and Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2005 as the only defending US Open champions who have fallen at the first hurdle.
“Obviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here,” Raducanu said afterwards. “It’s probably my favourite tournament.”
Raducanu, who will nosedive down the rankings after Tuesday’s loss, said she hoped to take some time to regroup.
“In a way I’m happy because it’s a clean slate. I’m going to drop down the rankings, climb my way back up,” she said.
“The target will be off my back slightly. Yeah, I just have another chance to claw my way back up there.”
A finely balanced contest was settled by Cornet’s ability to show greater composure when it mattered as Raducanu froze.
Cornet had broken Raducanu to lead 4-2 in the first set, only for the Briton to claw her way back in the next game with a break that made it 4-3.
But Raducanu squandered a 40-15 lead on her next service game before double-faulting to gift Cornet a break which left the Frenchwoman 5-3 up and serving for the set. Cornet duly held serve to seize the advantage.
Raducanu, who has been bothered by finger blisters this season, took a medical time out in between the first and second sets to treat the problem once more.
It looked to have paid off as she raced into a 3-1 lead in the second set.
But once again she was unable to make her advantage count, and it was Cornet, with one of several sublime drop shots scattered throughout her victory, who broke back.
Cornet held to love for 3-3 and then broke Raducanu twice more to seal a win which sets up a second round meeting with the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
OSAKA BUNDLED OUT OF US OPEN FIRST ROUND
Naomi Osaka’s hopes of a third US Open title were dashed in the first round Tuesday as the Japanese star slumped to a straight sets loss against Danielle Collins.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, a winner at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and 2020, was beaten 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 by 19th-seeded American Collins in a battle of two big hitters.
Collins, finalist at this year’s Australian Open, now advances to a second round clash with Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
The 28-year-old right-hander from Florida will head into that assignment brimming with confidence after showing great composure to put away Osaka on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
No one was more surprised at the victory than Collins, who had skipped tournaments in Silicon Valley and Toronto to allow herself time to recuperate from a neck injury.
“I’m just really still kind of speechless in a way because I took the summer off,” Collins said. “To kind of come out here, play a tough opponent first round, someone that’s won two Grand Slams here, it’s not easy.
“Just really over the moon about being able to get through this first round because I don’t think most players want to face Naomi in the first round.”
Former world No 1 Osaka, whose ranking has fallen to 44 after an inconsistent year, made a smooth start with an early break to take a 3-0 lead.
But Collins battled back into the match and took the first set after winning a hard-fought tie-break.
With both players producing some booming groundstrokes, the second set was a question of who would blink first.
Collins put herself on the threshold of victory after breaking Osaka for a 5-3 lead in the eighth game.
Osaka, 24, came within touching distance of securing the break of serve needed to keep the match alive after taking a 15-40 lead in the ninth game.
But Collins rallied back to deuce and then seized victory on her first match point when Osaka hit a return long.
Osaka later said she had been bothered by a niggling back problem.
“I tried as hard as I could. I wanted to play without my back being in pain. I only really started serving two days ago,” she said.