Poland’s Iga Swiatek crushed Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-0 to reach the second round of the US Open yesterday. Appearing in New York for the first time as the world’s top ranked player, Swiatek looked the part, reeling off the last seven games to set up a meeting with either Belgium’s Greet Minnen or American Sloane Stephens.
Top seed Swiatek is the favourite to win the year’s final Grand Slam after she dominated the French Open in June and went on a 37-match winning streak that was snapped in the third round of Wimbledon. But she had looked less impressive in recent outings, going 4-4 in her last eight matches before putting the field on notice on a hot and humid morning at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“I think I just found my rhythm (and) could make her run a little bit more,” Swiatek said on court. “I know she has great touch, so I wanted to use my angles and I think I did that pretty well.” 
“I like playing these first matches because it’s a pretty good test for me and (I) can really find my rhythm. The last tournaments I’ve started with byes, which is great, but sometimes it’s pretty weird to play an opponent who has already played matches. Right now, we start from an even position and it’s pretty cool because I can really implement what I’ve been working on in practices.”
The top seed collected eight consecutive points, punctuated by some computer game returns lasering towards the Italian’s toes, for an early break lead.
On average this season, Swiatek wins half of her return games. That stat was backed up when the Pole scuttled to adjust her footwork from a net cord to connect with a glorious angled backhand winner to post a double break advantage for 4-1.
Paolini kept launching into her shots and wrestled back the initiative to stay in contention, but each time trouble loomed, Swiatek responded with venom.


Kyrgios beats friend and foe Kokkinakis at the US Open
Australian Nick Kyrgios overcame his despair at seeing dear friend Thanasi Kokkinakis on the other side of the net on Monday, outclassing his compatriot 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) in the first round of the US Open. The doubles partners won together at the Australian Open but landed on opposite sides at the year’s final major, where an in-form Kyrgios kept his sublime year on track, never facing a break at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the battle of the “Special Ks”.
“Probably one of the most uncomfortable matches I’ve played in my career,” Kyrgios, 27, told reporters. “I feel like we both had a game plan. We know our games so well. “From the get-go, I was trying to block out his body and just play the tennis ball. I was really trying not to look at him at all. I felt like that kind of helped me.”
The Wimbledon runner-up 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.
Third seed Alcaraz is through to round two in New York Third seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain yestercay reached the second round of the US Open when his Argentine opponent Sebastian Baez could not continue the match early in the third set. 
Alcaraz, winner of four titles this season, was leading 7-5, 7-5, 2-0 when Baez pulled up with a hamstring injury. Minutes earlier Baez had sought a medical timeout.
Alcaraz now has a 15-4 record on hardcourt this year while Baez has a 2-9 record. Prior to yesterday’s match, Alcaraz won his most recent match against Baez at Next Gen ATP Finals in November 2021.  Alcaraz will play the winner of the match between Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor and Argentinian Federico Coria in the next round.