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World number three Jessica Pegula conquered US Open first-round nerves to dispatch Elena-Gabriela Ruse on Sunday, kicking off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium as Novak Djokovic waited in the wings.Pegula broke Romania's Ruse twice in each set on the way to a 6-3, 6-2 triumph, but it was less straightforward than the score indicated as the 32-year-old veteran felt the weight of playing first on the cavernous show court."Oh yeah, I was so nervous today, always the first round of a slam," said Pegula, the 32-year-old who is the highest ranked American in either the men's or women's draw in the final Grand Slam of the year. "It's an amazing honor," she said of being given the first match on Ashe. "It's an honor to hold that title, walking out onto Ashe opening day, first match, it's amazing." Pegula is chasing her first Grand Slam title. She came closest with a runner-up finish to Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 US Open, and she fell to the Belarusian in the semi-finals last year. Pegula saved the only break point she faced, but her nerves showed as she converted just two of her 14 break point chances in the opening set.That was enough, and she was an efficient two-for-four on break opportunities in the second. She gave herself triple match point with a crisp forehand winner to the corner and after Ruse saved two with booming serves secured the win when the Romanian put a forehand into the net.With the first round now spread over three days, Pegula was looking forward to a couple of days off with a confidence-boosting win under her belt. "I get to sit around the site and watch everybody else freak out for the next two days," she said.Four-time US Open champion Djokovic headlined the night session, launching his latest quest for a record-busting 25th Grand Slam title against Argentina's Mariano Navone. Djokovic seized his 24th major trophy at the US Open in 2023 to equal Australian Margaret Court's all-time record. Since then he has played 11 majors and reached the final in two - including this year's Australian Open.The 39-year-old, seeded fourth in a draw headed by world number two Alexander Zverev and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, says he's prepared "as best I can be" for his 20th US Open campaign.Venus Williams headlines an all-American wild card clash to close out the action on Ashe, taking on 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.Williams won two of her seven Grand Slam titles at the US Open, but the 46-year-old has lost her last 14 singles matches. Much of the crowd will be backing her to halt the skid, with the winner of the match booking a meeting with Pegula. Medvedev moves on Former champion Daniil Medvedev, seeded seventh, opened his campaign with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory over France's Hugo Gaston. The tournament lost another former champion in 2014 winner Marin Cilic, who pulled out because of injury.So did 19th-seeded 2022 finalist Casper Ruud, who played the mixed doubles tournament last week but said Sunday he had not sufficiently recovered from a back injury to tackle singles. Uzbekistan's 88th-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova knocked out two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, polishing off the win on her seventh match point - all in the final game. Three-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini, playing her first match since a foot injury forced her out of Wimbledon, beat Slovenian Veronika Erjavec 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko rallied from a set down to beat Mexico's Renata Zarazua 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/7) in a tussle lasting three hours and 27 minutes. The 22-year-old Iatcenko overcame 85 unforced errors and a right leg issue that required multiple medical time outs to pull off the comeback. 

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the US Open semi-finals Tuesday, demolishing Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.Alcaraz has yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he fired off 28 winners and never faced a break point.Lehecka is one of the few players to beat Alcaraz this season, winning in the Doha quarter-finals, but was outclassed this time around and could only watch helplessly as the Spaniard’s forehand winner zipped by on match point.Alcaraz will play the winner of the match later between 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic and American fourth seed Taylor Fritz.Pegula cruises past Krejcikova into US Open semisAmerican Jessica Pegula reached her second straight US Open semi-final with a clinical 6-3 6-3 win over twice Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova Tuesday.Fourth-ranked Pegula had a dreadful run-up to the year’s final major but has flipped the script in New York, where she has yet to drop a set and fired off 17 winners to beat the unseeded Czech.Krejcikova recovered from injuries earlier this year and saved eight match points in a fourth-round thriller to reach the final eight but ran out of gas against the 2024 runner-up.Pegula will face the winner of the match between the defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova.“I feel like I’m just really comfortable,” said Pegula. “It’s pretty crazy... 10 years ago I never thought I’d be good at this (and reach the final stages of a Slam) but I guess I am.”Krejcikova missed an overhead shot in the second game and was seen repeatedly rubbing her eyes as she struggled to deal with fatigue following two bruising back-to-back three-set matches, surrendering her serve with a double fault.She broke back when Pegula sent a backhand into the net in the seventh game but Krejcikova immediately handed the advantage back to the American by dropping her serve again.Pegula broke the Czech to love with a backhand winner down the line in the opening game of the second set.Playing in her first US Open quarter-final in four years, Krejcikova appeared to be heading for a swift defeat as she fell behind 4-1 with Pegula having secured the double break after the errors kept flying off her Czech rival’s racket.Although Krejcikova showed some signs of life as she regained one of the breaks in the sixth game, the effort only delayed the inevitable.Two double faults in the final game capped a miserable day for Krejcikova, while a beaming Pegula soaked in the roaring cheers from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after wrapping up the lopsided win.Ruthless Sinner routs Bublik under the lightsDefending champion Jannik Sinner said he enjoyed the vibe of playing under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights after he continued his hardcourt Grand Slam run by hammering 23rd seed Alexander Bublik on Monday to make the US Open quarter-finals.The Italian came into the match on Labour Day seeking his 25th straight major match win on his preferred surface and never looked in danger against a tricky rival, bolting out of the blocks to win 6-1 6-1 6-1 on his night session debut this year.“It’s always special to go on Ashe to play,” Sinner said.“Night matches, they’re a bit different because there’s a bit more attention, I feel. It’s a different vibe, also around the court. It’s very loud. It’s also different to play.“It was the first time for me this year. It was nice. You have the good and the bad if you play in the evening. It’s very special and you feel very privileged to step onto court in the night on the biggest court we have.”A mere 81 minutes after the clash began, Sinner was back in the locker room after gaining revenge for a shock defeat by Bublik in the Halle final, his only loss to a player not named Carlos Alcaraz this year.“We know each other well. We’ve had some tough battles this year so we know each other a bit better,” top seed Sinner said. “He had a tough match last time (against Tommy Paul), finishing late. He didn’t serve as well as he does. I broke him in every set and it gave me the confidence to play well.”A double break helped Sinner build a 4-0 lead before Bublik could even get on the board, and the dominant 24-year-old chased down a drop shot to fire home a deep backhand winner that wrapped up the opening set with another break.Bublik’s attempts to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm with more drop shots proved futile but it was his service errors that left him trailing by two sets, before Sinner wheeled away to his eighth straight major quarter-final.Up next is a meeting with compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and Sinner said it would be a great occasion for Italian tennis.“It’s great to see. Italian tennis is in great form. We have so many players and different game styles,” he said. “Lorenzo is one of the biggest talents we have in our sport. I’m looking forward to this one. From an Italian point of view, it’s great to have for sure one Italian player in the semis. “I know that there are a lot of Italian players in the crowd. It makes everything special.”