Reigning champion Jannik Sinner got his US Open defense off to a perfect start on Tuesday afternoon with a comprehensive straight-sets victory over Vit Kopriva at Arthur Ashe Stadium in an efficient performance that saw him drop just four games.
Sinner needed just one hour and 38 minutes to dispose of Kopriva in a ruthless 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 defeat that laid down a marker for the rest of the men’s single draw.
Sinner, who retired due to illness during last week’s Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, showed no signs of any lingering ailment on Tuesday, winning the opening five games of the first set to quickly pull away from his Czech opponent.
Kopriva, who reached the second round of a grand slam for the first time in his career when he defeated Thiago Monteiro at Roland Garros earlier this summer, simply had no answer against the clinical Italian as Sinner quickly took control of the second set with an early break.
The World No. 1 had to work a little harder in the third and final set as Kopriva rallied somewhat, but Sinner still clinched the double-break to clinch victory with ease.
Sinner, who served exquisitely and dominated baseline exchanges with powerful groundstrokes, said he was “very happy” to be back on the US Open courts.
“I’m very happy to come back here and compete against the best players in the world,” Sinner said on court following his straight-sets victory.
The Italian has won each of the last three hard court slams, including last year’s US Open, while he has won three of the last four majors, reaching the final in Melbourne, Paris, and London already this year.
If his first-round performance is anything to go by, there is an excellent chance that he will make it a clean sweep of the 2025 slam finals at Flushing Meadows.
Elsewhere, women’s World No. 2 and 2022 champion Iga Swiatek got her US Open campaign off to an equally efficient start with a straight-sets victory over Emiliana Arango in the opening match at Arthur Ashe.
Swiatek, the defending Wimbledon champion, needed just an hour to ease to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over her Colombian opponent, producing a ruthless first-set performance to take control of the match early on. The World Number 2 was especially ruthless behind her first serve, winning a staggering 88% of first-serve points.
Traditionally a clay-court specialist, Swiatek has now won 15 of her last 16 matches across the grass and hard court season, winning championships at both Wimbledon and Cincinnati. Her first-round performance, like Sinner’s, indicates that she will be in the mix to add to her six grand slam titles next week.
Speaking after Tuesday’s comfortable win, Swiatek said she was happy with her opening performance of the tournament, stating that it allowed her to find her rhythm.
America’s Amanda Anisimova, who suffered a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0 defeat against Swiatek in the recent Wimbledon final, also got her US Open campaign off to a flying start with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory over Australia’s Kimberly Birrell on Tuesday.
Anisimova reached her maiden slam final at Wimbledon last month and will be confident of improving on her career-best US Open performance in 2020, when she reached the third round.
