Ash Barty, Ajla Tomljanovic move into US Open second round, Andy Murray doubles down on Stefanos Tsitsipas criticism

Ash Barty has overcome a second-set scare towards former finalist Vera Zvonareva to securely progress to the second spherical of the US Open in New York.

Barty needed to save a set level within the tiebreaker earlier than seeing off the Russian 6-1 7-6 (9-7) in her championship opener at Flushing Meadows.

The world primary blasted 11 aces, together with her Tour-topping three hundredth of the 12 months, and clubbed 31 clear winners to ship an ominous warning to her challengers.

“I feel within the first set I served exceptionally properly,” Barty stated.

Zvonareva, a former US Open and Wimbledon runner-up, was a tough first-up take a look at for Barty. 

Nonetheless, her greatest outcomes got here greater than a decade in the past, and the injury-ravaged Russian has had spotty performances at grand slams ever since, not advancing previous the second spherical of any main since 2014.

“Vera, surely she’s an skilled campaigner,” stated Barty.

“To get by means of that in straight units was actually pleasing.

“I feel when my again was towards the wall I got here up with some actually great things.

It took a malfunction of the digital line-calling system at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which triggered a brief stoppage early within the second set, to gradual Barty down.

Up a set and a break, the Wimbledon champion dropped serve with a double-fault whereas making an attempt to shut out the match at 5-4 within the second set.

She then needed to stave off a set level with a booming forehand winner within the tie break, earlier than holding her nerve to seal victory after one hour and 28 minutes.

“I feel all in all I felt like as we speak I used to be capable of finding some good tennis when it mattered most,” Barty stated.

“I began properly and ultimately was capable of play some good, aggressive tennis in direction of the tip of the match.” 

Chasing her sixth title of the season, after touchdown her fifth within the Open lead-up occasion in Cincinnati, Barty subsequent performs Danish teenager Clara Tauson on Friday for a spot within the final 32.

Andy Murray blasts Tsitsipas into orbit with Bezos-themed sledge

Andy Murray has launched a recent rocket at his US Open conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas on Tuesday, griping that the Greek participant took longer on toilet breaks than it took billionaire Jeff Bezos to succeed in outer house.

The Briton was livid when Tsitsipas took a break that ran near eight minutes throughout their five-set first-round conflict on Monday, which he felt disrupted his sport and swayed the result.

Murray stated after the match — throughout which Tsitsipas additionally took a medical time-out for a foot damage — that he had “lost respect” for the Greek world number 3.

Murray the 2012 US Open champion was nonetheless seething a day later.

“Truth of the day. It takes Stefanos Tsitsipas twice as lengthy to go the lavatory because it takes Jeff Bezos to fly into house. Fascinating,” the 34-year-old Scot tweeted on Tuesday.

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Tsitsipas, 23, had identified after the match that he had not damaged any guidelines, as there aren’t any cut-off dates on toilet breaks.

“If there’s one thing that he has to inform me, we must always communicate, the 2 of us, to form of perceive what went unsuitable,” he stated.

Tsitsipas’s youthful brother, Petros, responded to Murray’s broadside on Twitter: “By no means anticipated this sort of behaviour, from a supposedly tennis legend!”

Murray had beforehand known as his opponent’s toilet breaks “nonsense”, saying that he had been warned by his staff about such techniques earlier than the match.

In the course of the fifth set, the place Murray was damaged within the first sport, the previous world primary might be heard shouting “it’s dishonest” in direction of his field.

Tsitsipas took the seven-minute-plus break earlier than the decisive fifth set. He’ll tackle world quantity 44 Adrian Mannarino of France within the second spherical on Wednesday.

Tomljanovic costs into second spherical

Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic wasted little time in reserving her place within the second spherical of the 12 months’s closing grand slam.

The 28-year-old Australian — who made her first grand slam quarter-final at Wimbledon — raced previous teenaged American wildcard Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-1 in a dominant efficiency.

Volynets, taking part in in her first principal draw at a slam was no match for the Australian, who was dominant on serve.

Tomljanovic not solely by no means gave up a break level within the victory however she solely misplaced three factors for the match on her first serve.

Her reward is a second spherical encounter with Thirtieth-seeded Croat Petra Martic.

The pair haven’t performed since 2011 however Martic holds a 2-0 head-to-head edge.

ABC/Wires