Comfortable night for favourites

New York, August 31 

Wimbledon champions Andy Murray and Serena Williams powered into the second round of the US Open as the stars came out on Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Williams, launching her latest bid to rewrite the record books, started strong and didn’t let up in 6-3 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova. The world No. 1 appeared untroubled by the balky right shoulder that has hindered her in recent weeks, delivering a dozen aces and 27 winners overall in the 63-minute contest.

Williams said she wouldn’t know until she’d slept on it how her shoulder might respond to the effort.

Murray, vying to become the fourth man in the Open Era to reach all four Major finals in a calendar year, too, produced a dominant service performance in a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory over Lukas Rosol. “I don’t think I had any break points against me, which is very good,” the Scot said.

Venus works hard 

Before the floodlights came up, Serena’s elder sister Venus claimed a Grand Slam record of her own as her 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova marked her 72nd appearance in the main draw of a Major.

Ruthless Radwanska

Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, trying to make it to the quarterfinals in New York for the first time, breezed past US qualifier Jessica Pegula 6-1 6-1 and fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep also eased through with a 6-0 6-2 victory over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

Third seed Stan Wawrinka reached the second round with a 7-6(4) 6-4 6-4 win over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco. Kei Nishikori downed German Benjamin Becker 6-1 6-1 3-6 6-3. Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, advanced with a 6-4 6-4 7-6(3) victory over fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman. — AFP

Results (Round 1)

Women

1-Serena Williams (US) bt Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 6-3 6-3; Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) bt Mariana Duque (Colombia) 6-4 6-1; Julia Goerges (Germany) bt Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) 6-3 6-2; 17-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) bt Louisa Chirico (US) 6-1 6-4; 19-Elena Vesnina (Russia) bt Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3; 11-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) bt Teliana Pereira (Brazil) 6-0 6-0; Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) bt Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 6-3 3-6 6-2; 16-Samantha Stosur (Australia) bt Camila Giorgi (Italy) 7-5 6-7(4) 6-1; 15-Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) bt Vitalia Diatchenko (Russia) 6-1 6-1; Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) bt Daria Gavrilova (Australia) 6-4 6-4; Denisa Allertova (Czech Republic) bt 29-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 7-6(4) 6-1; 5-Simona Halep (Romania) bt Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) 6-0 6-2; Kristina Mladenovic (France) bt Nao Hibino (Japan) 6-4 7-5; 6-Venus Williams (US) bt Kateryna Kozlova (Ukraine) 6-2 5-7 6-4    

Men

2-Andy Murray (Britain) bt Lukas Rosol (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-2 6-2; 16-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) bt Borna Coric (Croatia) 3-4 (Coric retired); Jared Donaldson (US) bt 12-David Goffin (Belgium) 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-0; Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) bt 29-Sam Querrey (US) 7-6(4) 6-7(0) 6-3 6-3; 3-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) bt Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 7-6(4) 6-4 6-4; 11-David Ferrer (Spain) bt Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) 6-5 (Dolgopolov retired); 22-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) bt Inigo Cervantes (Spain) 6-2 6-4 7-6(7); 6-Kei Nishikori (Japan) bt Benjamin Becker (Germany) 6-1 6-1 3-6 6-3; 8-Dominic Thiem (Austria) bt John Millman (Australia) 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-4 6-3; 14-Nick Kyrgios (Australia) bt Aljaz Bedene (Britain) 6-4 6-4 6-4; 30-Gilles Simon (France) bt Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-1 6-4; Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) bt Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) 6-4 6-4 7-6(3); Damir Dzumhur (Bosnia and Herzegovina) bt 17-Bernard Tomic (Australia) 6-4 6-3 4-6 7-6(0)