NEW YORK: Iga Swiatek is trying to do something no woman has done since Serena Williams in 2012: win the US Open and Wimbledon in the same season.
Jannik Sinner is trying to do something no man has done since Roger Federer in 2008: repeat as US Open champion.
By the looks of things on Tuesday in Arthur Ashe Stadium as the now-three-day first round wrapped up, the two players who triumphed at the All England Club last month — and who both served short doping-related bans last year — look ready to contend again in New York. And how.
The second-seeded Swiatek was up first in the US Open’s main arena and needed merely an hour to dismiss Emiliana Arango of Colombia 6-1, 6-2. No. 1 Sinner then took only 39 minutes more to finish off his 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Vit Kopriva of the Czech Republic.
“Obviously, every year is different,” said Sinner, sporting the white arm sleeve he began wearing after hurting his elbow in a fall during Wimbledon. “You come here starting this tournament, hopefully, the best possible way — which I did.”
He certainly showed no signs of the virus that forced him to quit in the first set of the Cincinnati Open final against his biggest rival, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, last week.
Either Sinner or Alcaraz, who have combined to win the past seven major titles, can own the top ATP ranking after these 15 days. Similarly, Swiatek, Coco Gauff or No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion, can leave New York atop the WTA.
On Tuesday, Sinner saved both break points he faced and won 33 of 40 first-serve points.
Swiatek was even more dominant, not only never facing a break point but never even being taken to deuce in any of her eight service games, while accumulating a 26-5 edge in winners.
There was a time when some folks, perhaps swayed by Swiatek’s dominance on the French Open’s red clay, thought she couldn’t succeed on the speedier surfaces of hard and grass courts. That certainly was not the case, as her championships at Wimbledon in July and at the US Open in 2022 make obvious.
Ten women have split the past 11 trophies in New York; only Naomi Osaka, in 2018 and 2020, won more than one in that span. And Williams, with three in a row from 2012 to 2014, was the last woman to leave as the champion in consecutive years.
As for the men, no one has collected two in a row at the US Open since Federer’s five straight titles from 2004 to 2008, before he lost in the 2009 final to Juan Martin del Potro.
Sinner was asked why that might be.
“We are heading toward end of the season, so some players, they are tired. Some players, they are feeling different. Many things can change. It’s also the last big trophy of the year. ... I always say that the future is unpredictable,” he said. “So I don’t know what’s going to happen this time.”
What else happened at the US Open on Tuesday?
Seeded winners included No. 8 Amanda Anisimova, the Wimbledon runner-up to Swiatek; No. 18 Beatriz Haddad Maia and No. 27 Marta Kostyuk among the women, and No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 19 Francisco Cerundolo, No. 23 Alexander Bublik — who eliminated 2014 champion Marin Cilic — and No. 27 Denis Shapovalov among the men. No. 3 Gauff, who won the 2023 US Open, was due on court at night to play Ajla Tomljanovic, followed by No. 3 Alexander Zverev against Alejandro Tabilo.
Who is scheduled to play Wednesday at Flushing Meadows?
Sabalenka, Alcaraz, 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic and 2024 US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula are on the Day 4 schedule as the second round begins.
