New York: Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza notched up her first ever victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium with a 6-0, 6-3 win over American Varvara Lepchenko at the US Open on Monday.
Despite winning two Grand Slam titles, Muguruza has never felt at home at Flushing Meadows as she has never advanced past the third round here. “I have been here so many times and I've never done very well,” said the Spaniard.
“I give everything I have on the court. She started a little nervous and I started well. Then it got more equal and became a good fight.” Lepchenko struggled with her accuracy on the partly-cloudy morning, committing 22 unforced errors to Muguruza’s 11.
The 23-year-old Muguruza was aggressive throughout, frequently coming to the net and using her powerful ground strokes to push Lepchenko into awkward court positions.
Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova scraped into the second round by beating former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 7-5, 7-5 on Monday.
The Czech 13th seed, in search of top form after a mediocre build-up to the year’s final Grand Slam, struggled to adapt to Jankovic’s counter-punching style but eventually wore down the 2008 runner-up to set up a meeting with France’s Alize Cornet.
Kvitova, who returned to competition after being stabbed in the hand by an intruder at her home, won a first set that featured three breaks of serve as both players struggled to find their range at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
She rallied back from 0-2 down in the second set but dropped serve again in the seventh game. However, Kvitova regained her composure to win four consecutive games and secured the win on her first match point with a sizzling forehand winner down the line. Alize Cornet of France defeated Britain’s Heather Watson 6-4, 6-4.
In the first upset of the day, Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan got the better of 21st seed Spaniard David Ferrer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
Meanwhile, injuries have taken a toll in the top echelons of tennis. Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka have reputations for being supreme athletes but a gruelling tennis season that offers little time to recover has left them among a number of big-name players who will be missing from the US Open with injuries.
Despite medical advances and a greater understanding by the players on how their bodies work, there is little down time for anyone who wants to be a regular competitor during the ATP and WTA seasons, which last approximately 11 and 10 months, respectively.
“Most of the injuries in tennis are what are classified as overuse,” Todd Ellenbecker, the ATP’s vice president of medical services, said in an email interview.
“Not one particular force or trauma but a continued, repeated overload of smaller forces that lead to a breakdown in the player’s body.” Five top 11 men’s players are among those who have said they will miss the year’s final Grand Slam — former world No. 1 Djokovic (elbow), Andy Murray (hip), 2016 champion Wawrinka (knee), Canada’s Milos Raonic (wrist) and Japan’s Kei Nishikori (wrist).
The women’s draw has not been robbed of the same level of star power with the most high-profile withdrawal due to injury being 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur (hand).
With a non-stop stream of tournaments on hard courts, grass and clay, coupled with racket technology that allows players to hit the ball harder than ever before, the physical toll on bodies can mount up.
“Tennis is indeed unique in that it is one of the only high level sports played on multiple surfaces at the elite level,” said Ellenbecker.
“We know that different ball speeds, and trajectories/court surface interfaces do affect the player's body ... however definitive injury risk research is scant.” (REUTERS)
