Kalinskaya beats Blinkova 6-4 6-3 in US Open first round

Anna Kalinskaya came through an all-Russian opener at the US Open, dismissing compatriot Anna Blinkova 6-4 6-3 in straight sets. The difference was the quality behind the first ball: Kalinskaya landed 60 percent of her first serves and won 78.8 percent of those points, while Blinkova, on a near-identical 59.7 percent, managed only 55.8. The margin was just as clear in the exchanges that followed, Kalinskaya taking 54.5 percent of her second-serve points to Blinkova's 44.8, and she struck five aces to none despite six double faults. It was a clean, efficient passage into the second round.