Rakhimova Ends Krejcikova's Run in New York as Pegula, Paolini and Vekic Advance

The most significant scoreline of the day at the US Open belonged to Kamilla Rakhimova, who beat Barbora Krejcikova 7-6, 6-2 in the first round. The pattern was familiar and brutal: a tight opening set decided in a tie-break, and then a second in which the loser of that breaker never recovered her footing. Krejcikova, a Grand Slam champion whose season has been shaped by fitness questions, was unable to reset after the first-set swing, and Rakhimova closed out inside two sets without ever appearing to be dragged out of her rhythm.

Elsewhere in the women's draw the seeds held. Jessica Pegula produced the cleanest performance of the day, dismissing Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-2 in a match that rarely deviated from her terms — depth off both wings, minimal unforced generosity, and an early break in each set to set the tone. For an American with a heavy autumn schedule ahead, this was exactly the kind of low-mileage opener a top seed hopes for.

Jasmine Paolini and Donna Vekic had to work considerably harder. Paolini let a first-set advantage slip against Veronika Erjavec, dropping the second 6-3 before regrouping to take the decider 6-4. Vekic followed almost the same script against Talia Gibson, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Neither will be entirely satisfied with the middle-set lapses, but both showed the quality that matters most in the first week: the ability to raise the level when the match tilts.

The men's first round produced no dramatic falls among those listed, but Daniel Merida's 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Marton Fucsovics was an impressively controlled straight-sets job against an experienced opponent. Wu Yibing came through a testing opener against Adam Walton 7-6, 6-2, 7-5, the first-set tie-break proving decisive in a match where the Australian never quite got the break he needed. Kamil Majchrzak was the most emphatic of the three, seeing off Hamad Medjedovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 without dropping serve at a critical moment.

On the clay, the Challenger circuit completed a full slate of qualifying semifinals. At Porto 2, Roberto Carballes Baena was the most notable name in action and looked it, beating William Rejchtman Vinciguerra 6-0, 6-3. Tiago Cacao (6-2, 6-1 over Duarte R.) and Eduardo Ribeiro (6-2, 6-2 against Nicolas Barrientos) gave the Portuguese hosts two comfortable wins, while Matyas Fuele, Jelle Sels and Pedro Vives Marcos all recovered from losing the opening set to advance in three.

Plovdiv 3 offered the day's marathon: Peter Fajta edged Anthony Genov 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, three tie-breaks and not a single break of serve separating them on the scoreboard. Mykyta Mashtakov also needed three sets against Valentin Basel, while Franco Ribero and Ergi Kirkin advanced in straight sets. At Como, Andrey Chepelev, Benjamin Hassan and Fausto Tabacco booked their places in the final qualifying round.