Top-ranked Serena Williams launched her quest to win the US Open and complete a calendar Grand Slam by overwhelming 86th-ranked Russian Vitalia Diatchenko for her 29th consecutive Slam match triumph.
The three-time defending champion won 6-0 2-0 after only 30 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium when Diatchenko retired with a left foot injury, advancing Williams into the second round at Flushing Meadows.
The 33-year-old American chases the first calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988 and a 22nd career major title to match Graf’s Open Era record, two shy of Australian Margaret Court’s all-time mark.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic cruised into the men’s second round but Japanese fourth seed Kei Nishikori crashed out after his runner-up effort last year.
Williams advanced to a second-round match against Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens, who eliminated Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“If I can just stay relaxed and stay in the points and stay calm and stay happy out there, I have to look at it as I have nothing to lose.”
Williams lost plenty of potential obstacles in her march to history on day one as top-10 women’s seeds Ana Ivanovic, Karolina Pliskova and Carla Suarez Navarro exited with opening-match losses.
That left 12th seed Belinda Bencic — who ousted Bulgarian Sesil Karatancheva 6-1, 6-2 — as the top-rated foe in Williams’ half of the draw. Williams, who lost to Bencic in the Toronto semifinals, could see the Swiss teen again in a quarter-final.
Djokovic needed only one hour and 11 minutes to capture a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Brazil’s Joao Souza.
“There’s something I love about number one for sure. Hopefully I can keep it up,” said Djokovic.
“I’m just hoping I can continue to play this way and if I can, I feel I have a really good chance against anybody.”
Djokovic's highest-ranked possible semi-final foe had been Nishikori, but the Asian number one exited the US Open at the first match for the third time in five years as France's 41st-ranked Benoit Paire saved two match points to win 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.
Nadal suvives scare
Two-time champion Rafael Nadal survived a scare at the hands of Croatian teenager Borna Coric to reach the US Open second round on Monday.
Nadal, who won his second New York title on his last appearance in 2013 before injury forced him to sit out 2014, prevailed 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 against his 18-year-old opponent.
Eighth seed Nadal, the holder of 14 majors, goes on to face Argentina's Diego Schwartzman for a spot in the last 32.
Nadal blamed dehydration on a steamy, humid night in New York for his third set blip.
"I was sweating a lot. I had a little bit of a stomach problem so I didn't feel perfect, physically perfect then," said the Spaniard.
Coric, the youngest player in the top 50, had won the junior title in New York in 2013 when Nadal was taking the senior event.
On Monday, the world number 33 showed flashes of the talent which helped him to a shock win over the former world number one in Basel last October.
But Nadal, playing at his lowest seeding since 2004, steadied the ship with a crucial break in the seventh game of the fourth set to lay the foundation for victory.
Defending champion Marin Cilic of Croatia won his opener 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3) over Argentine qualifier Guido Pella.
Slovakia’s 50th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova ousted seventh-seeded Ivanovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, delivering the Serb star’s earliest US Open exit since 2009.
After the injury-forced withdrawal of Russian third seed Maria Sharapova, Ivanovic had been Williams’ top-ranked rival. That status fell to Czech eighth seed Pliskova, who promptly lost to American Anna Tatishvili 6-2, 6-1, and then to 10th seed Suarez Navarro, who fell to Czech Denisa Allertova 6-1, 7-6 (7/5).
One Williams rival who advanced was her older sister Venus, a seven-time Grand Slam champion. The US 23rd seed outlasted Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3.
Men: Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt Borna Coric (Cro) 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt Joao Souza (Bra) 6-1, 6-1, 6-1; Evgeny Donskoy (Rus) bt Lucas Pouille (Fra) 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4; Tommy Robredo (Esp) bt Michael Berrer (Ger) 6-2, 6-2, 6-4; Martin Klizan (Svk) bt Florian Mayer (Ger) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3, 3-0 Rtd.; Jeremy Chardy (Fra) bt Ryan Shane (US) 6-2, 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-2; Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukr) bt John Millman (Aus) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4; Marin Cilic (Cro) bt Guido Pella (Arg) 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-6(3); Milos Raonic (Can) bt Tim Smyczek (US) 6-4, 7-6(8), 6-1; Teymuraz Gabashvili (Rus) bt Pablo Andujar (Esp) 7-6(6), 0-6, 4-6, 6-4, 0-0Rtd.; Fernando Verdasco (Esp) bt Tommy Haas (Ger) 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1; Ricardas Berankis (Ltu) bt Joao Sousa (Por) 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6(4); Marcel Granollers (Esp) bt Lukas Lacko (Svk) 6-2, 6-3, 6-1; Benoit Paire (Fra) bt Kei Nishikori (Jap) 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4; Andreas Seppi (Ita) bt Tommy Paul (US) 6-4, 6-0, 7-5; Feliciano Lopez (Esp) bt Nikoloz Basilashvili (Geo) 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-3; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) bt Jarkko Nieminen (Fin) 6-3, 6-1, 6-1; Mardy Fish (US) bt Marco Cecchinato (Ita) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; Marsel Ilhan (Tur) bt Radek Stepanek (Czh) 6-0, 2-6, 6-4, 3-2 Rtd; Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) bt Matthew Ebden (Aus) 6-4, 6-2, 6-4; David Goffin (Bel) bt Simone Bolelli (Ita) 6-4, 6-1, 6-2; Mikhail Kukushkin (Kaz) bt Lu Yen-Hsun (Tai) 6-3, 6-3, 3-0 Rtd; Fabio Fognini (Ita) bt Steve Johnson (US) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2); Samuel Groth (Aus) bt Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukr) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 Rtd; Andreas Haider-Maurer (Aus) bt Vasek Pospisil (Can) 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(0), 6-0, 6-1; Illya Marchenko (Ukr) bt Gael Monfils (Fra) 2-6, 6-4, 5-0 Rtd; Pablo Cuevas (Uru) bt Dudi Sela (Isr) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1; Pablo Carreno (Esp) bt Jerzy Janowicz (Pol) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Diego Schwartzman (Arg) bt Elias Ymer (Swe) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; Roberto Bautista (Esp) bt Pierre-Hugues Herbert (Fra) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(7); Filip Krajinovic (Srb) bt Alejandro Gonzalez (Col) 6-4, 6-0, 6-4; David Ferrer (Esp) bt Radu Albot (Mad) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-0.
Women: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) bt Kateryna Kozlova (Ukr) 6-4, 6-3; Polona Hercog (Slo) bt Zarina Diyas (Kaz) 6-2, 7-5; Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rusa) bt Magdalena Rybarikova (Slo) 6-4, 7-5; Magda Linette (Pol) bt Urszula Radwanska (Pol) 7-6(3), 6-1; Venus Williams (US) bt Monica Puig (Pur) 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3; Denisa Allertova (Czh) bt Carla Suarez Navarro (Esp) 6-1, 7-6(5); Irina Falconi (US) bt Samantha Crawford (US) 6-4, 6-2; Elina Svitolina (Ukr) bt Elizaveta Kulichkova (Rus) 6-1, 6-4; Oceane Dodin (Fra) bt Jelena Jankovic (Srb) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3; Anna Tatishvili (US) bt Karolina Pliskova (Czeh) 6-2, 6-1; Madison Brengle (US) bt Zheng Saisai (Chn) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5; Kristina Mladenovic (Fra) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 6-3, 7-5; Kaia Kanepi (Est) bt Anna-Lena Friedsam (Ger) 6-1, 6-1; Lauren Davis (US) bt Heather Watson (Gbr) 7-6(3), 7-6(0); Dominika Cibulkova (Slo) bt Ana Ivanovic (Srb) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Jessica Pegula (US) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (Bel) 7-5, 6-3; Ekaterina Makarova (Rus) bt Teliana Pereira (Bra) 6-3, 6-3; Bojana Jovanovski (Srb) bt Lara Arruabarrena Vecino (Esp) 6-2, 6-2; Anett Kontaveit (Est) bt Casey Dellacqua (Aus) 7-5, 6-2; Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) bt Katerina Siniakova (Czh) 6-2, 6-3; Mariana Duque (Col) bt Sofia Kenin (US) 6-3, 6-1; Tereza Smitkova (Czh) bt Andreea Mitu (Rom) 7-6(4), 6-2; Darya Kasatkina (Rus) bt Daria Gavrilova (Aus) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5; Madison Keys (US) bt Klara Koukalova (Czh) 6-2, 6-4; Kiki Bertens (Hol) bt Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Cro) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; Misaki Doi (Jap) bt Daniela Hantuchova (Slo) 6-3, 6-3; Belinda Bencic (Sui) bt Sesil Karatantcheva (Bul) 6-1, 6-2; Ana Konjuh (Cro) bt Tatjana Maria (Ger) 6-4, 6-4; Roberta Vinci (Ita) bt Vania King (US) 6-4, 6-4; Eugenie Bouchard (Can) bt Alison Riske (US) 6-4, 6-3; CoCo Vandeweghe (US) bt Sloane Stephens (US) 6-4, 6-3.
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