<p> 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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />Williams advanced to a second-round match against Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens, who eliminated Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.<br /><br />“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.”<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Djokovic needed only one hour and 11 minutes to capture a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Brazil’s Joao Souza. <br /><br />“There’s something I love about number one for sure. Hopefully I can keep it up,” said Djokovic.<br /><br />“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.”<br /><br />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. <br /><br />Nadal suvives scare<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />Eighth seed Nadal, the holder of 14 majors, goes on to face Argentina's Diego Schwartzman for a spot in the last 32.<br /><br />Nadal blamed dehydration on a steamy, humid night in New York for his third set blip.<br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Defending champion Marin Cilic of Croatia won his opener 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3) over Argentine qualifier Guido Pella.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /></p>
<p> 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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />Williams advanced to a second-round match against Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens, who eliminated Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.<br /><br />“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.”<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Djokovic needed only one hour and 11 minutes to capture a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Brazil’s Joao Souza. <br /><br />“There’s something I love about number one for sure. Hopefully I can keep it up,” said Djokovic.<br /><br />“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.”<br /><br />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. <br /><br />Nadal suvives scare<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br />Eighth seed Nadal, the holder of 14 majors, goes on to face Argentina's Diego Schwartzman for a spot in the last 32.<br /><br />Nadal blamed dehydration on a steamy, humid night in New York for his third set blip.<br />"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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Defending champion Marin Cilic of Croatia won his opener 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3) over Argentine qualifier Guido Pella.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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).<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /></p>