Flushing Meadows, NY – Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, sixth-seeded German Angelique Kerber and two-time champion Venus Williams were easy opening-round winners Tuesday at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Radwanska routed Russian Nina Bratchikova 6-1, 6-1 in a mere 54 minutes at Ashe Stadium. The crafty Polish star converted on six-of-seven break-point chances in advancing against Bratchikova, who was making her U.S. Open debut.
Radwanska reached her first-ever Grand Slam final last month at Wimbledon, where she succumbed to American great Serena Williams. She will meet Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the round of 64, where Radwanska bowed out the last three years in Flushing.
The left-handed Kerber won her sixth match in seven tries in New York with a 6-2, 6-0 pasting of Britain's Anne Keothavong. Kerber was a surprise semifinalist here a year ago and leads the WTA in match wins this year (54-16).
Kerber will face Venus in the second round on Thursday. The German is 2-1 lifetime against the American veteran, including a win at the recently- concluded London Olympic Games.
The unseeded former world No. 1 Venus blew away fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-1 at Ashe Stadium. Venus struck serves as big as 124 miles per hour on Tuesday.
Venus captured back-to-back U.S. titles in 2000 and 2001 and was the Big Apple runner-up in 1997 and 2002.
Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 handling of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. The 12th-seeded Serb is a former French Open champ and two-time Grand Slam runner-up.
Twentieth-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci vaulted past Radwanska's younger sister Urszula, 6-1, 6-1, while 30th-seeded former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic leveled Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday. Jankovic was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2008.
Meanwhile, Andrea Hlavackova drove out 24th-seeded fellow Czech Klara Zakopalova 6-4, 6-4, while Japan's Ayumi Morita dismissed 26th-seeded Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-3, 6-3, and Russian Elena Vesnina knocked out 32nd-seeded Chinese Peng Shuai 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 on Day 2.
Also advancing at the final major of the year were Suarez Navarro, Russians Vera Dushevina and Ekaterina Makarova, Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, Aussie Johanna Konta, Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva and Yaroslava Shvedova, Swede Sofia Arvidsson, Spaniard Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, and Serb Bojana Jovanovski.