NEW YORK, August 30 ,2016
Kyle Edmund claimed his best-ever result with a 6-2 6-2 6-3 win against 13th seed Richard Gasquet on Day 1 of the US Open. The 21-year-old dropped just seven points on his first serve and fired 10 aces to claim his 13th match win of the season.
It’s only the third time that the British number three reached the second round of a Grand Slam – previously, he’s recorded that feat at the French Open in each of the past two years.
“On ranking it’s probably my best win,” Edmund said. “And the way I went about it, the way I played, a lot of things went well… Very encouraging the way I played, the way I handled myself, dealt with situations. I thought I was smart with the way I played when I needed to be in certain situations.
“A win like this gives you more belief, absolutely. I had a good summer. I beat some good players, I beat a guy Simon, but then had a good experience against Andy. Those matches, top players, give you more experience, more confidence with your game, that you are able to take it to him.”
Edmund will next face Ernesto Escobedo, who benefited from the retirement of Lukas Lacko at 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 0-0.
John Isner overcame fellow US-American and NextGen star Frances Tiafoe, completing a 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 comeback in three hours and 27 minutes. The only 18-year-old was serving for the match at 5-3 in the final set but in the end the experience of Isner ended the challenge of the teenager in the tie-break.
“It was an incredible atmosphere and you got to see two Americans battle it out with one guy 13 years older than his opponent,” Isner told the crowd after he celebrated the hard-earned win with an exuberant mid-court leap.
“He is heck of a player and a class act,” the number 20 seed said of Tiafoe.
Nadal And Djokovic Advance
The 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal openend his US Open campaign with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Denis Istomin and advances into the second round.
“It was a good start for me obviously winning here in straight sets,” Nadal said. “I have been dominating the match comfortably after 6-1, 4-1, and I think in that game I could have the second break in the second set to go 5-1. It didn’t happen and then the second set was tougher. But my serve worked well almost all the time. I am hitting the backhand very well, but it’s true that the forehand, I need time. I need confidence and I need to keep practising the forehand.”
Nadal also admitted that he was a bit nervous ahead of his opening match in New York.
“If you are not nervous a little bit it’s time to say goodbye. That’s the real thing,” the two time US Open champion said. “You need to be nervous. That’s part of the competition.
“If you don’t feel that then it’s because you really don’t want to win as much as you need or you are not afraid about the loss. When you don’t have those feelings it’s because you don’t have enough motivation for what you are doing.”
Nadal will next take on Andreas Seppi, who beat French veteran Stephane Robert 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, who is coming off a win at the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, where he upset world number two Andy Murry, overcame a slow start to dispense with a game challenger, 108th-ranked Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1.
Cilic, who next will face Sergiy Stakhovsky, said that this visit to Flushing Meadows feels very different to two years ago when he was a surprise champion.“For me it feels different. I am feeling great. Conditions suit my game. I know I can play great at Grand Slams. I had a really good run at Wimbledon and coming here having won Cincinnati I feel in really, really good form. It’s important to not lose that. It’s a different feeling to two years ago.”
In the first night match in Arthur Ashe Stadium this fortnight, Novak Djokovic defeated Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 to improve to a 46-2 lifetime record at Grand Slam first round matches and 12-0 at the US Open.
“Night sessions here are the best in the world,” Djokovic said on court after the match. “Jerzy is an unpredictable player… It wasn’t to be in the second set, but overall it was a good performance.”
The world number one entertained the crowd after his first round encounter, too. Djokovic will next play Czech lefty Jiri Vesely, who battled past Indian qualifier Saketh Myneni 7-6, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
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— ESPNTennis (@ESPNTennis) 30. August 2016
