Pegula shakes off nerves in US Open first-round win, to face Kenin next

NEW YORK - World no. 3 Jessica Pegula conquered US Open first-round nerves to dispatch Elena-Gabriela Ruse on Aug 30, kicking off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium before Novak Djokovic succumbed to a shock first-round defeat by unseeded Argentine Mariano Navone.

She will face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin next, after the American beat 46-year-old compatriot Venus Williams 6-2 7-6(6) in a first-round match that began at 12.13am on Aug 31, the latest start in women’s tournament history.

Pegula broke Romania’s Ruse twice in each set on the way to a 6-3, 6-2 triumph, but it was less straightforward than the score indicated as the 32-year-old veteran felt the weight of playing first on the cavernous show court.

“Oh yeah, I was so nervous today, always the first round of a slam,” said Pegula, the 32-year-old who is the highest ranked American in either the men’s or women’s draw in the final Grand Slam of the year.

“It’s an amazing honour,” she said of being given the first match on Ashe. “It’s an honour to hold that title, walking out onto Ashe opening day, first match, it’s amazing.”

Pegula is chasing her first Grand Slam title. She came closest with a runner-up finish to Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 US Open, and she fell to the Belarusian in the semi-finals in 2025.

Pegula saved the only break point she faced, but her nerves showed as she converted just two of her 14 break point chances in the opening set.

That was enough, and she was an efficient two-for-four on break opportunities in the second. She gave herself triple match point with a crisp forehand winner to the corner and after Ruse saved two with booming serves secured the win when the Romanian put a forehand into the net.

With the first round now spread over three days, Pegula was looking forward to a couple of days off with a confidence-boosting win under her belt.

“I get to sit around the site and watch everybody else freak out for the next two days,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kenin’s match against Williams at the Arthur Ashe Stadium got underway after Novak Djokovic’s five-set defeat by Mariano Navone, with a sizable contingent of fans staying on well past midnight for one more look at Williams, who was playing as a wild card in her 96th career Grand Slam main draw appearance.

“It was extremely late,” Williams told reporters. “I’ve never played a match that late before and I was happy to see that so many people stuck around for that. It was a real honour to play in front of them.”

Kenin broke serve in the opening game and never trailed in the first set, racing to a 3-0 lead as both players struggled to find their rhythm, combining for nine double faults.

Williams, cheered on by chants of “Let’s go Venus”, broke back to love to trim the deficit to 3-1 but dropped serve again as Kenin pulled away to close out the set.

Kenin reeled off three straight games to lead 3-1 in the second set and while Williams showed flashes of the form that earned her seven Grand Slam titles she struggled to string points together, with her second serve proving especially costly.

Kenin saved four break points to level at 5-5, leaving Williams screaming in frustration at handing her opponent another game with unforced errors. However, Williams still found a way to hold for 6-5 before Kenin forced a tiebreak.

Williams appeared to have the upper hand in the tiebreak but could not convert any of her seven set points, as Kenin dug in to close out the win.

“It’s not ideal,” Williams said. “I would have preferred something else definitely. It wasn’t great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.

“I just don’t know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there’s room for improvement there.

“It’s not easy to do in the first round. It’s not easy to do it at 1am or 2am in the morning to try to find your rhythm and play your best, but I tried my best.”

Uzbekistan’s 88th-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova knocked out two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, polishing off the win on her seventh match point – all in the final game.

Three-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini, playing her first match since a foot injury forced her out of Wimbledon, beat Slovenian Veronika Erjavec 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko rallied from a set down to beat Mexico’s Renata Zarazua 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/7) in a tussle lasting three hours and 27 minutes.

The 22-year-old Iatcenko overcame 85 unforced errors and a right leg issue that required multiple medical time outs to pull off the comeback. AFP, REUTERS