LIVE: 'Disrespectful' sledge stuns US Open

The opening time of the U.S. Open claimed its biggest upset unfortunate truthful acold successful No. 4 effect Holger Rune.

Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, ranked 63rd, downed Rune 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, connected Monday for his first-ever triumph implicit a top-10 player. The 20-year-old Dane reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon to interruption into the apical five.

On the women's side, No. 1-ranked defending champion Iga Swiatek needed conscionable 58 minutes to bushed Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-0, 6-1, portion Spaniard Rebeka Masarova downed eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-4, with the Greek complaining afterward that she was bothered by the odor of marijuana during her loss.

"The smell, ohio my gosh," Sakkari said to the seat umpire successful the archetypal set. "It was weed."

Tenth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe, a 25-year-old from Maryland who reached the semifinal astatine past year's U.S. Open, had small occupation successful a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1, triumph implicit wild-card countryman Learner Tien.

Dominic Thiem, the 2020 champion who is unseeded this year, downed 25th-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Thiem, an Austrian who had mislaid his erstwhile 7 Grand Slam matches dating to the 2021 Australian Open, adjacent faces American Ben Shelton, who defeated Argentine Pedro Cachin successful 4 sets.

Still to travel are matches with Coco Gauff connected the women's side, and Novak Djokovic connected the men's.

Gauff, a 19-year-old from Florida, faces Laura Siegemund of Germany, who won the women's doubles rubric successful New York 3 years ago. Gauff was the runner-up astatine the French Open successful singles — losing to Swiatek — and doubles successful 2022.

Wrapping things up successful the main stadium volition beryllium 23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic against Alexandre Muller of France, who is making his U.S. Open debut. It marks a instrumentality to the lawsuit for Djokovic, who missed it past twelvemonth due to the fact that helium couldn't question to the United States arsenic a foreigner who is not vaccinated against COVID-19. That regularisation has been dropped.

Even portion she was rolling connected the court, Maria Sakkari was bothered by the odor of thing disconnected it.

"It was weed," Sakkari said.

The No.8 effect from Greece was eliminated from the U.S. Open successful the archetypal circular Monday with a 6-4, 6-4 nonaccomplishment to Rebeka Masarova, a lucifer she seemed successful power of until she mentioned the odor toward the seat umpire during a changeover.

Sakkari was starring 4-1 successful the archetypal acceptable connected Court 17 astatine that point.

"The smell, ohio my gosh," Sakkari said. "I deliberation it's from the park."

Sakkari, a semi-finalist astatine the U.S. Open 2 years ago, said the odor of marijuana didn't impact her portion playing. She had practiced connected the aforesaid tribunal Sunday and already had noticed it then.

"You don't truly deliberation astir it, due to the fact that each you attraction is conscionable to triumph the match," Sakkari said. "I smelled it, but that was it. Like, it wasn't thing that I paid attraction to."

Nick Kyrgios complained astir smelling marijuana during a lucifer past year, saying afterward helium is asthmatic and the odor astir apt wasn't bully for him erstwhile helium was moving around.

But Sakkari said it didn't origin immoderate problems portion competing successful what became her 3rd consecutive first-round exit successful a Grand Slam tournament.

"Sometimes you odor food, sometimes you odor cigarettes, sometimes you odor weed," Sakkari said. "I mean, it's thing we cannot control, due to the fact that we're successful an unfastened space. There's a parkland behind. People tin bash immoderate they want."

First Round

Karolina Muchova (10), Czech Republic, def. Storm Hunter, Australia, 6-4, 6-0.

Daria Saville, Australia, def. Clervie Ngounoue, United States, 6-0, 6-2.

Victoria Azarenka (18), Belarus, def. Fiona Ferro, France, 6-1, 6-2.

Taylor Townsend, United States, def. Varvara Gracheva, Russia, 6-4, 6-2.

Rebeka Masarova, Spain, def. Maria Sakkari (8), Greece, 6-4, 6-4.

Belinda Bencic (15), Switzerland, def. Kamilla Rakhimova, Russia, 6-2, 6-4.

Iga Swiatek (1), Poland, def. Rebecca Peterson, Sweden, 6-0, 6-1.

Magdalena Frech, Poland, def. Emma Navarro, United States, 7-6 (10), 1-6, 6-2.

Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia, def. Kateryna Baindl, Ukraine, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Lauren Davis, United States, def. Danka Kovinic, Montenegro, 6-2, 6-2.

Danielle Collins, United States, def. Linda Fruhvirtova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-0.

Bernarda Pera, United States, def. Veronika Kudermetova (16), Russia, 7-5, 6-4.

Sara Sorribes Tormo, Spain, def. Anhelina Kalinina (28), Ukraine, 6-4, 7-5.

Yuriko Lily Miyazaki, Britain, def. Margarita Betova, Russia, 6-3, 6-3.

Beatriz Haddad Maia (19), Brazil, def. Sloane Stephens, United States, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Wang Xinyu, China, def. Katie Volynets, United States, 6-3, 6-4.

Elena Rybakina (4), Kazakhstan, def. Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine, 6-2, 6-1.

Zhu Lin, China, def. Mayar Sherif, Egypt, 6-3, 7-5.

Kaja Juvan, Slovenia, def. Elisabetta Cocciaretto (29), Italy, 6-2, 7-5.

First Round

Dominic Thiem, Austria, def. Alexander Bublik (25), Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Ben Shelton, United States, def. Pedro Cachin, Argentina, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Sebastian Ofner, Austria, def. Nuno Borges, Portugal, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4.

Fabian Marozsan, Hungary, def. Richard Gasquet, France, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (1), 6-2.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21), Spain, def. Marcos Giron, United States, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Argentina, def. Ilya Ivashka, Belarus, 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Adrian Mannarino (22), France, def. Yosuke Watanuki, Japan, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5.

Roberto Carballes Baena, Spain, def. Holger Rune (4), Denmark, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Zhang Zhizhen, China, def. Jeffrey John Wolf, United States, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 6-3.

Frances Tiafoe (10), United States, def. Learner Tien, United States, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.

Casper Ruud (5), Norway, def. Emilio Nava, United States, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Laslo Djere (32), Serbia, def. Brandon Nakashima, United States, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.

Based connected the reactions connected societal media, it seems everyone successful the satellite of tennis was riveted by Novak Djokovic's triumph implicit Carlos Alcaraz successful the last of the past tourney for some up of the US Open.

It was a titanic, three-and-a-half-hour-plus showdown betwixt the 2 titans of the men's crippled astatine the infinitesimal — the 3rd clip they've played each different successful Djokovic's past 3 events, each connected a antithetic aboveground — and acceptable the signifier for what volition beryllium an expected gathering to find the champion astatine Flushing Meadows.

Last weekend's contention astatine the hard-court Cincinnati Masters, successful which Djokovic, who is 36, saved a title constituent successful the 2nd acceptable and Alcaraz, who is 20, saved 4 successful the 3rd earlier succumbing 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4), besides served to symbolise the authorities of alteration the athletics presently finds itself in, a twelvemonth removed from Serena Williams' farewell lucifer successful New York and Roger Federer's status announcement soon thereafter.

Alcaraz is the adjacent large thing, the victor of the 2022 US Open who grabbed his 2nd expansive slam rubric past period astatine Wimbledon by beating — yes, that's close — Djokovic. And Djokovic, the proprietor of 23 large trophies, is the lone subordinate of the large 3 competing nowadays, what with Federer (who has 20) done and Rafael Nadal (22) retired since January with a hep occupation but eyeing a instrumentality for 1 past hurrah successful 2024.

"For truthful galore years, the crippled has been dominated by legends of the sport, but Father Time is undefeated. Everyone has to benignant of spell connected to their adjacent signifier and they person to enactment the racquets down. We're seeing that unluckily with Serena, with Roger, with Rafa. There is going to beryllium a spot of a modulation period," said Chris Eubanks, a 27-year-old from Atlanta who reached the Wimbledon men's quarter-finals. "It leaves a batch of parity and it leaves a batch of opportunities for different players successful the men's and women's games to benignant of marque a sanction for themselves."

No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, who is 22, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, 25, and No. 4 Elena Rybakina, 24, look poised to enactment adjacent the apical of the women's crippled — Swiatek already has won 4 Slam titles, including the 2022 US Open; the others person 1 apiece — and No. 6 Coco Gauff, conscionable 19, mightiness beryllium acceptable to etch her sanction connected 1 of the 4 astir prestigious trophies successful tennis.

"Tennis is evolving and perpetually changing, and determination is ever country for caller players, caller champions. I deliberation it's large and it's hard for maine to accidental that determination volition beryllium a radical of young players that volition vie similar Novak, Roger and Rafa did, oregon that determination volition beryllium a pistillate subordinate amended than Serena," Swiatek told the AP. "It's (hypothetical), truthful I would accidental I'm conscionable excited astir the aboriginal and being a portion of it."

Not 1 definitive heir to Williams oregon the apical antheral players has been established, but 1 happening is clear.

"There is simply a shift," said France's Caroline Garcia, who reached the semi-finals successful New York a twelvemonth ago. "There are young players coming, similar Alcaraz and Iga."

Frances Tiafoe, the 25-year-old American who reached the US Open semi-finals successful 2022 and precocious made his apical 10 debut successful the ATP rankings, enactment it this way: "Game is successful a small antithetic place. A small antithetic dynamic. I'm blessed to beryllium successful this era, for sure."

The sport's leaders judge determination are players who volition measurement forward.

"For those of you who person agelong wondered astir the aboriginal of tennis arsenic we modulation retired of a aureate property wherever you person had immoderate of the champion men and women of all-time competing against each different simultaneously," said Lew Sheer, the CEO and enforcement manager of the US Tennis Association, the nationalist federation that runs the US Open, "we saw 2022 arsenic a twelvemonth of emerging stars."

Perhaps. It's existent determination were 10 first-time Masters 1000 champions connected the men's broadside implicit the past 3 seasons, a radical that includes Alcaraz, of course, but besides different 20-year-old, Holger Rune, and Jannik Sinner, 22.

"We're starting to spot caller faces astatine the expansive slams and masters. It's benignant of the past measurement to dethrone players similar Djokovic and Nadal — and it's coming," said Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 23-year-old Canadian who was a US Open semi-finalist 2 years ago. "Carlos astir apt is opening a spot of a power of the guard. But Djokovic astir apt hasn't said his past word."

That surely appeared to beryllium Djokovic's connection successful Cincinnati, wherever helium ripped disconnected his garment and roared aft yet dispatching Alcaraz.

All successful all, it was cleanable mentation for Djokovic arsenic helium returns to the US Open aft being incapable to question to the United States past twelvemonth due to the fact that helium isn't vaccinated against COVID-19.

Djokovic said facing Alcaraz reminded him of taking connected Nadal successful their primes — which was rather immoderate clip ago.

"Boy, you ne'er springiness up, man. Jesus Christ," Djokovic said, drafting a laughter from Alcaraz not agelong aft the Spaniard was crying into a towel.

"I mean, I emotion that astir you, but sometimes I privation that you'd possibly play a fewer points conscionable similar this, you know?" Djokovic continued, waving his close manus without purpose.

Alcaraz offered bully words, too.

"I learned a lot," helium told Djokovic, "from a champion similar you."