Playing her first match since the coronavirus break, actually her first match since January, Angelique Kerber advanced to the second round of the US Open with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic.
The match opened with four straight breaks and the first player to hold was Tomljanovic. The 17th-seeded Kerber took over the set in the ninth game with a break for a 5-4 lead and then served out at love. Both players had a 100% break point conversion in the first set, with Kerber earning one break point more than her opponent.
In the second set, Kerber built a 5-2 lead and even though Tomljanovic saved a match point and reduced the deficit by two games, the 2016 US Open champion sealed the win on her third match point when the Australian’s forehand sailed long.
Top seed Karolina Pliskova surrendered only four games to Anhelina Kalinina on Day 1, while sixth seed Petra Kvitova also recorded a straightforward victory in her first-round encounter with Irina-Camelia Begu.
