First up, Simona Halep takes a while to get herself started in US Open first match

Simona Halep had many happy returns against Danielle Rose Collins in her opening match at the US Open, winning 6-7, 6-1, 6-2. Matthew Stockman / AFP

Ranked second in the world, Simona Halep merited the honour of kicking off the US Open on Center Court.

The stage proved imposing at first, and Halep needed to rally from a set down to beat a young American making her grand slam debut.

The Romanian won 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 on Monday over Danielle Rose Collins, 20.

As a sophomore at Virginia, an unseeded Collins won the NCAA title to earn a wild card into the US Open.

The French Open runner-up, Halep reached a career-high ranking of No 2 this month. She has never advanced past the fourth round at the US Open.

“My best moment of my life – I have to enjoy this,” she said in an on-court interview after the match. “But it’s not easy. There’s a lot of pressure on me. Everyone is telling me that I have chances to win.”

For Collins, she expected to return 24 hours later to a far smaller venue: a college classroom.

“Summer was too much fun,” she said.

Hobbled by injuries during the season, Collins rolled through the NCAA tournament to become the Cavaliers’ first women’s singles champion in May.

She had never before even played a main draw match at a tour-level event. She started right at the top by playing in Ashe.

“It was amazing,” Collins said. “I mean, I could get used to that.”

Ranked 47th at the end of 2012, Halep’s rapid rise booked her as the opening act in the cavernous confines of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Her reaction when she found out: “Wow.”

“It’s not easy to see that you play first match of tournament on center court,” she said. “But, you know, I have experience now. I didn’t manage very well the emotions, but it’s good that I finished well.”

Sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber also needed three sets to outlast qualifier Ksenia Pervak 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, coming back from down a break in the third set.

Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska had no such trouble. She beat Sharon Fichman 6-1, 6-0 in 47 minutes, losing just three points in the second set.

In the battle of the veterans, Venus Williams survived a first-set hiccup to overcome 43-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, and Germany’s Angelique Kerber defeated Russian Ksenia Pervak 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

In the men’s draw, spinning in 70 mph second serves, grabbing at his hamstrings, Andy Murray gritted his way through cramps to win his first-round match.

The eighth-seeded Murray beat Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 on a steamy day. He started cramping in the back of his shoulder early in the third set, then it spread to his forearm.

Murray was twice down a break in the fourth set, but Haase unraveled with a string of unforced errors. The 70th-ranked Haase wasted three break points in the final game, when he was also hurt by a missed call.

Radek Stepanek crashed out tamely to German Mattias Bachinger 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, and Andreas Seppi overcame Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.

No 21 seed Mikhail Youzhny’s hopes were ended by young Australian Nikos Kyrgios, who won 7-5, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6.

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