NEW YORK // Romanian second seed Simona Halep followed the same express path into the second round of the US Open as Serena Williams, advancing 6-2, 3-0 after New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic retired with a knee injury on Tuesday.
Halep, who reached the finals at US Open tune-up events at Toronto and Cincinnati, barely broke a sweat on a sunny Arthur Ashe Stadium court, needing a mere 47 minutes to see off the 99th-ranked New Zealander.
Top seed Williams, bidding to complete a calendar sweep of the grand slam titles, advanced on Monday in similar fashion as she was up 6-0, 2-0 when Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko was forced to retire hurt.
While the top two women’s seeds steered clear of trouble, upsets continued up and down the women’s draw for a second day as sixth seed and French Open finalist Lucie Safarova fell 6-4, 6-1 to Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.
Safarova, who said she was bothered by a strained abdominal muscle on her right side that she hurt in losing the New Haven final on Saturday, later withdrew from the US Open women’s doubles competition.
With the loss, Safarova joins first-round casualties that already includes Serbian seventh seed Ana Ivanovic, eighth seed Czech Karolina Pliskova and 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.
Just four seeded women’s players lost in the first round last year.
Since the tournament started seeding 32 players in 2000, the largest number of women’s seeds to lose in the opening round was 10 in 2012.
“I wasn’t surprised, it is normal,” Halep, 23, said. “Everyone is fighting like crazy because it’s the last grand slam. When you play a grand slam you have just to give everything you have.
“I had this year already two grand slams where I lost in first and the second round, so like I say always, everything can happen.”
Caroline Wozniacki got herself quickly off the court on a scorching day at Flushing Meadows.
The fourth-seeded Dane, last year’s runner-up, beat American collegiate champion Jamie Loeb 6-2, 6-0 in 67 minutes and was never in danger of becoming another upset victim. Still, after Wozniacki’s win, seeded women were 12-9 after two days of play.
On the men’s side, Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, who made the semi-finals in 2012, was a comfortable winner, seeing off American wild-card Bjorn Fratangelo 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Heading for the exit was French 11th seed Gilles Simon, who lost 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to world No 68 Donald Young of the United States. It was Young’s first career comeback from two sets to love down.
American John Isner got off to an impressive start, beating Malek Jaziri of Tunisia 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
The 13th-seeded Isner never faced a break point in winning in one hour, 43 minutes against the 81st-ranked Jaziri. Isner had 24 aces and 54 winners.
Isner’s best showing at the US Open was reaching the 2011 quarter-finals.
Follow us on Twitter at NatSportUAE
