U.S. Open Tennis: 9 Matches, and 1 Big Scare for Roger Federer

Entering the match, some mystery surrounded the state of Federer’s back, which hampered him in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal and forced him to withdraw from the recent Cincinnati tournament. He was sloppy, committing 56 unforced errors, and struggled on his serve. He said after the match, though, that he felt fine.

The match capped a day on which rain had suspended play on the outside courts around 12:45 p.m. About three hours later, with persistent rain in the forecast, the tournament postponed all but one of the matches on outside courts. That left only matches played under the roof at Ashe Stadium on the schedule.

Federer’s longtime rival Rafael Nadal, the No. 1 seed, also had a few some shaky moments Tuesday but overcame them to defeat Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-2.

In a tournament missing several stars, including Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, all sidelined with injuries, the spotlight has intensified on the Federer-Nadal rivalry.

They have played each another 37 times dating to 2004. A dozen of those have been in Grand Slam events, but by a quirk of fate, none have been at the U.S. Open.

Read more about Federer’s victory here.

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Defending Champion Goes Down

Angelique Kerber’s title defense was short-lived.

Naomi Osaka of Japan pummeled the sixth-seeded Kerber with a barrage of powerful forehands, dominating the defending champion, 6-3, 6-1, in a match that lasted only 1 hour and 5 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Kerber claimed her second Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking at the United States Open last year, beating Karolina Pliskova in the final.

Kerber’s ascent stalled this year, though. She has won no titles, and is 0-9 against Top-20 opponents. She also lost in the first round of the French Open, 6-2, 6-2, to Ekaterina Makarova.

Osaka, 19, and ranked No. 45, is surging. She looked on the verge of her first Top-10 win three weeks ago in Toronto, but was forced to retire with an abdominal injury after taking the second set over the top-ranked Pliskova.

Against Kerber, Osaka dominated with her powerful forehand, particularly in the second set, in which she walloped 10 of her 14 winners off that wing.

Osaka also exorcised some demons with the victory. Last year at Ashe Stadium, she squandered a 5-1 lead in the third set against eighth-seeded Madison Keys, a loss that seemed to leave some emotional scar tissue.

“It means a lot, especially because of the last time I was here,” Osaka said in her on-court interview. “This court hasn’t been a fond memory.” — BEN ROTHENBERG

Read more about Osaka’s win here.

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Tuesday’s Results

? Madison Keys, the No. 15 seed, opened the night session with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory over Elise Mertens. Mertens trains at Kim Clijsters’ academy in Belgium, and Keys is coached by Clijsters’s former rival Lindsay Davenport.

? The match between No. 12 seed Jelena Ostapenko and Lara Arruabarrena began on Court 17 at 11 a.m., but it ended in Arthur Ashe Stadium about six and a half hours later. The match was suspended with Ostapenko leading, 3-1, in the third set. The tournament moved it to Ashe Stadium after the day session’s schedule there was completed. When play resumed, Ostapenko, the French Open champion, needed only 14 points and about 10 minutes to close out Arruabarrena, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.

? The Ashe Stadium roof was closed during Tuesday’s opening match between top-seeded Karolina Pliskova and Magda Linette, which Pliskova won, 6-2, 6-1. The roof remained closed for the rest of the day.

? Three matches were completed on outside courts before play was suspended. No. 23 seed Barbora Strycova topped Misaki Doi, 6-1, 6-3; Sorana Cirstea beat Lesley Kerkhove, 6-1, 6-3, and No. 28 seed Lesia Tsurenko lost to Yanina Wickmayer, 6-3, 6-1.

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Ashe Stadium’s Noise Irks Nadal

Before the first ball was served at this year’s United States Open, tournament officials were busy trying to address the extra noise that caused disruption in Ashe Stadium last year after its new $150 million roof had been installed.

They neutralized sounds coming from two air conditioning units and a cellphone tower, believed to be the source of much of the commotion, but one significant noisemaker remained: the crowd.

With the roof closed because of rain Tuesday, top-seeded Rafael Nadal certainly noticed the cacophony caused by the chatter and drone of the fans under the structure. Nadal ultimately had little trouble defeating Dusan Lajovic in their first-round match, but afterward he said he had difficulty dealing with the noise in the cavernous stadium.

“I understand it’s a show at the end of the day, and I enjoy that,” Nadal said. “I feel part of this, of course. But under the roof we need to be a little bit more strict about the noise, in my opinion.”

Nadal said he had trouble hearing the ball coming off his opponent’s racket, making it hard to anticipate how hard it was hot or what kind of spin it bore. He said he also yelled across the net for Lajovic to wait before serving, but the Serb did not hear him.

“So, you can imagine how much noise you feel out there,” Nadal said. “So difficult to analyze how the ball is coming when you are not hearing very well the sound of the opponent’s ball.”

Madison Keys, who played Elise Mertens on Ashe on Tuesday night, said, “Truly it was the loudest court I’ve ever played on in my life.”

She added that she had been warned about noise level, but that “I think you have to be out there and play in it to really appreciate it.”

— DAVID WALDSTEIN

College Champion Awaits Open Debut

When Brienne Minor walked across the blue-and-green court on a tour of Arthur Ashe Stadium, she gasped.

“Breathtaking,” she said.

But it was not overwhelming. Minor, who will play her first United States Open match on Wednesday, is having too much fun to be rattled by the big stage.

“It’s not really about the tennis for me,” said Minor, who became the first African-American to win the N.C.A.A. Division I singles title last spring.

Minor, a junior at Michigan, will face another trailblazer, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, who at the French Open this year became the first Arab woman to reach the third round of a Grand Slam singles event.

“Obviously I want to play my best, but I don’t know when I’ll be back so I definitely want to take this all in,” Minor said. — KELLY WHITESIDE

Read more about Minor and her tennis-loving family here.

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