Three sets to open Louis Armstrong
Jasmine Paolini beat Veronika Erjavec 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on Sunday to reach the second round of the US Open. The Italian opened play on Louis Armstrong Stadium and needed the full three sets to get out.
Paolini took the first without much trouble. Erjavec turned it around in the second, winning it 6-3, and pushed the decider to 4-4 before Paolini closed the match out. The Slovenian had never faced a name this size on a court this big and played like she had nothing to protect.
Paolini leaves with the win and a set she will want back. Second-round money at this tournament is $190,000, against $140,000 for going out on day one.
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The gap between 2024 and now
Paolini turned herself into a Grand Slam regular in 2024, reaching the Roland Garros final in June and the Wimbledon final a month later, then taking Olympic doubles gold in Paris with Sara Errani. Nothing since has matched that run of results.
New York has been the outlier. She has never gone as deep at Flushing Meadows as she has in Paris or London, and the hard courts have generally asked more of her serve than she wants to give.
How the draw stands
Aryna Sabalenka heads the women’s field as two-time defending champion and No. 1 seed. A third straight title would make her the first woman to do it in New York since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014. Elena Rybakina is seeded second, Jessica Pegula third, Coco Gauff fourth, with Mirra Andreeva, Linda Noskova, Karolina Muchova and Iga Swiatek completing the top eight.
Pegula and Daniil Medvedev both won in straight sets on Arthur Ashe. Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams took the night session. First-round matches continue until Tuesday, September 1, and Sabalenka starts on Monday against Camila Osorio.
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