NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic began his quest for a fourth U.S. Open and the 18th Grand Slam title of his career by cruising past Damir Dzumhur 6-1 6-4 6-1 on Monday.
Victory also meant the Serbian, who won his fourth crown of the year at the Western & Southern (NYSE:SO) Open on Saturday, improved his record to 24-0 this season.
Former champion Naomi Osaka, who was forced to pull out of the title clash in the final tune-up with a left hamstring injury, showed no signs of discomfort as she overcame fellow Japanese Misaki Doi 6-2 5-7 6-2.
American teenager Coco Gauff fell at the opening hurdle of a major for the first time in her career, as Anastasija Sevastova beat the 16-year-old 6-3 5-7 6-4 to claim her first match victory of the year in a scrappy contest.
Sixth seed Petra Kvitova defeated Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3 6-2 and top seed Karolina Pliskova downed Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-0.
Germany's Alexander Zverev survived a tricky first-round test to beat 2017 finalist Kevin Anderson 7-6(2) 5-7 6-3 7-5 while Stefanos Tsitsipas kicked off his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title by beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 6-1 6-1.
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Djokovic rolls into second round with win over Dzumhur embracing the pressure as he extends winning streak allays injury fears in three-set opening win over Doi for trophies and equality linked at U.S. Open downs Anderson in battle of big servers Anderson v Alexander Zverev - match stats spoils Korda Grand Slam debut to reach U.S. Open second round but Armstrong, Shapovalov overcomes court jinx in opener rolls over first-round opponent to keep alive Grand Slam maiden title bid picks up first win of year to send Gauff to exit Slam bubble bursts for US teen Gauff Open without fans an 'advantage' against Opelka, says Goffin upsets Schwartzman in marathon five-setter at U.S. Open Tsitsipas advances to U.S. Open second round laments empty stands as she reaches U.S. Open second round reaches second round in New York tests positive for COVID-19 before U.S. Open confident of turning things around for U.S. Open please! U.S. Open players bemoan the sound of silence frustrated to be in "bubble within a bubble" after positive COVID-19 test the word as Serena, Clijsters, Azarenka take the stage Clijsters v Ekaterina Alexandrova Open order of play on Tuesday of the first day at the U.S. Open on Monday (times ET; GMT-4). The Grand Slam, the second this year after Wimbledon was cancelled and the French Open was postponed, is being played without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic:
2357 OSAKA RALLIES PAST DOI
Former U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka showed no signs of the left hamstring injury that forced her to pull out of the Western & Southern Open final as she beat fellow Japanese Misaki Doi 6-2 5-7 6-2.
2231 JOHNSON KNOCKS OUT ISNER
Steve Johnson dropped the opening set of a see-sawing first round encounter with fellow American John Isner before beating him 6-7(5) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(3) in a clash that lasted nearly four hours. He will play Ricardas Berankis next.
2210 DJOKOVIC LEFT FEELING AWKWARD AFTER WIN
Novak Djokovic said the behaviour of some members of his support staff during his straight-sets victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina's Damir Dzumhur had left him feeling a "bit strange" due to the friendship between the two players.
"... Sometimes you don't want your box to clap when your opponent makes a mistake. Damir is a very good friend and it was a little bit awkward," Djokovic said.
2130 DJOKOVIC RACES INTO SECOND ROUND
World number one Novak Djokovic eased past Bosnia and Herzegovina's Damir Dzumhur 6-1 6-4 6-1 to reach the second round in just under two hours.
The result extends the Serb's winning streak to 24 matches in 2020.
2120 GOFFIN GLIDES INTO ROUND TWO
Seventh seed David Goffin fought off a spirited challenge from big-serving American Reilly Opelka to secure a 7-6(2) 3-6 6-1 6-4 victory in the opening round.
1955 MARTIC SEALS COMEBACK WIN
Croatia's eighth seed Petra Martic overcame a slow start to beat Czech Tereza Martincova 5-7 6-2 6-4.
1822 AMERICANS GAUFF, COLLINS KNOCKED OUT
Coco Gauff, 16, was eliminated in the opening round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career as Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova beat her 6-3 5-7 6-4.
Gauff matched the 30-year-old with 27 winners but the American was broken seven times in the contest.
Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, seeded 14th, also advanced in three sets following a 5-7 6-2 6-2 victory over Danielle Rose Collins.
1645 ZVEREV OVERCOMES ANDERSON CHALLENGE TO ADVANCE
Germany's fifth seed Alexander Zverev got through a tricky first-round encounter against 2017 finalist Kevin Anderson in four sets, winning 7-6(2) 5-7 6-3 7-5 to move into the second round.
Anderson fired 20 aces to Zverev's 18 in the battle of the big servers but the South African, who returned to the tour after a series of injuries, was no match for the German's groundstrokes.
1605 TSITSIPAS AND SHAPOVALOV THROUGH TO SECOND ROUND
Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas made short work of Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas, winning 6-2 6-1 6-1 to advance.
Meanwhile Canadian 12th seed Denis Shapovalov overcame a brief hiccup in the second set before beating 20-year-old Sebastian Korda 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-2.
1515 NINTH SEED SCHWARTZMAN UPSET IN FIRST ROUND
Argentine ninth seed Diego Schwartzman was knocked out in the first round by Cameron Norrie despite taking the first two sets, with the Briton winning 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-1 7-5 in a marathon encounter that lasted nearly four hours.
Both players served poorly with more than 50 break points in the match in total but Norrie smashed 39 winners and saved two match points in the deciding set to claim his biggest win at a Grand Slam.
1420 KVITOVA AND GARCIA CRUISE INTO ROUND TWO
Sixth seed Petra Kvitova dispatched Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3 6-2 with a powerful display to reach the next round.
1400 LAJOVIC CRASHES OUT
Serbian Dusan Lajovic, seeded 18th, became the first major casualty of the opening round as he suffered a shock 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-4 defeat by Egor Gerasimov of Belarus.
1317 TOP SEED PLISKOVA AND MLADENOVIC ADVANCE
Top seed Karolina Pliskova beat Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-0 to move into the second round as the Czech looks to win her first Grand Slam title.
Pliskova fired seven aces and smashed 26 winners, constantly winning points at the net in the first match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She will next meet France's Caroline Garcia.
France's 30th seed Kristina Mladenovic also advanced in straight sets, overcoming the challenge of American Hailey Baptiste to win 7-5 6-2.
1245 FORMER CHAMPION KERBER THROUGH IN STRAIGHT SETS
Germany's 17th seed and 2016 U.S. Open champion Angelique Kerber moved into the second round with a 6-4 6-4 win over Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Kerber, who was knocked out in the first round last year, converted all five break points in the match but she was tested in the second set when Tomljanovic saved a match point and came back from 2-5 down before the German served out the match.
1213 VONDROUSOVA FIRST TO ADVANCE TO SECOND ROUND
The Czech Republic's 12th seed Marketa Vondrousova became the first player to win a match at the U.S. Open this year after she beat Greet Minnen 6-1 6-4.
Vondrousova, 21, broke her Belgian opponent four times and fired 16 winners to wrap up the match in 63 minutes to advance to the second round.
1110 PLAY UNDER WAY
Play began at Flushing Meadows with the temperature hovering around 22 degrees Celsius (71.6°F) and rain forecast for the evening.