Here’s more reaction to Johanna Konta’s shock exit:
That’s all from this live blog – join Jake Nevins for Maria Sharapova v Simona Halep over here:
On Armstrong, Thompson has just broken Sock for 4-2. On 7, Konjuh won the first set against Barty, but trails 0-4 in the second; not much else going on, truth be telt.
Two dangerous floaters in the women’s draw: Lucic-Baroni and Puig, who are playing on 11. Lucic-Baroni is a set and a break up.
Soon to start: the absolute jazzer that is Halep-Sharapova. You can follow that here:
Muller has beaten Tomic, 6-4 in the fourth, and will play Lorenzi next. His serve and composure means he’ll be a tricky night for anyone.
Muller and Tomic are still on serve in their fourth set; Tipsarevic is 4-1 ahead of Kokkinakis in their third, but lost the first two.
And Querrey has broken at the start of set three. He’s looking good for round 2.
On Grandstand, Querrey leads Simon by two sets to love, 4 and 3.
“It’s been a beautiful 20 years,” says Venus of her time playing at Flushing Meadow. “I love this game.”
Wait, she’s a Patrice Evra fan? Just when I thought I couldn’t love her any more.
Venus has handled this deciding set with perfect authority, and at 5-2, raises her first match point; she cracks a backhand return into the net. but anothrr quickly arrives, and seconds later she’s twirling at the net. Venus Williams beats Viktoria Kuzmova 6-3 3-6 6-2. She’ll play Parmentier or Dobin next.
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Here’s Kevin Mitchell on Johanna Konta’s defeat.
Johanna Konta shocked in first round at US Open by Aleksandra Krunic @kevinmitchell50 https://t.co/rXGFaQaqZD pic.twitter.com/YBfPJSclLN
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) August 28, 2017
Luxembourg’s finest, Gilles Muller, now leads Tomic by two sets to one; by rights, Tomic should toss it off in the fourth, but let’s hope he doesn’t.
Pouille has clinched that first set against Bemelmans, Ramos-Vinolas is now 2-1 ahead of Istomin, while Querrey and Simon are on serve in the third.
Venus obviously held serve, by the way, then Kuzmova got on the board and Venus held again. She’s 4-1 ahead in the final set, and very nearly home
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Stephens has sorted Vinci 5 and 1 and will play Cibulkova or Cepelova next.
Well lookee here! Williams breaks Kuzmova immediately for 2-0, but Kuzmova then arranges three break-back points forthwith. Venus, being awesome, saves them all.
Also: Mischa Zverev trails Thai-Son Kwiatkowski by two sets to one; Thanis Kokkinakis is a set up on but a break down to Janko Tipsarevic.
Around the courts: Querrey leads Simon by a set to love, but is a break down in the second; Sloane Stephens will shortly be finished with Roberta Vinci; Tomic and Muller are 1-1, 4-4; and Pouille, the number 16 seed, is a break up on Bemelmans.
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More Konta: she’s happy with how she competed, and is, er, taking the positives. She reckons Krunic handled the pressure better than she did.
Kuzmova is loving this, a booming serve setting her for set point at 5-3 40-30. And a serve out wide, then a cleanup forehand crosscourt, and she and Venus are now at one set all!
Johanna Konta is disappointed. More news as I get it.
Hello, hello, said it’s good to be back, good to be back.
I don’t feel as if I know you/You take up all my time/The days are long and the nights will throw you away/Cause the sun don’t shine.
Gosh, I’m not sure what came over me there.
Handing back to Daniel Harris now, who will see you through the rest of the afternoon’s action...
This is Kuzmova’s first senior grand slam appearance – she’s only 19, and ranked 135th in the world. The Slovakian has just broken back, much to Venus’s chagrin.
Here’s Kevin Mitchell on one bit of good news for British players today, as Kyle Edmund cruised into the second round:
Kuzmova can only chuckle to herself as her aggressive efforts are met with dazzling defence from Venus, who is now a break up in the second.
Here’s a stat for you – David Ferrer has gone out in the first round, losing in four sets to Mikhail Kukushkin. The last time Ferrer lost in the first round of a slam was at Wimbledon, in 2005.
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Venus Williams, an entirely reasonable shout to go all the way in the women’s draw, has taken the first set 6-3. Home hopes are in action on the other show courts, with Sloane Stephens against 2015 finalist Roberta Vinci and Sam Querrey taking on Gilles Simon. Both matches are in the first set.
As Kevin Mitchell explains here, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have stayed on the same side of the draw despite Andy Murray’s late withdrawal:
That also leaves the bottom half of the draw wide open – No5 seed and 2014 winner Marin Cilic might be the marginal favourite over Alexander Zverev. The German is seeded fourth but has only got to the second week of a slam once (at this year’s Wimbledon), never mind a final.
Elsewhere, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has won in straight sets, beating Marius Copil to begin his quarterly run to the last 16. Venus Williams has made a blistering start against Viktoria Kuzmova – she’s 4-1 up in the first set – and tennis-hating Bernard Tomic has taken the first set against Gilles Müller, but is behind in the second.
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Well then. Fair play to Krunic, who fought back from a set down with the required smarts and skill, and could make a decent run in an open draw. Konta will be devastated, though. Too many fundamentals, not least her serve, went missing as the pressure ratcheted up.
Aleksandra Krunic beats Johanna Konta 4-6, 6-3, 6-4!
Krunic takes her second match point as Konta fires a forehand way wide. The British No1 is out in the first round!
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Krunic has only been past the first round at a slam twice before. How are the world No78’s nerves? Pretty good – an ace, then a brilliant recovery from a drop-shot, and she’s 30-0. A brief rally is ended with a punchy winner to the corner. Three match points...
Konta misses a routine backhand to fall 0-30 down. Her game has unravelled in this set, and she’s two points from going out. An ace makes it 15-30 – then a second serve clips the line! Another ace, and a crashing backhand down the line, and Konta is out of jail for now – but Krunic will serve for the match...
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Thanks Daniel, hello everyone. Johanna Konta is in a significant spot of bother against Aleksandra Krunic, who has won three games in a row and leads 5-3 in the third. The No7 seed is serving to stay in the match...
Right, I’m off for a little recess; Niall McVeigh will chat you through the next little passage.
Decent match in the mix on Court 8; the always-entertaining Gulbis leads Giannessi 6-4 6-7 6-2 1-1.
Marin Cilic has excellent beard coverage, and excellent continuation from the sideboards. More news as I get it.
Konta takes another longarse game, and I wonder if Krunic has run her race now. She trails 2-3 in the decider.
Here and there: Istomin is a set up on Ramos Vinolas, who is a break up in the second; in what might be the match of the day - in our dreams - Muller and Tomic are 3-3.
Konta is now a break down in the decider, and from deuce Krunic has a game point. But Konta saves it, then punishes a tired, nervous drop and we’re back on serve.
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Cilic sorts it out! He won’t have been expecting that level of aggravation but he’s through, and so is John Isner, who has disposed of Pierre Herbert 6-4 in the fourth. Cilic will play Mayer or Dutra Silva next, while Isner meets Chung. I think he might find that tricky.
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Sandgren saves yet another break point, this time with a monstrous backhand down the line. But Cilic arranges another, tries a drop, and Sandgren has a chance for a winner! But he’s wide, just, and after 10 minutes 11 seconds, Cilic wins the game and will serve for the match!
Sandgren is playing his arse of here. Serving 3-4 behind in the fourth, he and Cilic are going backwards and forwards on deuce and advantage.
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Well! Krunic takes the second set 6-3! Her and Konta shall now begin a decider, with the number 7 seed showing no signs of improvement.
On Ashe, we’re still on serve in the fourth; Cilic leads Sandgren 4-3 (and by two sets to one). On Armstrong, Isner is back at it, 4-1 to the good against Herbert; he’s nearly there.
Oh, this is interesting.
.@caitlin_thomps told me she was going to dope like Sharapova to see what happens and she actually did it! https://t.co/t6u1bKx3iQ
— Mike Dang (@reportermike) August 28, 2017
Eventually, Konta holds. Prepare for lots of “It’s the first round, it’s just about getting through” PMA stuff when she eventually wins.
Krunic racks up two break points which Konta saves, and then saves another with as lovely pick-up at the net, far from her forte.
Elsewhere, Tsonga is two sets to love up on Copil, and Herbert has cinched that third set against Isner.
Krunic is playing very well now, and Konta isn’t hitting the ball at all well. A love hold has the latter up 3-2, while on Ashe, Sandgren and Cilic are 1-1 in the third.
On Armstrong, Herbert is serving to close the gap on Isner to 2-1.
Kukushkin now leads Ferrer by 2-1, plus a break. Alas the hyperactive scurrying is no longer enough.
Brilliant from Sandgren! He takes the third set 6-3, and Cilic, who looked nearly home, has serious work to do!
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Sandgren is serving for the set against Cilic! He’s really playing very well now, but finds himself at deuce once more. Cilic then gets himself advantage and for a second looks to have exploited the situation, hitting the net-cord. But the ball doesn’t die, Sandgren smacks it deep, and Cilic sends a lob long.
Konta takes the first set against Krunic, 6-4; Krunic will rue that, after working so hard to get back into things.
Chung has come from a set and a mini-break down to beat Zeballos. He’ll play the winner of Herbert and Isner - so Isner - in the next round.
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On Armstrong, Isner has taken the second set against Herbert. He leads 6-1 6-3.
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But Krunic then gifts her next service game, even applying the ribbon of a double-fault on break point. They’ll have a little sitdown, and then Konta will serve for the first set.
Krunic has broken back against Konta, who’s making backhand errors - unusual for her. They’re now at 4-4.
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Tsonga is now a break up in the second set against Copil, while Ferrer looks to be settling himself in for his usual epic; he’s 1-1 with Kukushkin, and a break down in the third.
Sandgren, meanwhile, has consolidated once more and is winning points on first and second third, with Cilic looking wobbly.
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Sandgren has broken Cilic, who leads him by two sets to love. He’s then made to fight like billy-o to hang onto the advantage, but eventually he gets there for 3-0; please do enjoy the very state of him.
Great news pals! Kevin Anderson is into round 2, after trouncing JC Aragone - Aragone more like - 3,3 and 1. He’ll play Gulbis or Giannessi next.
In other art news, Isner leads Herbert 6-1 2-1, with a break in that second set.
On Court 8, Konta has broken Krunic thanks to her hypnotic ball-bouncing; she leads 2-1 in the first.
On Court 13, Chung has broken Zeballos, and need only hold serve four times to progress. Might this be the Slam at which he becomes a contender?
Tsonga raced through his first set in 31 minutes, 6-3 against Copil. I guess we’ve seen the best of him now, but every Slam is better for his presence.
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Shonuff, Cilic sorts that second set to 3. I’m beginning to think that he might sneak through here.
On Ashe, Cilic is pounding down the serves and also venturing to the net now; he leads 6-4 5-3 30-0...
On telly, they’re saying that Jo Konta is a serious contender to win here. Granted, I’m in England, and granted, those saying it know more of these things than me, but I just can’t see it. Good though she is, it seems to me that one of the more naturally talented payers will play well enough in the second week to beat her.
Chung now leads Zeballos 2-1; that long breaker he sneaked, after trailing most of the way through it, looks like it was the turning point. Chung is a serious talent, and well on his way to becoming a serious player.
Jo Konta is just out. She’ll be taking each game as it comes, we learnt in a revealing pre-match interview. Her opponent, Alexandra Krunic, reached round 4 in 2014. Or, put another way, this might not take very long.
On the off-chance it’s of interest, here’s a piece on how Konta does it.
“Oh great!” cheers aesthetes the world over. “John Isner is on court!” He’s playing Pierre Herbert, and leads 2-1. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is also underway, playing Marius Copil.
Stevie - yes, he really does go by that - pulled through and is through. He plays Kyle Edmund next.
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Stevie Johnson, 2-0-up on Almagro, is vex. He’s disturbed at 1-1 in the third set breaker, and loses the point anyway.
Elsewhere, Sandgren broke Cilic back, then lost his serve again; that was enough to account for the set, 6-4 to the number 5 seed.
Chung is a break up on Zeballos in the third set; they’re at 1-1 overall.
Cameron Norrie will play Pablo Carreno Busta in round 2; Carreno Busta has done Evan King, 3, 2 and 6.
Kevin Anderson, the purists’ favourite, has taken the first set against JC Aragone, 6-3; the purists’ other favourite, David Ferrer, is also a set to the good, against Mikhail Kukushkin.
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On Ashe, Cilic has raced to 4-1 against Sandgren. I’m choking up, here.
Can anyone think of anything else notable that happened in Joburg in 1995?
Kyle Edmund the 2nd Brit into the 2nd round with 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win over Haase. Curiously, both he and Norrie were born in Jo'burg in 1995
— Simon Briggs (@simonrbriggs) August 28, 2017
Chung has won that breaker against Zeballos to eight, levelling the match. You’d back him - er, I did - to ease clear from here.
WHAT A WIN AND WHAT A PERFORMANCE FROM KYLE EDMUND! HE BEATS ROBIN HAASE (32) 6-3 7-5 6-3
That’s a serious kicking and a serious performance, is that, and no one will fancy playing him. Either Johnson or Almagro will have to; the former leads by two sets and 4-3.
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Edmund now leads Haase 2-0 and 5-3 with a break, showing no sign of letting up. His forehand is truly something to behold, behind Delpoz and Nadal but quite possibly the best of the rest.
On Court 13, Chung has come from behind to level his second-set breaker with Zeballos at 7-7; Zeballos won the first sey.
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On Ashe, Cilic and Sandgren are underway; Cilic is 1-0-up, on serve.
Tursanov retires, so Cameron Norrie is through to the second round!
He was 7-6 6-1 ahead, and plays King or, more likely, Carreno Busta next.
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Alizé Cornet beats Heather Watson 6-4 6-4
I don’t know; does Watson have any improvement left in her? I hope so. Cornet faces Kvitova, as I mentioned a second ago.
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Petra Kvitova beats Jelena Jankovic 7-5 7-5!
She had to work really hard for that, especially in the second set, but she got it did and meets Watson or Cornet next.
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Watson has been broken and broken back; her and Cornet are at 4-4 in the second set. Edmund has broken Haase in the first game of the third set; Johnson leads Almagro by two sets to love, and after them we’ll get some Konta; oh, ad Cameron Norrie of the United Kingdom leads Dmitry Tursanov by a set!
Edmund wins the second set 7-5!
Haase fell apart there. He needs to issue himself with some stern words.
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We’ve just been shown Muguruza’s winning point, and she is so serious nowadays, at the same time as being equally fun to watch. At Wimbledon, when they did the toss she stood close to the net and hit air shots, highlighting her physical superiority to her opponent; she may as well have asked “WHAT YOU LOOKING AT?”
I did not see that coming and nor did Kyle Edmund; Haase has broken back and serves at 5-5.
Muguruza is couchward bound; she’s thrumped Lepchenko 6-0, 6-3 and plays Liu or Duan next.
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Haase holds easily; Edmund will serve for it.
“‘Interregnum example’? chides Philip Reynolds re Lleyton Hewitt. “A bit harsh: he was the number one seed for Wimbledon in 2002, when he was in the middle of 75 consecutive weeks as world no 1; that isn’t luck.”
I agree it wasn’t luck, but he did well to play when he did, just as Sampras was finishing and Federer was starting. Two years earlier or later and he’d not have any Slams I don’t think; he has one fewer than Andy Murray, for example. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t good, of course.
Brilliant from Edmund who, 0-40 down, wins five points in a row for 5-3. I’d not be shocked to see Haase lose his serve here...
Sophia Kenin leads Lauren Davies, the number 32 seed, by a set to love in the USA USA USA derby.
I take it back! Watson has broken back against Cornet and they’re now level at 2-2 in the second set.
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After a row over a review, Edmund puts it behind him and breaks Haase anyroad up! He leads 4-3!
Carreno Busta has sped to a second set against King. Everyone else everywhere else is lagging behind.
Meanwhile Muguruza is nearly back on the couch; she leads Lepchenko 6-0, 4-2.
Haase is not loving this now! Edmund swiftly gets to 15-40 and the shoulders slump! But he fights his way to deuce, then saves another break point with another ace.
Cornet has broken Watson; in more ways than one, I’d hazard. She’s up 2-0 and 6-4.
Great stuff from Edmund; two big serves later, it’s 3-3. His confidence could start a house fire at the moment.
Haase sorts himself a break point at 3-2; Edmund panels an ace past him.
It was more of a struggle than looked likely at the start, but Kvitova took the first set off the veteran Jankovic, 7-5.
As in the first set, Edmund and Haase are smacking forehands at one another; it’s 2-2 in the second, Edmund by one set to love.
It needed four set-points and 45 minutes, but Cornet leads Watson 6-4.
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“Aren’t Federer and Nadal seeded to meet in the semi-finals, ruling out any chance of a final between them?” asks David Wall. “If neither suffers fitness issues here you’d think that the winner of that would be a good bet for the title, unless getting through that game exhausts them for the final. With all the absences it really opens up the other side of the draw in particular. But would that be a false dawn, like Michael Stich or Richard Krajicek winning Wimbledon back in the 90s, due more to lack of quality competition than emergence of someone likely to consistently dominate in the next few years?”
Ah, apologies. I assumed that with Andy Murray out, everyone would move up once, but having consulted with the draw, that seems not. Anyhow, not sure I quite agree on Stich and Krajicek. Stich beat Edberg and Becker to win his Wimbledon, and Karajicek beat Sampras. In those days, it was hard to handle a prime server who hit a zone at the right time. The best interregnum examples are Hewitt and Courier, I’d say.
Watson hangs in there, eventually cinching her service game to make Cornet serve for the set at 5-4.
On Court 11, Carreno Busta is a set-up on King; Johnson is a set up on Almagro; and in what might be a shock brewing, Zeballos is a set-up on Chung.
On Court 4, Watson is fighting to stay in the first set, serving a protracted game at 3-5.
Kyle Edmund takes the first set against Robin Haase, 6-3!
And he played really well to do it.
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On Armstrong, Jankovic broke back when Kvitova was serving for the set; she has two points for 5-5.
Elsewhere, Muguruza has taken the first set against Lepchenko 6-0.
Edmund’s forehand is boomin’ like right outta ya centrefold, and two great points get him 40-30. But Haase isn’t going away, and a big forehand of his own earns deuce.
As predicted, Edmund will now serve for the first set! Haase saves two break points, one with a monstrous ace down the middle, but then goes long with a forehand.
And then Haase attempts a drop-shot, Edmund runs it down easily, forcing a half-court response, and punished a winner for three break points.
But what’s this? A lovely backhand slice forces Haase to do likewise, and he can’t get underneath it properly; 0-30!
Edmund is now 4-3 in front and looking strong on serve; I’m expecting a breaker here.
Kvitova is in amongst it on Armstrong, leading Jankovic 4-2. She’s seeded 13, but I wonder if this might be the Slam at which she properly reasserts herself.
Heather Watson fights through a hold and now trails Cornet 2-3, still a break down.
On Ashe, the wonderful Muguruza is already 3-up on Lepchenko. I think this one might be over fairly quickly.
Favourite Edmunds: Edmund Blackadder, Edmund Pevensie, Edmund Burke. Least favourite Edmunds: Edmund in King Lear, Edmund Bertram.
Edmund claws his way back to 30-all thanks to a heavily sliced second serve, which forces a forehand error, then two booming serves seal the game. Excellent hold, 3-2 Edmund.
As tends to happen in New York, we’re on serve in our main match. Edmund and Haase are 2-2, but a creless forehand from the former - who is serving first - has him 0-30 down.
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On the show courts, we’ve got Lepchenko-Muguruza, Kvitova-Jankovic and Almagro-Johnson. Johnson has broken Almagro immediately, but otherwise nowt untoward to report.
Heather Watson is having a rotten time of things these days, and doesn’t like it here - she’s lost in round 1 six times in a row and never been beyond it. Alizé Cornet has broken her to 30 in the first game of their match on Court 4.
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Solid starts on serve for both Edmund and Haase, so we’re at 1-1. Edmund got to round 4 last term, so is defending a fair few points here. He’ll really not want to lose this. Now that’s insight.
On Court 10, Kyle Edmund and Robin Haase are about to get going; at 32, Haase is the last seed.
It’s a lovely day in Flushing, where there’ll be a high of 76 degrees Fahrenheit - as a great man once nearly said, they’ve not got the metric system over there.
This afternoon, it’s the women who comprise our central attractions. Though, as ever, be sure not to miss the unmissable Kevin Anderson and John Isner, both of whom the Almighty has sent for our delectation
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So who’s gonna win dese ting? As far as the men go, we’re presumably set for a Federer-Nadal final - I might just copy that sentence for use in 2047 - while, in the women’s competition, the manner of Garbine Muguruza’s Wimbledon win makes it hard to look beyond here. She knows she’s the best, even if she isn’t.
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Preamble
There’s something very special about the unbridled intensity of a tennis Slam, with its two weeks of nothing but. And here we are again, ready for another, and as usual, we’ve got no idea what’ll happen in the women’s section, which is where most of our attention will be directed in this session. We’ve got Garbine Muguruza, Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, Sloane Stevens, Heather Watson and Johanna Konta, as well as Marin Cilic, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Kyle Edmund and Bernard Tomic versus Gilles Muller! It’s a lot!
Start: 4pmBST
