Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen made the perfect start to her first Grand Slam appearance by defeating No. 25 seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round of the women’s singles at the US Open tournament on Monday.
Chang took only 19 minutes to win the first set but Kanepi fought back to claim the second set.
Chang remained composed and controlled her shots meticulously in the third set while her opponent showed signs of impatience, making a number of unforced errors as Chang claimed the set 6-2 and with it the match.
PHOTO: AFP
Chang served one ace and three double faults on her way to victory while Kanepi served five aces but nine double faults.
The 18-year-old Taiwanese world No. 212 said she felt encouraged by the cheers of Taiwanese and Chinese in the crowd during the match.
Chang’s father Chang Chin-lai said that all the efforts she had put in over the past three-and-a-half months had paid off and that hopefully she will continue to improve.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Next up for Chang is 20-year-old Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia. The world No. 46 defeated Valerie Tetreault of Canada in three sets in their first round clash.
VENUS WINS, JUST
PHOTO: AFP
Meanwhile, dealing with a bad left knee and an opponent who didn’t go by the usual opening-night script, Venus Williams needed 2 hours, 43 minutes to defeat 47th-ranked Vera Dushevina of Russia and avoid a first-round exit.
The third-seeded Williams, who has never been ousted from the Open before the fourth round, trailed by a set and a break in the second before rallying for a 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 victory.
She didn’t want to talk much about the knee, which brought on a nine-minute injury time-out during the first set, but instead preferred to talk about the crowd — especially the reaction when she was down 5-4 in the second and serving to stay in the match, describing it as “one of those great New York moments.”
Andy Roddick followed her onto the court. His match began at 11.08pm, and with blood dripping from a cut on his right ear, he made quick work of Germany’s Bjorn Phau, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
Roddick was still doing interviews at 1:15am, with the main topic being late matches at the US Open.
“It’s all part of it,” he said. “Kind of the crazies that stay ’til 1 in the morning — there’s something fun about that.”
Buoyed by the crowd, Williams was the only top contender to face serious trouble on a day that basically went to form.
TOP MAN
Top-seeded Roger Federer began his quest for a sixth straight US Open title and third Grand Slam title of the year with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory over 18-year-old American Devin Britton.
“My goal was to not get crushed,” Britton conceded, “and make it interesting for a little while.”
He was up a break in both the second and third sets, but couldn’t capitalize against the world’s top player.
Alexa Glatch found herself in essentially the same situation against fellow American Serena Williams, pushing the No. 2 seed in the first set before falling quickly in the second of a 6-4, 6-1 loss.
Former No. 1 Kim Clijsters, the 2005 US Open champion who now has a one-year-old daughter, returned to Grand Slam tennis after a two-and-a-half year layoff with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory over Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine.
“Now it’s a matter of trying to keep this going,” Clijsters said.
Other winners included lanky American John Isner, who beat No. 28-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania in straight sets, including a 16-14 tiebreaker in the second; French Open runner-up Robin Soderling of Sweden, eighth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko; No. 14 Tommy Robredo of Spain; No. 15 Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic; American No. 21 James Blake; and former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.
Two-time major champion Amelie Mauresmo of France won easily, as did No. 7 Vera Zvonareva of Russia, No. 8 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Italian No. 10 Flavia Pennetta, No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and No. 14 Marion Bartoli, who plays Clijsters next.
Roddick’s match was played in front of a half-empty crowd thanks in part to a late start after an hourlong opening ceremony that featured Andre Agassi.
Roddick wasn’t complaining, but did say he wouldn’t mind seeing the women take the late slot sometime in the future.
Hours earlier, Williams was in trouble from the start. Down a break at 2-1, she took an injury timeout to get her left knee worked on and taped up, although that didn’t cure the problems with her serve.
FOOT FAULT
She finished with 10 double faults and seven foot faults. Ahead 5-3 in the first-set tiebreaker, she hit a great serve but was called for a foot fault. She seemed to lose her focus, turning to the official to ask, “Which foot?” then went back to the baseline for the second serve and netted it for a double-fault.
She fell behind 6-5 and Dushevina answered Williams’ angle volley with a running, crosscourt backhand for the winner and the set.
It stayed uncomfortable for Venus through most of the second, as well.
“I had 5-4 in the second set and it was maybe little chance,” Dushevina said. “It was love-15, but the next few points, she played so great.”
The next big question is how bad Venus Williams’ knee really is, and whether it will be ready for the next match.
“I’m not one to complain,” Williams said. “Everyone has injuries they’re dealing with. I did my best tonight despite everything I was going through. In the next round, I’m just going to do my best to prepare.”
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