Ivanovic said: ‘Unfortunately I can’t make it there’.
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Samantha Stosur has advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 win over Camila Giorgi.
Goffin reached his first major quarterfinal at this year’s French Open.
The third-seeded Swiss dominated the left-handed Verdasco with his punishing groundstrokes and solid service game to claim a measure of revenge with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-4 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Kei Nishikori, who became Asia s first men s Grand Slam finalist in NY in 2014, when he fell to Marin Cilic in the final, also advanced, downing German Benjamin Becker 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Khachanov made the most of his first grand slam appearance and now has a shot at the biggest win of his young career at just 20 years old.
Nishikori stormed through the first two sets but the 35-year-old Becker took control in the third before Nishikori righted the ship in time to secure a spot in the second round.
Earlier, fifth seed Simona Halep blasted her way into the second round by demolishing Kirsten Flipkens 6-0 6-2 and underlining her credentials as a potential grand slam victor.
Nishikori, the US Open runner-up in 2014 to Croatia’s Marin Cilic, will next play qualifier Karen Khachanov, a 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victor over Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano.
“It was a great feeling of course”, said Nishikori, whose breakthrough run in 2014 was followed by an abrupt first-round exit a year ago.
Earlier today, No.26 seed Ana Ivanovic was stunned in straight sets by Czech player Denisa Allertova 7-6 (4), 6-1 in her opening match at the US Open.
Becker, a German who won on NCAA singles title at Baylor University, has lost his past 15 matches against opponents ranked in the top 10.
Ivanovic is a former No. 1 player and 2008 French Open victor who has slipped to No. 31 in the rankings.
The former world No. 1 and 2008 French Open champion served for the first set against Allertova at 6-5, but was unable to close it out and faltered in the tiebreaker. She finished with seven double-faults and 41 unforced errors.
This season, her favored forehand has misfired at critical stages leaving Ivanovic feeling her best weapon has become a bit unreliable. Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a ideal 10 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
“No, not at all”, she said.
“I handled her serve well”, Allertova said.
Halep, who reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open a year ago, will next face Lucie Safarova, a 6-4, 6-4 victor over Daria Gavrilova.
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Venus will take on Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine in the afternoon Tuesday before her top-ranked sister plays Ekaterina Makarova of Russian Federation in the night match at the stadium with the new retractable roof.
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Ivanovic has been bothered by a wrist injury this year.
