Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic came through tough opening encounters to reach round two of the US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York.
Fourth seed Jankovic was given a huge scare by 18-year-old Romanian Simona Halep in the afternoon heat but dug in to win 6-4 4-6 7-5. And 2006 champion Sharapova battled hard to see off Australia's Jarmila Groth 3-6 6-3 6-1 in the evening. Caroline Wozniacki thrashed Chelsey Gullickson 6-1 6-1 in the late match. The Dane, playing as the top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time, was far too strong for the American wildcard who had never before played a tour-level match. Wozniacki goes on to face Kai-Chen Chang of Chinese Taipei in round two.
World number one Rafael Nadal began his campaign for a first US Open title with victory over Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia in the first round.
The Spaniard won 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in three tough sets as Gabashvili stayed competitive with solid serving. Nadal goes on to face Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in round two. Fourth seed Novak Djokovic and in-form David Nalbandian earlier needed five sets to progress, while seeds Marcos Baghdatis and Ernests Gulbis lost.
Nadal was made to work hard by Gabashvili and was unable to break the world number 98 until the seventh game of the third set, having seen seven break points slip by before then. But despite not looking completely comfortable on the quick surface, the French Open and Wimbledon champion was too strong in the tie-breaks and eventually came through in two hours and 57 minutes.
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