NEW YORK — Madison Keys moved into the second round Tuesday at the U.S. Open, where rain threatened to hamper the schedule for a couple days.
Showers that began Monday night and would possibly be on and off through the middle of the week delayed play on all the outer courts, allowing for action only in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium, which have retractable roofs.
Keys, the No. 22 seed, beat 19-year-old Alina Korneeva 7-5, 6-4 in the leadoff match in Ashe. The 2017 U.S. Open runner-up was knocked off in the first round last year in Flushing Meadows.
“It’s always tough playing someone young and up and coming, and they’re going after their shots,” Keys said. “And it’s so hard to play a first round of a Grand Slam, so nervous and just wanting to do so well. So, really happy I was able to kind of fight through that and win today.”
Flavio Cobolli, the men’s No. 5 seed, quickly dropped the first two sets against Francisco Comesana on Armstrong in the only other match that was ongoing in the early afternoon.
Among those who were supposed to be playing already but had to wait were No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina, No. 12 Belinda Bencic and No. 32 Maria Sakkari.
Rybakina has multiple routes to the No. 1 ranking at the U.S. Open. She was facing American Thea Frodin, a 17-year-old from California who was the body double for actor Demi Singleton, who played Serena Williams, in the 2021 film “King Richard.”
Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, No. 17 Alex Eala, and men’s No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev were scheduled at night on the third and last day of the first round.
Keys was broken when serving for the match with a 5-3 lead but recovered to break back in the next game and finish up the match.
The American lost to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 U.S. Open final and returned to Flushing Meadows last year after winning the first major title of her career by beating No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final. But what started out as a great year fell flat at the finish after Keys was stunned by Renata Zarazua of Mexico after committing 89 unforced errors.
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