Tennis kicked into high gear with opening day of Western & Southern Open main draw play Saturday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Three of the five seeds in WTA action were upset during day one while on the men’s side, a pair of former champions produced split results.
Eighteen-year-old Amanda Anisimova delivered one of those updates in the days lone all-American battle. Anisimova defeated No. 11 seed Alison Riske 6-3 6-3.
Victoria Azarenka, the 2013 Western & Southern Open champion, defeated No. 15 seed Donna Vekic 6-2 6-3 while
Ekaterina Alexandrova took out the highest seeded WTA player in action Saturday, defeating No. 9 Elena Rybakina 7-5, 7-6(6).
American hopes were dealt a setback as a trio suffered defeats. Maria Sakkari, the 13 seed, defeated 16-year-old Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 and France’s Alizé Cornet downed Cincinnati’s Caty McNally 6-0 6-3.
In one of only three women’s three setters Saturday, 20-year-old Dayana Yastremska defeated Venus Williams 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.
In men’s action, two-time champion Andy Murray outlasted a three-set test from American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(6) 3-6 6-1. He’ll next face No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev.
Canadian men went 3-0 on opening day, with Felix-Auger Aliassime, Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov all winning. Shapovalov’s victory came at the expense of 2016 Western & Southern Open champion Marin Cilic.
In the longest match of the day, Kevin Anderson outlasted Kyle Edmund 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 in 2:58. He will have a short recovery period as he takes on No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas Sunday night.
Play resumes Sunday at 11 a.m. Tennis Channel will carry a full day of action from first ball, while ESPN2 will join with coverage from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.