By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Former champion Daniil Medvedev strolled into the U.S. Open second round while highest-ranked American Jessica Pegula also advanced, as the year's final major got underway on Sunday with a record purse of $108 million up for grabs.
Medvedev crashed out in a chaotic first-round defeat a year ago but was all business on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, as he beat the French qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4 6-2 6-4, quieting doubts after a frustrating run-up to the year's
final major.
"Last couple of weeks were not easy," said Medvedev, who exited the Cincinnati and Montreal tournaments early. "I'm happy that today I managed to produce high-level tennis."
He next plays the winner of a match later on Sunday between American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny and Belgian Raphael Collignon.
Dozens of ticketholders were lined up long before the action kicked off and the home crowd was rewarded as world number three Pegula beat Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3 6-2 in the first match at the showpiece stadium.
The 2024 finalist will play the winner of a meeting between American wildcards Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin, who are due to close out the night session on Ashe later on Sunday.
The twice Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova became the first seeded player to exit the tournament, saving six match points before succumbing to Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6(4) 6-2 on the outer courts.
Rakhimova, who has never made it past the third round at the majors, will play the winner of Monday's match between Japan's Aoi Ito and Spain's Oksana Selekhmeteva.
Italian Jasmine Paolini survived a scare to get past Slovenia's Veronika Erjavec 6-3 3-6 6-4 in the opening match at Louis Armstrong Stadium, firing off 36 winners to just 13 from her opponent to set up a meeting with compatriot Lucrezia Stefanini.
MEN'S FIELD SEES MORE INJURIES
Guests piled into Flushing Meadows under pristine playing conditions, as the tournament entered its second year in a 15-day format with the first round played over three days.
Czech Jiri Lehecka kicked off the action on the Grandstand with a 6-1 7-6(5) 4-6 6-2 win over Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta. Also on the Grandstand, Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk beat Australian Storm Hunter 6-4 6-1.
Organisers added an extra day to the schedule in 2025 following years of runaway demand for tickets and U.S. Tennis Association chief executive Craig Tiley said that the $108 million purse, the largest in tennis history, was aimed at giving players a fair share of the revenue.
The 24-times Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic will kick off the night session on Ashe against Argentine Mariano Navone, as an injury-hit men's field lost two more players when the former champion Marin Cilic and 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud both pulled out.
They joined world number one Jannik Sinner and Brazilian fan-favourite Joao Fonseca among the injured absentees in Flushing Meadows.
With Sinner out of the tournament and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz coming to New York after a long injury layoff, this year presents a prime chance for the 39-year-old Serb to add one more major trophy to his haul.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)
