US Open Tennis 2024 Results: Winners, Losers and Highlights from Monday's Bracket
The first day of the 2024 U.S. Open is in the books.
Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title with a straight-set victory over Radu Albot.
Elsewhere, fourth-seed Alexander Zverev faced off against German compatriot Maximilian Marterer, who managed to challenge the No. 4 seed before ultimately losing in four sets.
In the biggest news of the day on the men's side, No. 13 seed Ben Shelton defeated Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the Austrian's final Grand Slam match.
Thiem, the winner of the 2020 U.S. Open, plans to retire at the end of 2024.
No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 seed Coco Gauff both won in straight sets in the women's draw, while ninth-seeded Maria Sakarri had to retire from her match due to injury.
Since reaching the 2021 U.S. Open semifinal, Sakkari has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam just once (Australian Open 2022).
Here are a few notable takeaways and reactions from day one.
Monday U.S. Open Results
Men's Singles
No. 2 Novak Djokovic def. Radu Albot, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 Alexander Zverev def. Maximilian Marterer, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 Andrey Rublev def. Thiago Seyboth Wild, 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-5
No. 8 Casper Ruud def. Yunchaokete Bu, 7-6(2), 6-2, 6-2
No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov def. Kyrian Jacquet, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
No. 12 Taylor Fritz def. Camilo Ugo Carabelli, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
No. 13 Ben Shelton def. Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
Brandon Nakashima def. No. 15 Holger Rune, 6-2, 6-1
No. 17 Ugo Humbert def. Thiago Monteiro, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
No. 18 Lorenzo Musetti def. Reily Opelka, 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-1, 7-5
No. 20 Frances Tiafoe def. Aleksandar Kovacevic, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
No. 21 Sebastian Baez def. Luciano Darderi, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-0, 7-6(4)
Juncheng Shang def. No. 27 Alexander Bublik, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
No. 28 Alexei Popyrin def. SoonWoo Kown, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3
No. 29 Francisco Cerdunolo def. Sebastian Ofner, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
No. 32 Jiri Lehecka def. Marton Fucsovics, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 3-0 (retired)
Women's Singles
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka def. Priscilla Hon, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 Coco Gauff def. Varvara Gracheva, 6-2, 6-0
No. 7 Qinwen Zheng def. Amanda Anisimova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova def. Marina Bassols Ribera, 7-6(3), 6-2
Yafan Wang def. No. 9 Maria Sakkari, 6-2, 0-0 (retired)
No. 12 Daria Kasatkina def. Jaqueline Cristian, 6-2, 6-4
No. 13 Emma Navarro def. Anna Blinkova, 6-1, 6-1
No. 14 Madison Keys def. Katerina Siniakova, 6-4, 6-1
No. 19 Marta Kostyuk def. McCartney Kessler, 6-2, 6-3
No. 20 Victoria Azrenka def. Yulia Starodubtseva, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 24 Donna Vekic def. Kimberly Birrell, 6-4, 6-4
No. 26 Paula Badosa def. Viktorija Golubic, 6-0, 6-3
No. 27 Elina Svitolina def. Maria Lourdes Carle, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Viktoriya Tomova, 6-7(4), 6-0
Jule Niemeier def. No. 32 Dayana Yastremska, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4
No. 33 Elise Mertens def. Veronika Kudermetova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev Show Signs of Rust in Opening Round Victories
Novak Djokovic opened up his 2024 U.S. Open campaign by defeating Radu Albot in straight sets.
The defending champion, who had not played a competitive match on the hard-court surface since March, showed early signs of rust, particularly on serve, where he hit just 39% of first serves in the opening set.
The No. 2 seed committed 40 unforced errors in total—an unusual amount—at least by his standard in three sets, though he was still able to win comfortably.
Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev also struggled in his match against Maximilian Marterer—an opponent who mimicked his type of game—with a combination of aggression and defense.
Zverev needed four sets and nearly three hours to advance to the second round.
Djokovic and Zverev are considered the favorites in their halves of the draw, and despite Monday's struggles, they are expected to face off in the semifinals.
Dominic Thiem's U.S. Open Career Comes to an End
Dominic Thiem's Grand Slam career has officially come to an end, fittingly, at the same stadium where he achieved his best ever result.
Four years after winning his first and only major title at the 2020 U.S. Open, the Austrian, who announced 2024 as his final year on tour, fell to Ben Shelton.
Shelton's victory today was far more straightforward than their 2023 U.S. Open second-round meeting—a match that appeared to be a thriller in the making before Thiem had to withdraw due to illness in the second set.
The 21-year-old overpowered the former world No. 3, winning 53 out of 61 points from his serve.
The American was just as dominant in all other facets of the court, winning 85% of points at the net while impressing with his blistering forehand.
Considering his current form, Shelton should be considered a dark horse contender, with realistic expectations of challenging Novak Djokovic should the two meet in the fourth round.
Aryna Sabalenka Dominates, Coco Gauff Advances Despite Struggles
Aryna Sabalenka picked up right where she left off.
Fresh off her dominant Cincinnati Open title run, the No. 2 seed defeated Priscilla Hon in straight sets.
As has become Sabalenka's staple on the hard court surface, she was dominant from the first serve while picking apart Hon's second serve, winning 59% of points.
Coco Gauff, the defending U.S. Open champion, also played on Monday.
While Gauff defeated Varvora Gracheva 6-2, 6-0, the match was much closer than the score line suggests.
The No. 3 seed faced break point opportunities in all but one service game in the first set, hitting 16 unforced errors.
In the second set, the top-seeded American played much cleaner, committing just five unforced errors.
The reigning champion holds the third-shortest odds of winning the U.S. Open but will need to remain consistent on her first serve and forehand going forward.