NEW YORK – American teen Catherine "CiCi" Bellis became the youngest player to win a U.S. Open match since 1996 when she stunned Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova.
Bellis, 15, rallied from down a break in the third set for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 first-round victory Tuesday over the 12th-seeded Cibulkova. With an overflow crowd at a cozy side court roaring, she broke Cibulkova's serve to clinch the match.
"I went into the match thinking it was going to be such a great experience," said Bellis, whose rapid-fire sentences tend to finish with a gurgle of laughter, "but I never thought I would come out on top winning."
Anna Kournikova was 15 when she won at the U.S. Open in 1996. Bellis' title at the USTA Girls' 18s National Championship earned her a wild card into her first tour-level main draw. When Tuesday's match was over, Bellis ran to hug members of her cheering section. She's the youngest American to win at the U.S. Open since a 15-year-old Mary Joe Fernandez in 1986.
Serena Williams began her bid for a third consecutive U.S. Open title with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over U.S. teen Taylor Townsend. The top-seeded Williams made only eight unforced errors.
Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-0. The player Kvitova defeated in the Wimbledon final, Eugenie Bouchard, was back to her winning ways, routing Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-1. The seventh-seeded Canadian recently suffered an upset loss in her opener in her home tournament in Montreal.
Ana Ivanovic was feeling good about her game coming into the U.S. Open, and it showed Tuesday. The eighth-seeded Serb beat American Alison Riske 6-3, 6-0. Ivanovic has won 48 matches this year, more than anyone else on tour.
Samantha Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open champ, also quickly dispatched a young American, beating Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-4.
Svetlana Kuznetsova lost her first-round U.S. Open match for the first time since 2005, the year she was the defending champion. Kuznetsova, seeded 20th this time, was beaten 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3) by 82nd-ranked Marina Erakovic of New Zealand.
Victoria Azarenka rallied from a set down to beat Misaki Doi 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1. The U.S. Open runner-up to Serena Williams the past two years, Azarenka is seeded 16th after a season disrupted by injuries. No. 11 Flavia Pennetta defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
On the men's side, John Isner, a former top U.S. college player, beat this year's top U.S. college player. The 13th-seeded Isner won 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (2) over Marcos Giron, who earned his first spot in a Grand Slam tourney when he won the NCAA title for UCLA in May.
Another American, Jack Sock, retired from his match due to a right calf injury. Sock was trailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to Pablo Andujar of Spain when he couldn't continue.
Roger Federer defeated Marinko Matosevic 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Fourth-seeded David Ferrer beat Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
Tenth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan cruised to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over American Wayne Odesnik, showing no apparent effects from a toe injury that hampered his preparations. Richard Gasquet, the No. 12 seed, topped Denis Istomin 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4. No. 15 Fabio Fognini beat Andrey Golubev 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Victor Estrella of the Dominican Republic earned his first Grand Slam win at age 34, beating Igor Sijsling 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Estrella hadn't played in a major tournament until this year.
