NEW YORK (Reuters) – First seed Karolina Pliskova got a roaring start to her bid for a maiden Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open on Monday, downing first-round opponent Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-0 to kick off the action in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 28-year-old Czech, who led the WTA in aces in four of the last five years, struggled with an uncharacteristically uneven serve in the first set, committing three double faults to give her unseeded opponent a fighting chance.
But Pliskova, the 2016 U.S. Open runner-up, found her footing in the second set, winning all her first-serve points and committing just one unforced error, as her Ukrainian opponent was left scrambling.
“I think my game was quite good for a first round,” said Pliskova, the world number three, who played in front of empty stands with crowd noise piped in as the tournament is being held without fans due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“For sure I prefer to have people around me,” she added.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; editing by Clare Fallon)
