American professional tennis player Serena Williams kicked off her quest for an elusive 24th Grand Slam singles title as she dispatched fellow compatriot Kristie Ahn with a straight-sets win.
Williams in just under one-and-a-half hours brushed off Kristie Ahn 7-5 6-3 despite falling a break down to her world No 96 opponent in both sets.
She turned the second set on its head after four straight games, gathering all the momentum she requires to claim victory.
Margarita Gasparyan, the world No 117, will be the player who awaits Williams after coming through a topsy-turvey 6-3 6-7 (0-7) 6-0 encounter with Monica Puig.
Johanna Konta also progressed into the second round of the US Open at the expense of fellow Brit Heather Watson on Tuesday.
The Fed Cup team-mates, who were meeting for the first time on the WTA tour since 2018, enjoyed a tense opening set before the British No 1 came out on top to secure the 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 victory.
Konta will face the world No 77 Sorana Cirstea in the second round.
Tenth seed Garbiñe Muguruza overcame a slow start, which saw her go 4-1 down in the first set, in order to prevail over Nao Hibino 6-4 6-4.
After the match, Muguruza took to social media to dedicate her victory to Carla Suárez Navarro who has just revealed that she has been diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma and will now undergo six months of chemotherapy treatment.
“When these things happen to these good people, I feel, like, so sad about it,” she says during her post-match press conference.
“I, for sure, will dedicate this win to her, because I want her to feel that we are behind her, that I am behind her, and I will go and see her at some point when it is fine.
“For me, it’s very special. We shared a decade of emotions and everything. It’s a shock for me, somebody so close that is going through this.”
Muguruza will face Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round.
Related: US Open 2020: Novak Djokovic, Kyle Edmund both win to set up clash in the second round
First Round results
Top Half
Karolina Pliskova (Cze) (1) bt Anhelina Kalinina (Ukr) 6-4 6-0
Caroline Garcia (Fra) bt Jasmine Paolini (Ita) 6-3 6-2
Catherine Cartan Bellis (USA) bt Tamara Korpatsch (Ger) 6-7 (13-15) 6-3 6-2
Jennifer Brady (USA) (28) bt Anna Blinkova (Rus) 6-3 6-2
Angelique Kerber (Ger) (17) bt Ajla Tomljanovic (Aus) 6-4 6-4
Anna-Lena Friedsam (Ger) bt Caroline Dolehide (USA) 6-2 6-2
Ann Li (USA) v Arantxa Rus (Ned) 6-4 2-6 6-1
Alison Riske (USA) (13) bt Tatjana Maria (Ger) 6-3 6-2
Marketa Vondrousova (Cze) (12) bt Greet Minnen (Bel) 6-1 6-4
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Blr) bt Francesca Di Lorenzo (USA) 2-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-0
Vera Lapko (Blr) bt Viktorija Golubic (Swi) 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2
Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) (23) bt Robin Montgomery (USA) 6-1 6-3
Kristina Mladenovic (Fra) (30) bt Hailey Baptiste (USA) 7-5 6-2
Varvara Gracheva (Rus) bt Paula Badosa Gibert (Spa) 6-4 7-5
Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) bt Allie Kiick (USA) 3-6 6-3 6-1
Petra Martic (Cro) (8) bt Tereza Martincova (Cze) 5-7 6-2 6-4
Naomi Osaka (Jpn) (4) bt Misaki Doi (Jpn) 6-2 5-7 6-2
Camila Giorgi (Ita) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (Bel) 2-6 6-1 7-5
Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) bt Daria Kasatkina (Rus) 6-1 6-2
Anastasija Sevastova (Lat) (31) bt Cori Gauff (USA) 6-3 5-7 6-4
Magda Linette (Pol) (24) bt Maddison Inglis (Aus) 6-1 4-6 6-4
Danka Kovinic (Mne) bt Lizette Cabrera (Aus) 6-4 3-6 6-2
Kaja Juvan (Slo) bt Usue Maitane Arconada (USA) 6-4 7-6 (7-2)
Anett Kontaveit (Est) (14) bt Danielle Collins (USA) 5-7 6-2 6-2
Elena Rybakina (Kaz) (11) bt Katarina Zavatska (Ukr) 6-3 6-0
