If nothing else, it was an odd start to doubles play at the US Open Thursday, with a rare result that likely won’t be seen again throughout the fortnight.
The second match on Court 5 took less than a third of the time compared to the match following it, as Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli eliminated home favorites Steve Johnson and Tommy Paul, 6-0, 6-0, in 35 minutes. It was the first time a men's doubles match resulted in a complete sweep at a Grand Slam since Martin Damm and Pavel Vizner blitzed Michael McClune and Kaes Van’t Hof in the second round of the US Open nine years ago.
While the Italians won 78 percent of the points in the match, perhaps what was more astonishing was that while they won two sets by a 6-0 scoreline: there was only one "bagel" set in all three doubles draws combined Thursday.
Other than that, most favorites got off to a solid campaign at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Defending men’s doubles champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, the No. 4 seeds, won the final four points of a tense second-set tiebreak to defeat the veteran duo of Alexander Peya — Soares’ former partner — and Julian Knowle, 6-4, 7-6.
“It was a good match. I think they played well,” said Murray. “There was a lot of good rallies, a good atmosphere on the court. It was packed out, It was fun for us to play I think, and we’re really happy to get through in two sets in the end.”
To win the US Open will take six victories for them, after all. So the shorter the matches, the better. For Soares, he always comes to New York expecting that his team can make a deep run.
“For me it’s great to come back here,” said Soares. “A little extra pressure being defending champion, but nothing we’re not used to. So for me it’s always good memories here. It’s a good feeling.”
The highest seeds to get knocked out to kickoff had championship pedigree, as reigning French Open champions, No. 8 Michael Venus and Ryan Harrison, lost in straight sets. And while No. 1 Henri Kontinen and John Peers cruised, second-seeded Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot were forced to battle through a three-setter against Guillermo Duran and Neal Skupski. Five-time US Open champions Bob and Mike Bryan, the No. 5 seeds, advanced in three sets.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Kveta Peschke, the No. 8 seeds, were the highest-seeded tandem to lose in the women’s doubles draw, falling 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 against Chia-Jung Chuang and Misaki Doi.
But the new tandem of Sania Mirza and Shuai Peng had no such trouble. The No. 4 seeds defeated Donna Vekic and Petra Martic, 6-4, 6-1 after coming together less than a month ago. Mirza has won both the women’s and mixed doubles titles in New York, while also achieving her best Grand Slam singles result by making the fourth round in 2005.
“For me obviously I like the courts, I like the city and I like the vibe here,” Mirza said. “It’s great to come back to a place where I think that every kind of player will tell you that you’ve done well in the past.”
Mixed doubles also began Thursday, with Wimbledon champions, No. 1 Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis advancing in straight sets in just 51 minutes.
