Wozniacki whizzes to U.S. Open win
NEW YORK — Caroline Wozniacki crashed John Isner’s post-match news conference, needling her good friend for arriving late to his interview session and delaying the start of hers.
The fourth-seeded Wozniacki was in quite a hurry Tuesday, when she needed just 67 minutes to win at the U.S. Open against an opponent making her Grand Slam debut.
Sixth-seeded Lucie Safarova, who pushed Williams to three sets in the French Open final, was upset by 37th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko earlier Tuesday.
Just four seeded women lost in the first round last year.
Since the tournament started seeding 32 players in 2000, the largest number of women’s seeds to fall in the opening round was 10 in 2012.
On the men’s side, second-seeded Roger Federer routed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in a brisk 77 minutes and fifth-seeded Stan Wawrinka beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-5, 6-4, 7-6.
More players have stopped playing during matches because of injuries or illness during the first round of the U.S. Open than in any round at any Grand Slam tournament in the professional era.
With the temperature topping 90 degrees, a total of 12 men and women retired during matches Monday and Tuesday at Flushing Meadows — with the first round still yet to be finished.