US Open 2022 Day 1: Serena Williams cruises, Daniil Medvedev wins, Coco Gauff moves on

The 2022 US Open is finally here. Serena Williams looks to take part in what will be her final professional tournament. Though Williams is unranked, she will be the highlight of Monday's slate. Is Williams ready to make a miracle run? It's not expected, but with Williams, you never know.

On the men's side, things will look a little different at the top. Novak Djokovic is unable to travel to the United States over his decision to remain unvaccinated for COVID-19. That leaves Daniil Medvedev, who could not participate in Wimbledon due to the tournament's ban on Russian players, as the top seed. Medvedev won the US Open in 2021 and is looking to repeat.

Other major storylines include whether Rafael Nadal can manage his foot injury and make a deep run, if Coco Gauff can continue her surge up the rankings and whether Naomi Osaka can find her form.

A deep run can't start without a win on Day 1, so keep it here for all the news, notes and analysis from the first day of the 2022 US Open.

Serena Williams cruises in first round; tougher task awaits in Round 2

The swan song will have to wait. With the backing of a raucous crowd, Serena Williams won her US Open opener over Danka Kovinic on Monday, 6-3, 6-3 thanks in large part to a dominant service game. In the end, her defense was on point as well as she broke Kovinic with a final-game sweep to advance to the second round.

When it was done, she was all smiles as she did a little dance and performed her trademark twirl for a rabid Artur Ashe stadium crowd.

Williams held serve and broke Kovinic in the opening set to take a 2-0 lead. But she struggled with her service game early as Kovinic responded with two breaks of her own en route to a 3-2 lead.

From there, it was all Serena. Williams reeled off four straight games that included a stretch of 11 straight points to win the first set, 6-3. She didn't blink in the second set, where she didn't lose a service game. She broke Kovinic to take a 3-2 lead in the second and didn't relinquish her advantage from there. With the win, Williams improves to 99-3 at the US Open after winning the first set.

Her second-round matchup on Wednesday will mark a considerably tougher task as she faces World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit, who cruised, 6-3, 6-0 in her opening-round win over Jaqueline Cristian.

No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas stunned in first round

Daniel Galan pulled off the upset of the first round on Monday. And it wasn't even close. The unseeded Colombian blitzed No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-0 shutout in the first set of their opening-round matchup.

He followed up with a 6-1 second-set win en route to a 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win to oust one of the men's bracket's top contenders on Day 1. Tsitsipas fended off multiple match points while trailing 5-4 in the final set, but ultimately fell in the fourth. Galan, ranked No. 94 in the world, advances to face 102nd-ranked Australian Jordan Thompson in Round 2.

Highest-seeded American man Taylor Fritz falls in Round 1

No. 10 seed American Taylor Fritz also fell victim to a first-round upset on Monday. He lost to fellow American Brandon Holt, who's earned his spot in the Open as a qualifier. Holt dropped the opening set, 7-6 but rallied to tie the match at 1-1 with his own 7-6 win in the second.

From there, he made the most of his unexpected stage en route to a 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 win to advance to the second round.

Nick Kyrgios beats countryman in straight sets

After a surprise run to the Wimbledon final, Nick Kyrgios is off to a good start at the US Open. The 23-seeded Australian defeated fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets on Monday, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.

Kyrgios faced pressure for the first time in the third set, but secure the match via a 7-4 tiebreak with an ace just before midnight local time. He'll advance to face France's Benjamin Bonzi in Round 2.

Coco Gauff punches ticket to second round with win over Leolia Jeanjean

Coco Gauff looked strong at the first round of the 2022 US Open on Monday. Gauff defeated Leolia Jeanjean in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to advance to Round 2.

Gauff took the court to a raucous applause from spectators.

Gauff picked up eight aces during the match and did not allow Jeanjean to register a single ace. Gauff is hoping to make a run at the US Open after a final appearance at the French Open in June. Gauff has yet to advance past the third round of the US Open as a singles player. She managed to reach the final in the doubles portion of the US Open last year.

Daniil Medvedev cruises in first round of US Open

Daniil Medvedev wasted no time living up to his No. 1 ranking at the US Open. Medvedev defeated American Stefan Kozlov in straight sets to advance to the second round of the event.

Medvedev was dominant in the match, winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-0. He had 10 aces to Kozlov's zero. It was yet another dominant performance from Medvedev, who is looking to repeat after winning the US Open in 2021.

With the win, Medvedev will take on Arthur Rinderknech in the second round Wednesday.

J.J. Wolf upsets No. 16 Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets

There will be at least one major upset on the first day of the US Open. American J.J. Wolf defeated No. 16 Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) to advance to the second round of the event.

Wolf's serve was a big weapon against Agut. Wolf registered 13 aces during the match. Following the victory, Wolf showed off his hops.

Wolf, 23, was ranked 87th as a singles player coming into the event.

No. 7 Simona Halep upset by Daria Snigur

Daria Snigur picked up her first tour-level win at the best time.

Snigur knocked off No. 7 seed Simona Halep on Monday just days after qualifying for the event 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.

The win is especially impressive for Snigur, who Halep dominated in a quick second set — where she won 24 of 30 points. Snigur, however, jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the final set and then held on to win the match.

Maria Sakkari goes the distance in win over Tatjana Maria

Maria Sakkari won in the first round of the US Open on Monday, but she needed three sets to get past Tatjana Maria.

Sakkari played a few hard-fought games against Maria early, but eventually took the first set 6-4. Maria bounced back in the second set, taking it 6-3. With her back against the wall, Sakkari found her footing. She did not allow Maria to take a single game in the final set, winning the final set 6-0 and taking the match victory.

Sakkari came into Monday's tournament as the No. 3 seed on the women's side.

Maxime Cressy withdraws vs. Márton Fucsovics in first round

American Maxime Cressy withdrew from the first round of the 2022 US Open due to an injury. Cressy was trailing Márton Fucsovics in the third set at the time of Cressy's exit.

After taking the first set 7-6 from Fucsovics, Cressy dropped the second set 5-7. He then fell behind 1-5 in the third set before withdrawing from the event. It's unclear what caused Cressy to take himself out of the match. He came into the US Open as the No. 30 seed on the men's side, and was expected to advance past the first round.

Alison Riske-Amritraj beats Eleana Yu in straight sets

In a battle between two American women, the higher-ranked one came out on top. Alison Riske-Amritraj defeated Eleana Yu in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) to advance to the second round at the US Open.

With the win, Riske became the first American woman to advance at the 2022 US Open. She will take on Camila Osorio in the second round, which will take place Wednesday.

Tommy Paul goes the distance and wins to advance to second round

American Tommy Paul needed a late rally to get past Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round of the US Open. After dropping two of the first three sets (4-6, 6-4, 2-6), Paul would have to bring his A-game in the final two sets.

He delivered Paul played his best tennis of the day in the fourth sets, winning 6-0. Zapata Miralles fought hard in the final set, but Paul came out on top 7-5. With the win, Paul will move on to face fellow American Sebastian Korda in Round 2.

Ons Jabeur gets past Brengle

Once things got going, Ons Jabeur had no issue getting past American Madison Brengle on Monday afternoon.

Jabeur, the No. 5 seed, beat Brengle in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 to get out of the first round of the Grand Slam. She’ll take on Elizabeth Mandlik in the second round on Wednesday.

Dart knocks off No. 10 Kasatkina

Daria Kasatkina’s U.S. Open run has ended before it even begins.

Harriet Dart knocked off the No. 10 seed Kasatkina on Monday after a marathon first set, winning 7-6 (10-8), 1-6, 6-3. It marked Dart’s first ever win against an opponent inside the top-10.

Dart rallied after dropping the second set 6-1, too, and then won the final three games after opening 3-3 in the final set.

Auger-Aliassime advances past Ritschard

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is moving on.

Auger-Aliassime closed out his first round match on Monday against Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. He had little issue against Ritschard other than in the third set, when the qualifier stormed out to a quick 4-1 lead to extend the match.

Auger-Aliassime quickly turned things around, however, and closed out the fourth set to win the match and make it to the second round.

Other notable results

• Andy Murray upset No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo in straights sets to advance to the second round of the 2022 US Open. Murray, 35, had stretches of dominance during the match, winning seven straight games at one point. Murray also had six aces in the victory.

• Veronika Kudermetova defeated Donna Vekić in straight sets to advance to the second round. Kudermetova came into the tournament as the No. 18 seed. She registered eight aces to Vekić's two in the win.

• American Ann Li dropped her first round match against Camila Osorio on Monday. Li looked strong in the first set, winning 6-1. She then dropped the final two sets (6-3, 6-1) to lose the match.

• Caroline Garcia defeated Kamilla Rakhimova in straight sets in the first round. Garcia entered the US Open as the No. 17 ranked women's player. She will take on Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated Rebecca Peterson on Monday, in the second round.

• American Sebastian Korda defeated Facundo Bagnis in the first round of the US Open on Monday. Korda needed four sets to come out on top against Bagnis. With the win, Korda will play American Tommy Paul in the second round.

• Beatriz Haddad Maia shut out Ana Konjuh in the first round Monday. Haddad Maia did not allow Konjuh to pick up a single game in the dominant win (6-0, 6-0). Haddad Maia came into the even ranked No. 15 on the women's side. She will take on Bianca Andreescu on Wednesday.

• Elilio Nava needed five sets, but he got past John Millman thanks to a dominant final game on Monday 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-1. Nava will now square off against Andy Murray on Wednesday.

• Matteo Burrettini cruised to an easy first-round win over Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on Monday. The Italian, who holds the No. 13 seed, will take on Hugo Grenier on Wednesday.

• No. 5 seed Casper Ruud took his first-round match in straight sets over Kyle Edmund, picking up his win 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. Ruud will move on to play Tim Van Rijthoven in the second round.

• He nearly got it in straight sets, but Pablo Carreno Busta is moving on to the second round. The Spaniard got past Dominic Theim 7-5, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 in their first round match.

This story will be updated.