Williams, Leylah Fernandez and US Open
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By Amy Tennery and Shrivathsa Sridhar NEW YORK (Reuters) -Defending U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka was given an early test before she moved into the second round while Emma Raducanu won her first match at the Grand Slam since her 2021 triumph as the tournament began a day earlier than usual on Sunday.
Leylah Fernandez will be trying to win her first WTA title of the season, and Anna Kalinskaya will seek the first of her career when they meet each other in the final of the hard-court DC Open.
Emma Raducanu was bundled out of the Citi Open in a 6-4 6-3 semi-final defeat to Anna Kalinskaya. The British No 1 matched the Russian early, using her superior serve to pick up five aces in Washington.
Kalinskaya needed less than half as much time to eliminate Emma Raducanu, 6-4, 6-3, with the help of 14 backhand winners in the other women's semifinal. It was Raducanu who defeated Fernandez for the championship at Flushing Meadows four years ago.
Emma Raducanu could face world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Cincinnati Open. The WTA 1000 event is key warm-up tournament for the US Open, which begins on August 24 and runs