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The Latest: Medvedev wins to end long first day at US Open

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Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, returns a shot against Richard Gasquet, of France, during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

NEW YORK – The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):

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1:05 a.m.

Daniil Medvedev ended a long first day at the U.S. Open by beating Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3, 6-1.

Medvedev, the No. 2 seed who was the runner-up in 2019, wrapped it up just after 1 a.m. by breaking Gasquet's serve for the fifth time.

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12:55 a.m.

Roberto Bautista Agut made it a short stay in the U.S. Open for Nick Kyrgios, who had enough time to fit in plenty of complaining in three sets.

Bautista Agut, the No. 18 seed from Spain, won 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 under the lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Kyrgios fell into a foul mood early, bickering with the chair umpire about having to walk his towel to the corners of the court instead of throwing it where he wanted.

He also muttered about having to be on the court so late at night and Bautista Agut's bathroom break after the second set. Kyrgios was penalized a first serve midway through the third set for a repeated time violation but by then it was clear he wasn't coming back.

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10:40 p.m.

Defending champion Naomi Osaka made a winning return to Grand Slam tennis, pulling away to beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-1.

Osaka didn't play at Wimbledon after pulling out of the French Open following the first round for mental health reasons.

It was tied at 4-all in the first set before Osaka's power started to make its mark. The No. 3 seed won the next seven games to build a 5-0 lead in the second set.

Osaka won her second U.S. Open title last year by beating Victoria Azarenka in three sets.

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10:15 p.m.

A 20-year-old wild-card entry from Atlanta has tied the women's U.S. Open serve speed record of 129 mph set by Venus Williams 14 years ago.

Alycia Parks hit that mark during a 6-3, 7-5 first-round loss to Olga Danilovic on Court 13 at Flushing Meadows.

This was the first Grand Slam main-draw match of the 6-foot-1 Parks' career.

Williams established the record during a first-round match at the 2007 U.S. Open. She has won two of her seven major singles championships at the hard-court tournament but is not entered this year because of an injured leg.

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7:45 p.m.

Stefanos Tsitsipas withstood a tough test from 2012 U.S. Open champion Andy Murray, emerging with a 2-6, 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory after nearly five hours.

The No. 3 seed from Greece is among the group of young challengers to top-ranked Novak Djokovic, but had to fight just to get past the opening day.

Each of the last three sets took nearly an hour before Tsitsipas finished it in 4:49.

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7:20 p.m.

Coco Gauff shook off a shaky stretch in her opening match before rallying for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Magda Linette.

The No. 21-seeded Gauff advanced to face 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round.

She had hopes of doing it more easily after taking a 5-3 lead and serving for the first set. But Linette won the next six games to take the set and build a 2-0 lead in the second before the 17-year-old American regrouped.

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6:40 p.m.

Three-time U.S. Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka has moved into the second round, winning the final 11 games to beat Tereza Martincova 6-4, 6-0.

Azarenka, seeded 18th, trailed 4-1 in the opening set but then seized control.

She lost to Naomi Osaka in last year's final after winning the opening set. Azarenka also was beaten by Serena Williams in the final in 2012 and 2013.

Angelique Kerber, the 2016 champion seeded 16th, rallied to edge Dayana Yastremska 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).

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5:35 p.m.

Kevin Anderson took a long route to the second round.

The 2017 U.S. Open runner-up outlasted Jiri Vesely 7-6 (1), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) in a match that lasted 4 hours, 22 minutes.

Anderson, who lost to Rafael Nadal in Flushing Meadows in his first Grand Slam final, is no stranger to long matches.

The South African beat John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set of the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals, a match that lasted 6:36 and helped pave the way for that tournament to add a fifth-set tiebreaker.

Anderson won his seventh career title earlier this summer at Newport, Rhode Island.

3:55 p.m.

Carla Suárez Navarro has been eliminated from the U.S. Open, a year after revealing she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Suárez Navarro was beaten by No. 26 seed Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-4.

The Spaniard who once was ranked as high as No. 6 announced last September that she would undergo six months of chemotherapy. Having previously planned to retire after last season, she instead returned from her treatment for the French Open, where she lost in the first round.

She lost again in the first round at Wimbledon before winning a round at the Olympics.

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2:20 p.m.

The U.S. Tennis Association says there have been delays as fans try to enter the U.S. Open on the first day of the tournament.

The event was played without spectators in 2020 because of the pandemic. Fans are allowed to attend this year but have had trouble entering the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The USTA says the main cause of the delay has been bag searches. It says in a statement that patrons have brought an “inordinate number of bags this year” and all need to be searched.

It says it is exploring ways to improve the entry process for the remainder of the tournament. The organization added that the process of checking vaccination proof — a requirement for entry — was going smoothly.

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1 p.m.

Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady has withdrawn from the U.S. Open because of an injury.

Brady, a semifinalist last year in Flushing Meadows, has not played competitively since being forced to retire from her second-round match against Jelena Ostapenko in Cincinnati. The U.S. Tennis Association did not specify her injury.

Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, also pulled out Monday for medical reasons.

On the men's side, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also withdrew. The 2008 Australian Open finalist has a right leg injury.

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11:30 a.m.

Play has started at the U.S. Open, with fans back in the stands for the final Grand Slam tournament of the season.

The event was held without spectators last year due to the pandemic but stands are allowed to be filled to 100% capacity this year. Those 12 and older must show proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to enter the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The opening match in Arthur Ashe Stadium was set for noon, with past champion Sloane Stephens facing fellow American Madison Keys in a rematch of their 2017 final.

Naomi Osaka, the defending women's champion, was scheduled to lead off the night session in Ashe.

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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports


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