Daniil Medvedev Dominates Hugo Gaston in US Open Opener

Daniil Medvedev silenced his Arthur Ashe ghosts with ruthless efficiency on Sunday, dismantling France’s Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to launch his US Open campaign with a statement.

Two years ago, the 2021 champion was out in the first round, brooding and bewildered. This time he walked into the stadium like a man intent on erasing that chapter, and played like it too.

He took the ball early, stepped inside the baseline and never let Gaston’s trickery breathe. The Russian cracked 34 winners to just 11 from the Frenchman, swatting away drop shots and underarm serves with the air of someone who had read the script days in advance.

“You need to play your game — I knew he was going to do some drop shots, some underarm serves,” Medvedev said. “I needed to make some winners, put some pressure on him.”

The pressure told quickly. Gaston’s creativity, usually a crowd-pleaser, ran straight into a six-foot-six wall. Medvedev glided into corners, redirected pace, and made the court feel small. At 3-3 in the opening set, Gaston blinked first, gifting the break with a backhand that sailed wide in the seventh game. Medvedev did not look back.

Once in front, the seventh seed tightened his grip. His serve numbers were solid, but it was the intent on return that broke the match open. In the second set, Gaston again cracked early, slapping a forehand into the net in the third game to fall behind. Medvedev, sensing blood, raised the tempo.

The point of the night came at 4-2 in that second set. Facing break point on Gaston’s serve, Medvedev sprang into the air and ripped a backhand that landed just inside the line, well beyond his opponent’s reach. It was a shot that summed up his mood: aggressive, precise, unapologetic.

All this from a player who, only days earlier, had joked about a future in pickleball after a flat opening-match defeat in Winston-Salem. On Ashe, there was no hint of distraction. Just sharp, disciplined tennis.

The third set followed the same pattern. Medvedev pounced immediately, converting another break point in the opening game with a whipped forehand winner that left Gaston stranded. The Frenchman kept swinging, but the contest had settled into a familiar rhythm: Medvedev dictating, Gaston reacting.

One last unreturnable serve sealed it. No celebration, no theatrics. Just a brisk handshake and a job done. Medvedev now awaits the winner of the late match between American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny and Belgian Raphael Collignon.

Cilic and Ruud Withdraw, Draw Takes a Hit

While Medvedev marched on, the men’s draw absorbed two heavy blows.

Former champion Marin Cilic pulled out of the tournament shortly after play began on Sunday. The 35-year-old Croat, who lifted his only major title at Flushing Meadows 12 years ago, was replaced by lucky loser Otto Virtanen. The Finn, who himself withdrew from his third-round qualifying match against Grigor Dimitrov with an injury, steps into the main draw to face 23rd seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round.

Organisers did not disclose the nature of Cilic’s injury, but his absence adds to a growing list of notable withdrawals. Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca and Holger Rune are all missing from this year’s field, stripping some shine from the early rounds and opening unexpected lanes for lower-ranked hopefuls.

Casper Ruud’s withdrawal stung just as much. The 2022 runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz, who retired during the second set of his Cincinnati Open match against Christopher O’Connell earlier this month, confirmed that his back had not recovered in time.

“Unfortunately, my back hasn't healed as quickly as we had hoped,” Ruud said on Instagram. “We've been optimistic that I would recover in time, but my team and I have decided that we need to think long-term and give my body the time it needs. I'm very sad to announce that I have to withdraw from this year's U.S. Open singles event.

“It's never easy to miss a Grand Slam, but I know this is the right decision. I'll take the time I need to recover properly and come back stronger.”

Lucky loser Arthur Gea inherits Ruud’s spot in the draw and will face Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the first round. Ruud, who played the revamped mixed doubles event last week alongside Diana Shnaider before losing in the quarterfinals to Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva, now turns his attention to rehabilitation rather than hard courts.

Pegula Steadies, Eyes No. 1

On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula fought through early jitters to deliver a professional opening win and keep alive a tantalising ranking scenario.

The world No. 3, a former finalist in New York, needed time to settle against Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the day’s first match on Arthur Ashe. The nerves showed: she squandered her first nine break-point chances, snatching at returns and letting opportunities drift away.

“I was so nervous,” Pegula admitted. “I was like sending GIFs of what I felt like. It was GIFs of people freaking out and stuff. … The first round of a slam, there's always a ton of nerves.”

Once she found her rhythm, the match flipped. Pegula began to land her first serve with authority and took control of the baseline exchanges. She won a commanding 92% of points behind her first serve and cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in 83 minutes, closing with the kind of efficiency that has defined her season.

This is not just another run in New York for the 32-year-old American. She leads the women’s tour with 46 wins this year, owns two titles, and has reached three other finals. If she can go all the way here and lift her first major trophy, and if No. 2 Elena Rybakina falls before the semifinals, Pegula will rise to No. 1 in the world.

The nerves of the first round are gone. The stakes, very clearly, are not.