Key events<\/p>\n
Up 40-30, Blanch swats a backhand low into the net, but when Fritz makes advantage a long forehand return restores deuce \u2013 and given the serve was only 92mph, that was a chance. From there, Blanch serves out, and he\u2019ll feel better for that.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n And now Cobolli consolidates in double-quick time; he trails 1-2 but leads 2-0, while Fritz holds in the first game of his match against Blanch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Cobolli and Comesana are back after a little recharge, the former sending the latter chasing to hither and yon before earning advantage with a deft volley \u2026 quickly confiscated for deuce. No matter: Cobolli soon makes advantage again and the pressure of his hitting is starting to tell, Comesana going long to cede the break. He leads 2-1, but is no longer in control of this match.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fritz has made the final of this competition and will be one of many fancying their chances in the absence of Jannik Sinner and with Carlos Alcaraz returning from injury. No American man has won this title since Andy Roddick in 2003.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fritz and Blanch are out on Ashe. Blanch is only 18, so this is by far the biggest match of his career; i can\u2019t wait to see how he goes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It stopped raining for a bit, but it\u2019s now hosing down again, and there\u2019ll be no play on outside courts until 2.45pm local, 7.45pm BST.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A huge serve earns Cobolli deuce, but a forehand from Comesana, leathered inside-out, means another break-back point \u2026 saved. Cobolli then makes advantage, hits to the backhand side, then whips a forehand that breaks the sideline at the service box, and that\u2019s a set back. Comesana leads 6-3 6-2 36, and on we go.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Back on Armstrong, Comesana has held, forcing Cobolli to serve for the third set at 0-2 5-3. It\u2019s 30-all, so there\u2019s work to do.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Naomi Broady reckons Keys has a chance of winning this competition, but I\u2019m less certain. I can\u2019t see her beating Osaka or Rybakina, one of whom probably awaits in the last eight, nor Gauff or Andreeva, likely semi-final opponents. But of she gets it right, she can handle anyone.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Next on Ashe: Taylor Fritz (9) v Darwin Blanch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.39 EDT<\/p>\n Keys did her best not to win, but she got there. It\u2019s always tough playing someone young and in the first round of a slam, she says, so she\u2019s glad she fought her way through it. Asked how she controlled her nerves, she says she doesn\u2019t think she did, but relied on backing herself and making a lot of balls.<\/p>\n She still sees herself as a teenager, she says, so it felt weird playing one, then advertises her podcast and tells us she\u2019s constantly gardening \u2013 her neighbour is watering the plants while she\u2019s gone -buying new furniture and making coffee.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.22 EDT<\/p>\n Madison Keys (22) beats Alina Korneeva 7-5 6-4<\/p>\n Next for her: Havlickova or Bondar.<\/p>\n USA’s Madison Keys (L) greets Russia’s Alina Korneeva after her victory. Photograph: Kena Betancur\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.50 EDT<\/p>\n Coemsana forces break point, but Cobolli nails a first serve for deuce, then unleashes that forehand of his for advantage before securing the hold. He leads 5-2 in the third, and is a game away from halving his deficit. Meantime, Keys has match point on the Korneeva serve\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Then a forehand is flapped wide, and Keys leads Korneeva 7-4 5-4. I hoped that, after winning her maiden major, she\u2019d compete without getting as tight, but no such luck.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Keys puts away a volley to raise match point, while Comesana misses break points as Cobolli snaffles a 0-2 4-1 lead. Has the match turned? Back on Ashe, of course Keys can\u2019t convert, so must now move through deuce \u2026 and she sends down a double, of course she does.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Our Maddy being Oor Maddy, she promptly breaks Korneeva and is now serving for the match at 7-5 5-3. I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ve seen a player whose top and bottom levels are so far apart; her no-show in the 2017 final, when she lost 3 and 0 to Sloane Stephens is still raw. We\u2019re at 30-all\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Meantime, having lost the first two sets, Cobolli has broken Comesana for 3-1 in the third; is this the start of a comeback?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks Katy and hi everyone. In classic Oor Maddy style, Keys has just been broken back by Korneeva, serving at 7-5 4-2; the second is set is right back in the balance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n With that, Daniel is here to take you through the next couple of hours. Over to you Daniel \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Keys, having zoomed into a 3-0 lead in the first set before being pulled back and then prevailing, has charged 4-1 ahead in the second, and will be hoping Korneeva can\u2019t mount another comeback. Cobolli\u2019s chances of a comeback, meanwhile, appear to be diminishing, as he slips 15-40 down on serve, already trailing 6-3, 6-2, 1-1, but Cobolli gamely takes the next three points before painting the lines with precision and escaping with the hold! If he goes on to win this, that could be the turning point.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rybakina, this year\u2019s Australian Open champion, begins her campaign knowing that taking the world No 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka is in her own hands. It would be the first time the 27-year-old\u2019s reached the summit. Our man in New York, Tumaini Carayol, has been looking at the permutations:<\/p>\n double quotation markRybakina begins this tournament sitting at No 1 in the live standings and in control of her own destiny. Sabalenka must win the title to have any hope of retaining the top ranking, but Rybakina will become the new No 1 regardless of all other results if she reaches the semi-finals. Should either Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula win the title and Rybakina fails to make the semi-finals, they would take top spot. This additional pressure could further add to Sabalenka\u2019s woes, but perhaps, after 97 consecutive weeks as the undisputed best player in the world, this is exactly what she needs.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s still no play away from Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong, by the way. When the rain does eventually stop, we\u2019ll have Elena Rybakina against the 17-year-old American Thea Frodin; Belinda Bencic, the 12th seed and former Olympic champion, against Kazakhstan\u2019s Yulia Putintseva; the 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo against Austria\u2019s Filip Misolic; and Australia\u2019s Dane Sweeny against the fiery Frenchman Corentin Moutet, who lost nearly all his prize money at Queen\u2019s in June after he was fined for a very sweary on-court interview which was broadcast live on the BBC.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Comesana has two set points of his own at 6-3, 5-2, 40-15, and an ace down the T seals it! Cobolli looks to the skies, or more accurately the roof, as he ponders his predicament. The fifth seed has never won a match from two sets to love down, and has a tendency to let his spirits flag when things aren\u2019t going his way, so he\u2019s going to have to snap that habit if he\u2019s to avoid an unexpected first-round exit after such a fine summer.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Comesana extends his supremacy from 6-3, 2-1 to 6-3, 5-2 and the chances of a subdued Cobolli going the same way as Djokovic and Fils are increasing. Over on Arthur Ashe, Keys has two set points at 15-40, the New York crowd getting right behind the home player, and she goes for broke with a forehand down the line \u2026 but her timing is a little late and she misses. No problem, Keys gets the job done nonetheless, as she snatches the first set 7-5.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Korneeva holds for 5-5. Keys holds for 6-5. This is far more cagey than Manchester City\u2019s spending, which is about to approach approximately \u00a3678trillion in this transfer window, with news that they\u2019ve agreed a \u00a3125m deal to sign Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez from Chelsea. You can follow all the deadline day moves here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Cobolli manages to do what he couldn\u2019t at the start the first set, holding from 40-0 up in the opening game of the second, but at 1-1 the Italian serves up two double faults, and misses a forehand and a backhand by a mile. He just can\u2019t find any consistency. And he now trails Comesana by a set and a break, 6-3, 2-1.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A see-sawing first set on Arthur Ashe, where Keys led Korneeva 3-0, was broken back, but is now a game away, serving at 5-3. But the 31-year-old just can\u2019t shake her 19-year-old opponent off and she falls 0-40 down, before Korneeva strikes on the second break point! Korneeva will serve to stay in the set at 4-5.<\/p>\n Alina Korneeva making a fight of it. Photograph: Robert Deutsch\/IMAGN IMAGES\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.39 EDT<\/p>\n The luckless Thanasi Kokkinakis, so often cut down by injury, has withdrawn from the singles before his match against Rafael Jodar and has been replaced in the draw by Bu Yunchaokete, the 24-year-old from China, who\u2019ll get the chance to improve on his 0-6 first-round record at grand slams.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n No, because Comesana lands a 131mph first serve, his fastest of the day, and it gives him two set points at 40-15. Another stinging serve and the world No 119 secures the first set 6-3 against an out-of-sorts world No 6! Could Cobolli suffer the same first-round fate as Novak Djokovic and Arthur Fils? The Italian rips off his shirt, revealing what looks like a GPS tracking vest, as he sits on his chair waiting for Comesana to return to the court, but I\u2019m not sure he needs any data to tell him he needs to up his game in the second set.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.11 EDT<\/p>\n With the rain still pelting down, meaning play on the non-covered courts won\u2019t begin for at least another 30 minutes, Cobolli, having worked hard to get back into the first set, promptly drops serve and is now serving to stay in it at 5-2. He\u2019s entering the danger zone at 0-30 but regroups impressively to hold for 5-3. But can he stop Comesana from serving out the set?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Questions were asked after Keys\u2019s Australian Open triumph last year about whether it would free the American up to win more slams, or if she\u2019d be content settling for the one. So far it appears to be the latter, with the 31-year-old reaching only one major quarter-final since, but she simply has too much firepower for Korneeva early on and breaks for 2-0, before ripping a winner for 40-30 and then wrapping up the game. Keys leads 3-0.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Cobolli\u2019s forehand has finally turned up for the occasion and he wears down Comesana in a rare lengthy rally at 30-40 on the Argentinian\u2019s serve to break back for 2-3. Cue an obligatory roar. Keys, meanwhile, the runner-up in 2017 and the 2025 Australian Open champion, opens with a hold against Alina Korneeva, the 19-year-old Russian who\u2019s making her US Open main draw debut.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Nothing\u2019s going Cobolli\u2019s way at the moment, as he thwacks his own leg with his racket while trying to hit the ball, as he\u2019s taken to deuce once more on his serve. He recovers to get to his advantage, but then balloons another errant forehand well long, before finally getting on the board to reduce his deficit to 3-1.<\/p>\n Francisco Comesana winds up a shot. Photograph: Seth Wenig\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.51 EDT<\/p>\n It was also a day when Stan Wawrinka played his final grand slam match, Carlos Alcaraz made his return from injury and Aryna Sabalenka, after a shaky summer, started her title defence with a comfortable victory.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.43 EDT<\/p>\n Comesana backs up the break to love for a 3-0 lead, just before Keys steps on to Arthur Ashe, in an entrance significantly more understated than Naomi Osaka\u2019s on the same court last night. After Osaka\u2019s jellyfish outfit at the Australian Open, Eiffel Tower-inspired dress at the French Open and Japanese kimono at Wimbledon, she completed her own calendar slam yesterday with this look. She said it was inspired by the former NBA star Allen Iverson, whom she described as a \u201ctrailblazer for shifting the way basketball players dress\u201d. Osaka\u2019s tennis last night was slightly less eye catching than her outfit, but she came through in two tie-break sets against Russia\u2019s Anastasia Zakharova, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3).<\/p>\n Osaka channels her inner Iverson. Photograph: Julian Finney\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n With humidity levels of 90% plus, the conditions are brutal, even with the roof on, and Comesana is already dripping so much he looks as if he\u2019s deep into a fifth set. \u201cI never sweated at all,\u201d declares the Federer-like Navratilova on the commentary, \u201cit was just my DNA.\u201d Cobolli, meanwhile, is made to sweat as he\u2019s pulled back from 40-0 to deuce – the Italian\u2019s main strength, his forehand, isn\u2019t fully firing yet \u2013 and Comesana breaks for 2-0! Having been 0-40 down in the opening game. It\u2019s been a strange start.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.30 EDT<\/p>\n The first victory of the day goes to Comesana, who wins the toss and elects to serve first. It\u2019s an inauspicious start, though, as he drops 0-30 down and then 0-40 when he slices a backhand into the net. Comesana, sporting a retro headband, saves the first break point with a charge forward before scrambling to deuce, but it\u2019s a scrappy opening game, to be honest, and Cobolli soon has a fourth break point \u2026 it\u2019s surely his for the taking as he does all the hard work \u2026 but he then blasts a forehand into the net! An improvised drop shot volley from Cobolli can\u2019t stop Comesana from moving to game point, and the Argentinian escapes with the hold for 1-0.<\/p>\n Flavio Cobolli attempts to return the ball to Francisco Comesana. Photograph: Seth Wenig\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.27 EDT<\/p>\n Here come Cobolli and Comesana, with the Louis Armstrong roof keeping out the rain and ramping up the atmosphere. While it\u2019s been a breakout summer for Cobolli, having reached the French Open final and Wimbledon last eight, Comesana\u2019s had a rough 2026, winning only seven matches all year. Cobolli\u2019s flashy, shotmaking game will likely be too much for the world No 119 from Buenos Aires today, but the Italian does have a point to prove at the US Open, having never been beyond the third round.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.09 EDT<\/p>\n Away from Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong, it\u2019s been confirmed that play won\u2019t start until at least midday New York time\/5pm BST.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And what of the day three energy levels on the Sky Sports team? Martina Navratilova and Tim Henman are in good spirits (Martina especially because she\u2019s the only Sky pundit who can boast that all of her title picks are still standing), but Laura Robson is feeling rather sweaty in the humid, heavy conditions, with rain forecast today. And right on cue \u2026 it starts raining. Gah. Play may not be starting on time on most of the courts now, though the roofs on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong mean that Madison Keys v Alina Korneeva is guaranteed to get under way in half an hour, and Flavio Cobolli will be on court very shortly against Argentina\u2019s Francisco Comesana.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.02 EDT<\/p>\n Order of play – day session<\/p>\n 11am start (4pm BST) unless stated<\/p>\n Arthur Ashe Stadium 11.30am New York\/4.30pm BST Louis Armstrong Stadium Grandstand Stadium 17 Court 5 Court 6 Court 7 Court 10 Court 11 Court 12 Court 13
Madison Keys (USA, 22) v Alina Korneeva
Taylor Fritz (USA, 9) v Darwin Blanch (USA)<\/p>\n
Flavio Cobolli (It, 5) v Francisco Comesana (Arg)
Mirra Andreeva (5) v Janice Tjen (Ina)<\/p>\n
Elena Rybakina (Kaz, 2) v Thea Frodin (USA)
Arthur Fery (GB) v Lorenzo Musetti (It, 13)
Iva Jovic (USA, 4) v Magdalena Frech (Pol)
Alex de Minaur (Aus, 6) v Andrea Guerrieri (It)<\/p>\n
Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) v Belinda Bencic (Sui, 12)
Daria Kasatkina (Aus) v Paula Badosa (Sp)
Rafael Jodar (Sp, 12) v Thanasi Kokkinakis (Aus)
Marcos Giron (USA) v Ignacio Buse (Per, 32)<\/p>\n
Filip Misolic (Aut) v Francisco Cerundolo (Arg, 24)
Anastasia Potapova (Aut, 24) v Darja Semenistaja (Lat)
Kaitlin Quevedo (Sp) v Elise Mertens (Bel, 23)
Jan Choinski (GB) v Botic van de Zandschulp (Ned)<\/p>\n
Gabriela Knutson (Cze) v Eva \u0141ys (Ger)
Lucie Havl\u00ed\u010dkova (Lze) v Anna Bondar (Hun)
Juan Manuel Cerundolo (Arg) v Arthur Gea (Fr)
Magda Linette (Pol) v Fran Jones (GB)<\/p>\n
Dane Sweeny (Aus) v Corentin Moutet (Fr)
Darja Vidmanova (Cze) v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (Sp)
Arantxa Rus (Ned) v Leolia Jeanjean (Fr)<\/p>\n
Mattia Bellucci (It) v Zsombor Piros (Hun)
Jesper de Jong (Ned) v Francesco Passaro (It)
Nikola Bartunkova (Cze) v Mayar Sherif (Egy)<\/p>\n
Nishesh Basavareddy (USA) v Tristan Schoolmate (Aus)
Tatjana Maria (Ger) v Jelena Ostapenko (Lat, 30)
Fabian Marozsan (Hun) v Michael Zheng (USA)<\/p>\n
Maria Sakkari (Gre, 32) v Robin Montgomery (USA)
Zizou Bergs (Bel, 31) v Carlos Taberner (Sp)
Zachary Svajda (USA) v Daniel Altmaier (Ger)
Oleksandra Oliynykova (Ukr) v Reese Brantmeier (USA)<\/p>\n
Yulia Starodubtseva (Ukr) v Ella Seidel (Ger)
Camilo Ugo Carabelli (Arg) v Jan-Lennard Struff (Ger)
Alex Molcan (Svk) v Benjamin Bonzi (Fr)<\/p>\n