2024 US Open Round-Up: Here's what you might have missed from Day One at Flushing Meadows

The first day of the US Open proved to be quite an exciting tennis day, with Novak Djokovic winning against Radu Albot in three sets, Holger Rune crashing out against Brandon Nakashima, and Dominic Thiem bidding farewell to Arthur Ashe Stadium after a match against Ben Shelton.

It was a fabulous opening tennis day in New York, and we had some exciting matches. We're going to go over some of the biggest moments of that opening day, and we're going to start with the ATP, where a former champion bid fare well to New York.

Dominic Thiem bids farewell

It's been only four years since Dominic Thiem reached the US Open final and bested Alexander Zverev to win his only Grand Slam trophy. Those four years were a tough battle for the Austrian, as he fought a wrist injury that cost him almost two years of tennis. Despite these challenges, Thiem's resilience shone through as he tried to find his best tennis without much success.

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He would never find his best tennis again, and earlier this year, he announced that this was his final year. While only 30, Thiem isn't good enough anymore to compete the way he wants to, and this final match on Ashe showed that.

On Monday, he bid farewell to Arthur Ashe Stadium and the US Open with a match against Ben Shelton. It was a pretty quick one for the American, who was able to win it comfortably in three sets, as Thiem was hardly competitive for a good portion of it.

Diego Schwartzman's final US Open

Diego Schwartzman might not have won a Grand Slam trophy in his career, but he had some really solid runs a couple of times. One of those runs came at the US Open, where he made the quarter-final, so it's generally been a really solid event. He is also retiring soon, as it's going to happen early next year at the Buesno Aires Open in his hometown.

Schwartzman had to fight to get into the main draw because he couldn't enter directly. He played three matches in the qualifier, won all three, and got a chance to play Gael Monfils in the opening round. He would take the opening set but eventually see himself overpowered by a player who is truly better right now, especially on hard courts.

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Seeds start strong

A couple of seeds have started their US Open with strong wins. Alexander Zverev, a player that analysts see as a strong contender, started with a win, dropping only one set. Zverev generally starts his Grand Slams slowly, so winning this without too many problems was hugely important.

Casper Ruud, who hasn't been in top form lately, also made a good start, beating the leading match winner on the Challenger Tour in three sets. Ruud was also sick recently, so starting this one as cleanly as he did is a major boost for a player who stood in a final here two years ago.

Andrey Rublev also started well, navigating a tricky first-round matchup without too many problems. The Russian is in desperate need of a great result at a Grand Slam because it's been a while since he had a good run. He's generally not been that great at Grand Slams historically.

Djokovic in prime shape

Novak Djokovic returned to the tennis courts for the first time since winning the Paris Olympics, and the Serbian played a wonderful match against Radu Albot. He won in three simple sets, demonstrating superb returning, excellent ball striking, and a really strong level overall. His aggressive and decisive play seems to be the new Djokovic, a strategy he seems to have adopted due to the preciousness of time at his age.

He certainly didn't waste any time in this one, and his win only solidified his status as one of the players likely to win the event. We'll see if he can keep it up, but this was a really scary performance to see if you're on Djokovic's side of the draw.

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Holger Rune crashes out

Brandon Nakashima is proving to be a pretty big problem for Holger Rune, who has never beaten the American. Heading into this match, Rune was 0-2 all-time against Nakashima, and yesterday was another pretty dreadful performance. He never looked comfortable in the matchup and rushed from one error to another.

To be fair, Nakashima played about as well as you can, hitting the ball pretty cleanly while also serving very well. It hasn't been a very good year for Holger Rune, whose career seems to have hit a serious roadblock. If he doesn't figure it out soon, he won't be anywhere near the Top 10 in the near future. We're talking about a player who went as high as world number four, with some suggesting he could challenge for number one in the near future.

Gauff and Sabalenka with no problems

Last year's finalist, Aryna Sabalenka, started off pretty well on the women's side. In the final WTA match of the day, she took on qualifier Priscilla Hon and easily cruised past the Australian in two sets. It wasn't the most dominating showing from Sabalenka, but she's going to take it easy in this one after that long week in Cincinnati.

It was more than enough to keep the match in two sets, which is all that matters, as she'll want to keep the fatigue on the lower side in these opening matches.

Meanwhile, the defending champion Coco Gauff also started with a win, though her win has a caveat. She started the match pretty slowly, struggling to hit the ball well. The serve was the only thing keeping her in her games, but once she got rid of those early nerves, the American looked really solid. She was aggressive even though she didn't hit the ball as well as she could.

Her opponent also made it quite easy because Gracheva was pretty dreadful overall. It was impossible for Gauff to lose the match, but she didn't look superb. We'll see if she can find her level again, but she needs to do better against stronger players that await the coming rounds.

American Star Power

A couple of native players did some really great stuff on that opening day. We had Madison Keys back on the courts and winning. That was great to see, especially after her semi-final heartbreak last year. She is one of those that could do a lot of damage if she finds her best tennis.

One of the younger players, Peyton Stearns, also made a strong start at the US Open. Her performance is a testament to the bright future of American tennis, and she's generally been in great shape, with a semi-final run in Cleveland last week. Another player who scored a good win is veteran Taylor Townsend, who has been playing really solid tennis this year. She won't be an easy out for anybody.

Emma Navarro continues to amaze with her performances. After a really great week down in Monterrey, the American started her US Open with a thrashing win over Anna Blinkova. She's certainly a player who could do some damage in the upcoming week or so because she's been playing on a really high level for a while now.

Paula Badosa shines once again

One of the most amazing things about the opening round is Paula Badosa's continued success. While she did face a player out of form in Golubic, the Spaniard continued to play amazing tennis, winning this one relatively comfortably. That's a continuation of her amazing performances dating back to Washington, where she won the trophy.

Considering that she's dealt with a back injury for much of the past two years, it's great to see the Spaniard doing so well. She was born in New York, loves the city, and loves to play at the US Open. The Spaniard might just go far here with a level like this.

No WTA upsets

While these earlier rounds generally feature a few upsets here and there, the WTA side of the draw didn't feature any major upsets. All of the big players were able to go through, which doesn't happen that often.

Olympic Champion Qinwen Zheng struggled greatly against Amanda Anisimova and nearly lost, but she ultimately won the match after a lot of battling. That was the match of the day, considering how well both have played in recent weeks, and it's a huge shame for Anisimova, who could have had a deep run if she had a better draw.

Maria Sakkari's exit from the event might be a surprising development, but the Greek player retired from the match. She was on her way to losing anyway, which is a shame because she keeps failing to find her best tennis.

Overall, it was a pretty packed day of tennis, and today promises to bring even more great tennis. Stick around for our daily coverage of day two.