"Obviously a tough one but we're through" says Ashleigh Barty after US Open opener

Before the match, Barty admitted that Zvonareva is a good opening test for her and it proved that way. The Australian ran away early with the first set and was cruising in the 2nd but Zvonareva came back twice to tie it up. In the end, Barty needed a tiebreak to close it out.

On edging out her opponent late she said:

"I think when my back was against the wall late in that buster, I came up with some really good stuff. That's all we can ask is when your back is against the wall, you trust yourself, you go out there and pick your spots and hit them."

And it was great stuff indeed for Barty at a time when Zvonareva looked like the better player on the court. The Russian found her game later but it did not matter in the end:

"Obviously a tough one against Vera straight up. She's an experienced campaigner. She knows how to get herself into matches. I think, all in all, adapting to conditions was a little bit slower than I probably would have liked [but] we're through. We have another chance to improve on that in the next round."