US Open digest: Johanna Konta knocked out, Roger Federer eases through

Aug 29, 2018

Britain’s Konta beaten by Caroline Garcia in the first round in New York

Al Bello/Getty Images

Johanna Konta (left) shakes hands with Caroline Garcia after the first-round match

Britain’s Johanna Konta is out of the US Open after a first-round defeat against French sixth seed Caroline Garcia.

Konta, 27, was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Garcia as she failed to progress past the opening round for the second successive year in New York.

After the loss, Konta said: “She [Garcia] played a high level consistently throughout the whole match, made it very difficult for me to get any momentum. She showed why she is number six in the world.”

Maria Sharapova is through to the second round after a 6-2 7-6 (8-6) win against Patty Schnyder.

Federer progresses

Roger Federer eased into the second round at Flushing Meadows with a 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory against Yoshihito Nishioka.

The five-time US Open champion said: “I’m very happy with how I played. It is particularly tough for us Europeans because we don’t get this type of humidity. You are sweating so much you don’t know what has hit you. It is tough so you are happy when you survive a day like this.”

Heat issues force retirements

The BBC reports that five male players retired from matches on day two because of “heat-related issues”.

Temperatures at Flushing Meadows reached close to 38C (100F) and humidity levels were more than 50%.

The five players who retired because of the heat were Stefano Travaglia (Italy), Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania), Leonardo Mayer (Argentina), Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) and Filip Krajinovic (Serbia).