Lizette Cabrera, a 22-year-old from Townsville in her second US Open main draw, was eliminated by Danka Kovinic from Montenegro in three sets, 6-4 3-6 6-2.

Among the top seeds in the men's draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas kicked off his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title in style as he overwhelmed Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 6-1 6-1.

Tsitsipas, who entered the first Grand Slam of the COVID-19 era fresh off a run to the semi-finals of the US Open tune-up event, never faced a break point and broke Ramos-Vinolas seven times during the 98-minute match.

The 22-year-old Tsitsipas, who has never been beyond the second round of the US Open, came into this week with 16 wins to his name this season and has been tipped by many to make a deep run in a tournament missing a number of top players.

Tsitsipas broke to go ahead 3-1 and that opened up his game as he went on to play the rest of the contest on his terms.

The loss brought a speedy end to Ramos-Vinolas's return to competition as the Spaniard, in his first tour-level event since the ATP Tour returned from its COVID-19 hiatus, withdrew from last week's tune-up to be present at the birth of his first child.

Among the women's seeds, Karolina Pliskova, starting as the top seed in the absence of Barty and world No.2 Simona Halep, got a roaring start to her bid for a maiden Grand Slam title, downing first-round opponent Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-0 to kick off the action on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 28-year-old Czech, who led the WTA in aces in four of the last five years, struggled with an uncharacteristically uneven serve in the first set, committing three double faults and getting only slightly more than half of her first serves in to give her unseeded opponent a fighting chance.

"I started not really great with the first game but after I was able to somehow, you know, like step in the court, was playing quite aggressive," she said.

Pliskova, the 2016 US Open runner-up, did indeed find her footing in the second set, winning all her first-serve points and committing just one unforced error, as her Ukrainian opponent was left scrambling.

"I think my game was quite good for a first round," said Pliskova, who played in front of empty stands as the tournament is being held without fans due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"For sure I prefer to have people around me."

The match took place on an eerily quiet court, with the roar of jet engines and the rumble of the New York City subway piercing the silence. Tournament organisers piped in crowd noise to offer a taste of normality in between games and after particularly strong plays.

SMH with Reuters

more to come