Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has kicked off his quest for a maiden grand slam title in style, overwhelming Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 6-1 6-1 to reach the second round of the US Open.
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 at Flushing Meadows, 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.
Briton Cameron Norrie earlier claimed his biggest win at a slam, fighting from two sets down to beat ninth seed Diego Schwartzman 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-1 7-5.
Both players served poorly, resulting in 58 break points being up for grabs in total, and 25-year-old Norrie saved two match points in the decider before prevailing after nearly four hours.
A time violation saw Schwartzman lose his cool in the third set and Norrie took advantage to mount his comeback.
Schwartzman needed the tournament physio to look at his wrist following a fall in the deciding set but recovered to conjure two match points.
But he couldn’t convert either before cramping and dropping the last 10 points of the match.
World No.1 and three-time champion Novak Djokovic will headline the night action as an unusual calm settles over Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Djokovic will compete in prime time which, under normal circumstances, would cause thousands of fans to pack under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Instead, the stands will sit empty, with players living in quarantine.
The top seed will play Bosnian Damir Dzumhur as he begins his bid for an 18th grand slam title.
Donning masks and lugging rackets over their shoulders, the handful of authorised attendees trickled into the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in unseasonably cool weather as the curtain raised on a US Open unlike any before.
The COVID-19 crisis has already had an impact on the tournament, with Frenchman Benoit Paire dropping out on Sunday after testing positive before the event began.
Reigning champion Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are among the stars who opted not to compete due to health and safety concerns.