Rybakina shakes off injury concerns, moves past Frodin at US Open

No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina shook off a four-hour rain delay, injury concerns, the pressure of chasing the World No. 1 ranking and a big-hitting young opponent to ease through her US Open first round, defeating 17-year-old wild card Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 14 minutes.

Rybakina had not played since a left ankle injury forced her to retire during her Cincinnati quarterfinal against Iga Swiatek two weeks ago. Ahead of the US Open, she declared that she "should be very fine" by the time she had to play.

At stake this fortnight could be the Australian Open champion's rise to No. 1 for the first time. She needs to reach the semifinals to guarantee it, though if neither Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula or Coco Gauff win the title, she will become No. 1 regardless of her own results.

Rybakina seemed intent on securing the top spot on her own terms with a clean, focused performance on Grandstand. No. 585-ranked Frodin was playing the first tour-level main draw of her career after earning a wild card with victory at this month's USTA Girls' 18s National Championships, and showed flashes of potential with a powerful game anchored around a formidable serve.

Indeed, Frodin managed to outdo Rybakina in terms of service speed, landing her fastest delivery at 122mph compared to the Kazakhstani's 120mph, and ace count, tallying 11 to Rybakina's six. Five of those aces came in a remarkable penultimate game, including three down match point as Frodin clung on.

"She has great shots, especially her serve. She has this powerful game, which I think is great and it's just a matter of experience, being more stable and playing matches," Rybakina said in her post-match press-conference. "But she has the game. She can be quite dangerous with these kinds of shots.

"When I was watching a little bit how she played before, it's not easy to understand, because first of all it's not that many matches and a different kind of opponent. So I knew it could be challenging. I think she has great potential and a great game."

However, the flipside of Frodin's game came with her count of 21 unforced errors, and her inexperience showed as she committed three double faults to go down a double break in the second set. By contrast, Rybakina brought consistency and a superior return game to complement her serve. She faced just two break points, both when up 4-1 in the second set and both erased with unreturned serves, and captured the Frodin serve three times.

Nor was Rybakina ruffled by Frodin finding her best tennis at the end of the match. From 0-30 down, she served the match out with a calm run of four straight points, sealing her fourth match point with an ace of her own.

Throughout the contest, there had been no sign of any discomfort to Rybakina's ankle -- though the paucity of extended rallies meant that her movement was rarely put to the test.

Rybakina will next face either Memphis finalist Darja Vidmanova or Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second round.