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American Taylor Townsend upset No. 20 Maja Chwalinska 6-2, 6-3, and did it wearing a fit of her own design: red, white and black with a mesh top and tassels around the waist.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. This is something that I wanted to do from the beginning when I first came and created my own brand,” said Townsend. “But it’s really, really difficult, and you have to find people that are able to do that and turn things around in tennis.
“A lot of people don’t realize that with tennis, as soon as one [tournament] is over, you should always be working on the next thing because it’s a really fast overturn. We’re playing this and then in two weeks it’s the Asia Swing. … So it’s really fast if you wanna show up differently for every tournament or every swing. So, credit to them. They really did phenomenal with being able to bring these looks to life.”
Townsend — who has five outfits lined up through the U.S. Open — has long been a fan favorite in New York and hosted what she called a “welcome to the U.S. Open” party. She often explores the city, and even rode her first Citi Bike, but doesn’t have a routine that she keeps when she comes to town.
“No. I don’t think anyone in New York has a routine, if I’m being honest,” Townsend laughed. “It’s like, ‘We’re just gonna do this or that. I like this spot, but I’m here, I’ve got to go there.’ I did have a chopped cheese for the first time. It was delicious. Yeah, I did a Citi Bike — that was fun. I was so scared, but then when I got the hang of it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is fun.’ So that was great.
“I just feel like it’s so hard because our schedules are all over the place. So it’s really difficult to have anything [planned]. We ordered from a restaurant that we really liked. … We ordered Philippe Chow and we really like that.”
Townsend faces wild card Taylah Preston in the second round.
Iga Swiatek’s first-round dominance in Flushing continues.
The No. 8-seed won her eighth straight first-round match at the U.S. Open — and her eighth straight in straight sets, topping China’s Wang Xiyu in straight sets Monday night.
She also became the first player to record 28-plus consecutive opening match wins at Grand Slam events since Serena Williams.
Only three players this century — Serena Williams (28), Venus Williams (28) and Kim Clijsters (30) — have 25 career wins in the U.S. Open in fewer matches than Swiatek (31).
A serious contender for this year’s trophy, Swiatek is looking to add to her 2022 U.S. Open title after bowing out in the quarterfinal the last two years.
Matteo Berrettini swept Stan Wawrinka aside 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-0 on Grandstand.
Filipina phenom Alexandra Eala is set to take the U.S. Open by storm and bring her huge following to Flushing. After packing fans on Grandstand a year ago, she’ll play her first-round match Tuesday night vs. American qualifier Mary Stoiana.
Eala, 21, blew past a million followers on Instagram after her breakout run in the Miami Open — where she beat Keys and Swiatek — and she’s doubled that coming into Flushing. There will surely be tons of Filipino flags waving in the stands.
After being eliminated from the singles draw in the wee hours of Monday, Venus Williams still has doubles later this week with younger sister Serena. But the elder Williams hasn’t planned out her future past that match and says she shouldn’t need to.
“I don’t think I should have to,” Williams told a tiny group of reporters in front of her locker room early Monday. “My mind is fully focused on that [doubles match], how I recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.”
The Williamses will play doubles either Thursday or Friday.
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