NEW YORK---Agnieszka Radwanska, second-seeded in the women’s draw of the U.S. Open and a Wimbledon finalist earlier in the summer, began her U.S. Open play Tuesday with an easy 6-1, 6-1 win over Russia’s Nina Bratchikova on Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
It took Radwanska only 54 minutes. The world’s second-ranked player has never advanced past the fourth round of the Open, but Tuesday she drew an opponent who is ranked 91st in the world and was playing her first-ever main draw match here.
Bratchikova, 27, had lost in qualifying events for major tournaments 16 consecutive times but was ranked high enough to make the main draw of the Open and avoid the tricky qualifying process.
Poland's Radwanska, who fell in three sets to Serena Williams earlier this summer in the Wimbledon finals, played with a taped right shoulder that had caused her to pull out of a tournament in New Haven last week.
“It’s different when I’m just practicing and not pushing that much,” Radwanska said. “I’m really taking care of it right now. It’s really better.”
Up next for Radwanska is Spanish veteran Carla Suarez Navarro.
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