Raducanu’s US Open title defence ends in first round, Swiatek cruises through

Emma Raducanu, who made a dream run to the US Open title last year, suffered a nightmare 6-3 6-3 first round loss to Frenchwoman Alize Cornet on Tuesday as the clock finally struck midnight on an improbable tennis fairy-tale.

Raducanu captivated the sporting world when she became the first qualifier to claim a Grand Slam title, winning 10 matches in New York without dropping a set, catapulting her career into the stratosphere and making her one of the most marketable athletes on the planet.

Twelve months ago Raducanu arrived at her opening match an unknown with no expectations or pressure but on Tuesday the 19-year-old sometimes appeared to be carrying the weight of world on her slender shoulders. Not only was Raducanu defending her one and only title but a huge 2,040 of her 2,756 ranking points and with those gone the world number 11 will drop out of the top 70 and back having to qualify for some events or depend on wild cards.

But the loss, said Raducanu, has also brought freedom and a clean slate that will allow her to reconstruct her game and career without unrealistic expectations.

“Obviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here,” Raducanu told a post-match press conference, her face partially hidden by a baseball cap pulled tight to her eyes.

“But also, in a way happy because it's a clean slate. I'm going to drop down the rankings. Climb my way back up. In a way the target will be off my back slightly.”

Raducanu endured a difficult first full year on Tour with injuries and poor form limiting her match wins, with each early exit bringing increased scrutiny. Still just 19, Raducanu will now be able to grow into her career and if that means playing lower level events then that is what she will do.

Iga Swiatek crushed Italy's Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-0 to set up a highly-anticipated second-round showdown with 2017 champion Sloane Stephens.

Appearing in New York for the first time as the world's top-ranked player, Swiatek looked the part, breaking Paolini's serve seven times and reeling off the last seven games to advance.

The Polish top seed is the favourite to win the year's final Grand Slam after she dominated the French Open in June and went on a 37-match winning streak that was snapped in the third round of Wimbledon. But her sheen of invincibility began to crack at US Open tune-up events, where she went 4-4 in her last eight matches before putting the field on notice with her complete game on a hot and humid morning at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Frenchwoman Clara Burel joined the growing list of giant-killing qualifiers at this year's US Open as she toppled Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-4 6-4 in the first round.

Hot on the heels of Ukrainian Daria Snigur's win over twice Grand Slam winner Simona Halep and Colombian Daniel Galan's triumph over fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 131st ranked Burel produced an assured display to eliminate Rybakina.

After missing the entire North American hard court season American Danielle Collins showed no signs of rust battling past twice US Open champion Naomi Osaka 7-6(5) 6-3.