Maria Sharapova made a winning return to Grand Slam Tennis today when she defeated world number two Simona Halep in the US Open opening round. Playing her first major after the drug ban, Sharapova saw off Halep, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza, Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are also among the top players who have advanced to the second round.
Top seeds Rafael Nadal and Karolina Pliskova, this year’s Wimbledon and Australian Open winner Roger Federer and Angelique Kerber will play their first round matches today. Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, last year’s winner Stanislas Wawrinka and Serena Williams are not taking part in the tournament. Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and other Indian players will begin their Doubles campaigns tomorrow.
