Defending US Open champion Naomi Osaka shook off the cobwebs before eventually defeating Russian Anna Blinkova to get her tournament off to a winning start at Flushing Meadow.
The 20-year-old starlet, who won the hearts of the tennis world by capturing the US Open, then the Australian Open, found herself 4-1 down early on after an early break by Blinkova, who had never progressed past the first round in New York before.
But Osaka soon found her form and, with a knowing grin on her face as the momentum shifted back in her favor, took the first set 6-4.
However, it wasn't to be a simple task from that point on, as Blinkova came storming back in the second set to level up the match 7-6 via the tiebreak.
Osaka gathered herself once again and came back strongly in the third set to show her championship composure and run out a 6-2 winner in the decider and seal her progression to the second round.
Over the course of the three-setter, Osaka hit eight aces and 44 winners, but it will be her 50 unforced errors that will be the focus of her team as she prepares to make a successful defense of her title.
While Osaka staved off a potential first round shock in the women's draw, there was a notable exit in the men's tournament, as Russia's Andrey Rublev defeated No.8 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after a four-set thriller on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Rublev battled shot for shot with the Greek star and eventually ran out the winner 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 to claim the first big scalp of the tournament.