Medvedev Dominates Gaston as Cilic and Ruud Withdraw from US Open
Daniil Medvedev silenced the ghosts of last year with a cold, clinical dismantling of Hugo Gaston, while the US Open lost two of its biggest names in Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud on an eventful opening Sunday at Flushing Meadows. Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, steadied herself after a jittery start to keep her charge toward the No. 1 ranking alive.
Medvedev back in command on Ashe
A year after a shock first-round exit, Daniil Medvedev walked back into Arthur Ashe Stadium looking like a man intent on wiping the slate clean. He did exactly that.
The 2021 champion brushed aside France’s Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, playing with an edge that left no room for drama. Thirty-four winners told the story. So did Gaston’s total of 11.
Medvedev knew what was coming.
"You need to play your game — I knew he was going to do some drop shots, some underarm serves," he said. "I needed to make some winners, put some pressure on him."
The pressure arrived early. Gaston’s creativity, all feints and flicks, ran straight into Medvedev’s reach and anticipation. At 3-3 in the first set, the Frenchman blinked, pushing a backhand wide to hand over the crucial break in the seventh game. Medvedev didn’t look back.
The second set turned ruthless. Seeded seventh and playing like it, Medvedev tightened his grip as Gaston cracked again, this time by slapping a forehand into the net to give up a break in the third game. The Russian started to toy with the angles, then produced one of the shots of the match: leaping into the air on break point in the seventh game and drilling a backhand beyond Gaston’s reach.
By then, the outcome felt inevitable.
Only days ago, Medvedev had publicly mused about pickleball after an opening-match defeat in Winston-Salem. On Ashe, that sounded like a different universe. He opened the third set by pouncing on yet another break-point chance, whipping a forehand past Gaston in the first game to snuff out any hint of a comeback.
He sealed the win with an unreturnable serve, a fitting full stop on a night that was all business. Next up: the winner of the clash between American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny and Belgian Raphael Collignon. For Medvedev, the path is long, but the statement has been made. The villain of New York is back on script.
Cilic and Ruud withdrawals reshape the draw
While Medvedev was restoring order on Ashe, the men’s draw absorbed two heavy blows.
Former champion Marin Cilic and 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud both pulled out with injuries shortly after the tournament began, stripping the event of experience and pedigree in one sweep.
Cilic, who lifted his only major trophy at Flushing Meadows 12 years ago, withdrew at 37 with organisers declining to specify the nature of his injury. His place in the draw goes to lucky loser Otto Virtanen, who now steps into a daunting opener against 23rd seed Andrey Rublev.
Virtanen himself had pulled out of his third-round qualifying match against Grigor Dimitrov with an injury, a reminder of how battered the field already is. Cilic joins a growing list of absentees: Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Joao Fonseca and Holger Rune are all missing from this year’s line-up.
Ruud’s withdrawal had been looming ever since he retired during the second set of his Cincinnati Open match against Christopher O'Connell earlier this month. The back problem never settled.
"Unfortunately, my back hasn't healed as quickly as we had hoped," Ruud said on Instagram. "We've been optimistic that I would recover in time, but my team and I have decided that we need to think long-term and give my body the time it needs. I'm very sad to announce that I have to withdraw from this year's U.S. Open singles event.
"It's never easy to miss a Grand Slam, but I know this is the right decision. I'll take the time I need to recover properly and come back stronger."
The 27-year-old, who pushed Carlos Alcaraz in the final four years ago, leaves a noticeable gap in the top half of the men’s field. Lucky loser Arthur Gea takes his place and will face Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the opening round, a very different matchup than the one Cerundolo would have prepared for.
Ruud did squeeze in an appearance last week in the revamped mixed doubles event, partnering Diana Shnaider before losing in the quarterfinals to Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva. Now, the focus for him is recovery, while the tournament recalibrates without two of its most recognisable names.
Pegula rides out nerves, keeps No. 1 dream alive
Jessica Pegula knows this court, knows this stage, and still, the nerves bit hard.
Opening the day session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the third-ranked American needed time to settle before turning a tricky first round into a controlled 6-3, 6-2 win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in 83 minutes.
"I was so nervous," Pegula admitted. "I was like sending GIFs of what I felt like. It was GIFs of people freaking out and stuff. … The first round of a slam, there's always a ton of nerves."
She played like it early on. Pegula missed her first nine break-point chances, letting Ruse hang around longer than the scoreboard suggested. But once she found her range, the match flipped sharply. Pegula’s serve, a key weapon in her rise this season, became almost untouchable: she won 92% of her first-serve points, a number that would trouble anyone in the draw.
The win comes on the back of a run to the final at the Cincinnati Open, where she fell to Coco Gauff, but the bigger picture is clear. Pegula leads the women’s tour with 46 wins this year, owns two titles, and has reached three other finals. The consistency has put her on the brink of something enormous.
If she wins her first major title here, and No. 2 Elena Rybakina fails to reach the semifinals, Pegula will climb to No. 1 in the world.
The nerves are understandable. The opportunity is real. And on opening day in New York, she did exactly what a potential world No. 1 must do: survive the jitters, impose her game, and walk off Ashe with the sense that something bigger might be building.
