Taylor Fritz, the American No. 9 seed, rolled to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over 18-year-old countryman Darwin Blanch on Tuesday in the first round of the US Open.
Fritz improved to 20-5 following the conclusion of the 2026 French Open, the most wins on the men's tour over that stretch. He has gone 15-3 at Flushing Meadows over the past three years after going 6-7 across his first seven main draw appearances.
"I think coming out first round of the Open, there's always going to be some nerves," Fritz said. "I don't expect to come out and play, like, amazing.
"I thought I served well. Other than that, it was OK. I think there's a lot of room for improvement."
Fritz will face Mattia Bellucci, who beat Zsombor Piros in straight sets Tuesday, in Round 2.
With Blanch's loss, Rafael Jodar, 19, is the only remaining teenager in the men's singles draw.
Meanwhile, No. 5 seed Flavio Cobolli, who entered the day 0-9 in majors when trailing by two sets, rallied to beat Francisco Comesana 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in a match that lasted 4 hours, 12 minutes.
He made his first career two-set comeback to avoid joining No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic and No. 10 Arthur Fils among early losers in a men's draw that was already missing top-ranked Jannik Sinner, Cobolli's fellow Italian who was unable to play in the tournament because of a right knee injury.
Cobolli became the first top-five seed to come back from two sets down in the first round of the US Open since 4-seed David Nalbandian did so in 2006 against Michael Berrer.
He said he took a bathroom break after the second set and decided to change everything.
"So I changed all the dress that I started with today and it works," Cobolli said. "In Grand Slams it's never done. You have to fight until the last point."
Cobolli, the 2026 French Open runner-up to Alexander Zverev, improved to 10-3 in the opening round of majors and is 3-1 this year.
Also advancing Tuesday on the men's side were No. 24 Francisco Cerundolo and Jan-Lennard Struff, both in straight sets.
On a rainy day in New York, nothing could dampen the spirits inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, where Gael Monfils won on his 40th birthday to extend his Grand Slam career, with fans singing happy birthday to the Frenchman afterward.
Showers that began Monday night and would possibly be on and off through the middle of the week delayed play on all the outer courts, allowing for action only in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong, which have retractable roofs. Play finally began outdoors in the middle of the afternoon, but rain returned again Tuesday night, again restricting play to two courts.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
