NEW YORK -- Madison Keys was the first player Tuesday to move into the second round of the US Open as rain threatened to hamper the schedule for a couple days.
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 Stadium, which have retractable roofs.
Keys, the No. 22 seed, beat 19-year-old Alina Korneeva 7-5, 6-4 in the leadoff match in Ashe. The 2017 US Open runner-up was knocked off in the first round last year in Flushing Meadows.
"It's always tough playing someone young and up and coming, and they're going after their shots," Keys said. "And it's so hard to play a first round of a Grand Slam, so nervous and just wanting to do so well. So, really happy I was able to kind of fight through that and win today."
Keys was broken when serving for the match with a 5-3 lead, but recovered to break back in the next game and finish up the match.
The American lost to Sloane Stephens in the 2017 US Open final and returned to Flushing Meadows last year after winning the first major title of her career by beating No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final. But what started out as a great year fell flat at the finish after Keys was stunned by Renata Zarazua of Mexico in the first round of last year's US Open after committing 89 unforced errors.
Play finally began outdoors in the middle of the afternoon, when No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina beat Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-2. Frodin, a 17-year-old from California, was the body double for actor Demi Singleton, who played Serena Williams, in the 2021 film "King Richard."
Maria Sakkari fell behind 6-2, 4-0 once she was finally able to get on the court after the rain stopped, then the No. 32 seed rallied to edge Robin Montgomery 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
"Just kept telling myself that everything is possible and just try to get myself in a good place mentally and just try to be a little bit more positive, try to make more balls, get myself into the match," said Sakkari, who reached the US Open and Wimbledon semifinals in 2021. "Because, I mean, everyone's very good in tennis nowadays, but specifically that girl I played today doesn't have the experience that I do. So I just told myself, let's try and hang in there, try and make more balls, and it worked."
French Open champion Mirra Andreeva had smooth sailing into the second round, defeating Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-2 without facing a break point and dropping only five points on her first serve.
No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic, who teamed with No. 5 men's seed Flavio Cobolli to reach the mixed doubles final, lost to Yulia Putintseva in three sets.
Rain returned again Tuesday night, again restricting play to two courts.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
