By Chris Soderstrom
Golden girl Elena Dementieva commenced her US Open campaign on a sweet note defeating Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4, 7-5 in a promising first up match.
Fresh off her Beijing success, the Russian admitted to difficulty in moving on from the high of an Olympic gold medal.
“It’s very hard not to think about the Olympic Games,” said Dementieva. “[It is] very difficult to refocus. I mean, all my thinking is there in Beijing.”
“In Russia, if you stop anyone in the street and ask what is a Grand Slam, I don’t think many people can tell you.
“But everyone knows the Olympic Games. There is nothing bigger.”
Former US Open champions Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004) and Lindsay Davenport (1998) also enjoyed first round wins.
Russia’s Kuznetsova coasted to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Shuai Zhang of China forcing four breaks of serve, while crowd favourite Davenport had similar ease in defeating Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-2.
Boasting a US Open record of 61-15, the 32-year-old Davenport is hoping to reach the quarter-finals or better for her 11th straight US Open appearance.