NEW YORK – Iga Swiatek launched the defence of her US Open crown with an emphatic opening victory on Monday as Novak Djokovic eyed a return to the top of the men’s world rankings on his long-awaited return to the tournament.
Swiatek, bidding to become the first woman to successfully defend the US Open title since Serena Williams won a hat-trick of titles from 2012-2014, needed less than an hour to defeat Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson 6-0, 6-1.
The 22-year-old world number one from…
